The Roanoke County School Board was unable to give raises to the school division's employees or to fill some employment vacancies this year because of budget constraints tied to the sour economy.

But with the holidays just around the corner, the board may be able to reward employees with one-time cash bonuses -- $750 for full-time employees and $500 for part-time staff.

Superintendent Lorraine Lange said the board voted Thursday to give the bonuses after meeting with a consultant Wednesday in Williamsburg, where the board is attending the Virginia School Board Association's annual convention.

The more than $1.6 million will come from the division's health reserve fund, which currently contains about $8 million. Lange said the school system has about 2,000 full-time and 50 part-time employees.

"We are trying to show some appreciation to our employees," said Drew Barrineau, the school board chairman. "It has been a real tough year."

The decision needs the ultimate approval of the county's board of supervisors, which must appropriate the money. If the supervisors approve the transfer at their Dec. 1 meeting, school employees should receive the bonus on their Dec. 15 paychecks, said Penny Hodge, assistant superintendent of finance.

The division is self-insured, which means premiums are collected from employees and put into a fund. Claims are paid monthly from that pot to a third-party administrator; in this case to Anthem.

"If we have a good year and our claims expenses are low, then the excess stays in the school system and it is not profit for a private insurance company," Hodge explained.

The purpose of the reserve fund is to build up the balance to manage in years when claim expenses are higher than anticipated. The school system also takes out reinsurance to cover catastrophic events. The maximum expense per employee is $200,000 and then reinsurance kicks in, Hodge said.

Barrineau said the school system funds about 70 percent of the employees' health care expenses and the employees contribute the balance. Because of that the school board essentially is refunding the employees' contributions, he said.

"We just kind of felt it was their money anyhow," Barrineau said.

Lange said the board had not anticipated voting to issue the bonuses in Williamsburg, but had legally recessed its Nov. 12 meeting to allow action there.