School employees will be getting raises instead of bonuses this year as the school board opted to fund the increase permanently instead of deciding each year if the bonus would reoccur.

The raise is $600 a year for all employees which includes teachers, support staff and non-certified workers. Teachers are also getting $600 from the state.

The board of education officially adopted the raise Thursday night after its hope to have the county fund the raises out of the “sinking fund” or local option sales taxes was dashed when the commission refused to even vote on the idea in a budget meeting. The school board worried that having to pay the reoccurring raise, which will come out to about $300,000 every year, would threaten its budget in lean years.

“We owe it to our teachers,” said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps who was committed to providing the money as a raise not a bonus. He was outspoken during the budgeting process, telling commissioners local teachers are underpaid and that they are losing some of their best and brightest to places like Putnam County where pay is higher and benefits more affordable.

The board of education voted unanimously to fund the raises with Jerry Wayne Johnson, in his last vote as a school board member, making the motion for the raises.

The amount is down from what the board originally envisioned as they wanted to give teachers a $2,400 increase. However, the county commission pointed out that would necessitate a major tax increase and burden an already overburdened budget.