Cobb County school board members are considering using up to $3 million to hire more educators for the next school year.
School leaders say employing more teachers and other staff members may be necessary if student growth projections are larger than expected. If board leaders approve the proposal at a meeting Thursday, it would give the superintendent access to the funds needed for additional allotments due to growth.
School board members approved at a meeting last month a nearly $945 million budget for fiscal year 2016, which includes funds to hire at least 100 new teachers, in addition to the nearly 5,800 classroom teachers currently employed in the district.
The budget also calls for funding a full 180-day school year, includes no furlough days and a 4 percent raise for all employees while also providing for full step pay increases for eligible employees.
The budget includes using $20 million of reserve funds, which would leave approximately $80 million in the reserve.
The $3 million allocated for possibly hiring additional educators next school year would come out of the school system’s general fund. School leaders project they could hire up to 50 educators with the money. The budget is based on a predicted enrollment of 111,751 students.
Other metro Atlanta school districts are also giving teachers and other employees significant raises for the next school year, as local property tax collections and state funding are on the rise again after the recession.
Detailed information about Cobb's approved fiscal year 2016 budget and development process are available under the Finance and Budget section of the Cobb schools website.
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