Houston BOE approves budget with raise for teachers, employees

Houston County’s educators and other school staffers are in line for a little more in their paychecks next school year.

The school board gave tentative approval Tuesday to a budget proposal that would include a 3-percent cost-of-living raise for all certified and classified employees.

“We’re so proud to be able to do that, and I thank the board for their support,” Superintendent Mark Scott said.

In all, the 2016-17 school year budget projects expenditures of more than $246.6 million with an ending balance of $27.8 million. The spending plan will be posted for public notice and comment before final approval next month.

Scott and Stephen Thublin, assistant superintendent for finance and operations, said board members made the raise a priority.

“The board indicated they definitely wanted to reward the employees,” Thublin said, adding that the increase would make the district more attractive to new hires.

This year, Gov. Nathan Deal announced that the state’s budget would provide for a 3-percent raise, but that came in the form of reductions in austerity cuts. With an extra $5 million or so coming in on the revenue side and expenses such as fuel costs decreasing, Thublin said, the district had been able to manage its expenses in such a way that the raise was possible.

“A lot of it’s just we’ve watched our costs,” he said.

Officials and board members pointed out that district employees had not received a cost-of-living increase, which will cost more than $5 million total, since about the 2008-09 school year. That made the move overdue, board President Fred Wilson said.

“They deserve more than that,” Wilson said. “They really deserve more, but we give them what we can.”

Thublin added that the board contributed to the effort of paying employees more by being fiscally responsible.

“Really, the board has been great stewards of their money,” he said.

The board will meet next for its monthly work session on June 13 at 6 p.m., followed by its regular meeting June 14 at 1 p.m.

This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Houston BOE approves budget with raise for teachers, employees."