DeKalb County Schools leaders today announced an $874.5 million budget for the coming school year, an 8 percent increase over last year, with increases in areas including employee salaries and early childhood education.
The 2015-2016 fiscal year begins July 1.
Superintendent Michael Thurmond announced today that he would like to boost the minimum wage for district employees to $10.25 per hour, $3 more than the national minimum wage. The move would result in salary increases between 14 and 37 percent for about 200 full-time and 400 part-time employees.
Thurmond said last month about $20 million would be used to give cost-of-living increases for teachers, secretaries, bus drivers, custodians and other staffers for the 2015-2016 school year. District staff received a 1 percent cost-of-living increase last year for the first time in seven years, he said.
Thurmond said during the board’s work session Monday afternoon that addressing salaries was something he made a priority for the budget year.
“It’s a historical problem that reaches back decades,” he said. “These men and women have been making low wages, (but) not because we could not afford to pay them. What we do today will … have an impact regionally. It’s true in DeKalb, but it’s also true in school districts across the state.”
About the Author
