If the DeKalb County Board of Education gets its way, teachers, support staff, and bus drivers will be getting the largest single year pay raise in DeKalb County history. Board members and the Director of Schools Patrick Cripps said the raises are well deserved and needed to retain teachers and staff in an increasingly competitive job market.
On Thursday, June 8, the School Board approved their proposed 2021-22 budget, which includes a $5,000 raise for teachers and other certified personnel, and a $3,000 raise for support staff. Bus drivers would also be getting a big bump in pay, from $74 to $100 per day for beginning pay. Pay for bus drivers with five or more years of service would go to $115 per day and drivers of special education bus routes would earn $120 per day.
“We’ve got bus drivers that have been driving a bunch of years,” Director Cripps said. “We have to start bringing new drivers in. We’ve got to bring in more drivers. I think this is going to make a difference.”
School coaches and assistant coaches would also see a raise of $715 in pay. Funding for nine additional assistant coaching positions, for sports that do not currently have an assistant coach, was also included.
“Our staff has earned this,” Director Cripps said. “All of our employees have earned this. When the country shut down, we still had education going on. Last year was probably the most trying time for educators as a whole. You had teachers doing things that they normally didn’t do. People realized what teachers go through, and the sacrifices that they’ve made. We have a saying, ‘Strong schools equal a strong community,’ and I truly believe that. What we produce from our schools is what’s going to be leading our county. To be the best, you have to get the best. We want the best educators we can get.”
Director Cripps continued, “When you look at where we are located, we have a Triple-A school in Warren County, White County, Putnam, Rutherford, and Wilson. They are all around us. They all pay better than we do. This pay raise will hopefully keep people here in our county teaching, and want to stay here to teach.”
Even with the pay raises and additional positions, Director Cripps said that the school board is not asking for an increase in tax revenue from the county. “We are getting about $400,000 more in BEP (Basic Education Program) funds from the state this year and we have a strong fund balance. On paper it appears we will go into fund balance, but we actually haven’t had to do that since I’ve been here as Director. We currently have over $10 million dollars in our fund balance reserves and its grown each year,” said Cripps.
The Schools District will also be receiving at least $6.6 million dollars in federal money from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) FUND over the next couple of years. The funds are not part of this year’s budget, and would come from the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress earlier this year. The school district is already installing new HVAC units for gymnasiums using some of the ESSER money.
While approved by the Board of Education, the budget still needs approval by the DeKalb County Commission’s Budget Committee, as well as approval by the full commission.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, the board granted tenure to three teachers, Galen Brown, Rachel Desimone, and Melissa Sliger. Those teachers have successfully completed the probationary period of five years and received evaluations demonstrating an overall performance effectiveness level or above or significantly above expectations as required for tenure.
In his monthly personnel report, Director Cripps announced the following have been employed since last month:
Brian Cadle, teacher at DCHS, Emma Choate, teacher at Northside Elementary and Smithville Elementary, Bruce Curtis, Principal at DCHS, Kayley Curtis, teacher at DeKalb West School, Shawnnie Davis, secretary at Smithville Elementary School, Luke Green, teacher at DCHS, and Vicki Wilson, teacher at DeKalb West School.
Those granted a leave of absence as requested are Jessica Hale and Elizabeth Lewis.
Transfers include Thomas Cagle to Assistant Principal at DCHS, replacing David Gash, and Natasha Vaughn to SPED Supervisor, replacing Shea Hennessee.
Resignations include Shea Hennessee, SPED Supervisor and Tracy Luna, Band Director.
The Board also adopted the School Calendars for the 2022-23 and the 2023-24 years. The calendars are similar to past years with one week off for fall break, one week off for Thanksgiving, two weeks off for winter break (the Christmas/New Year holidays) and one week off for spring break.
