Gwinnett school board approves budget; includes teacher raises
Gwinnett County school board members unanimously approved a $1.86 billion budget Thursday evening that will include raises for teachers and higher starting salaries for new teachers.
The starting annual salary for new teachers will be slightly more than $41,000, an increase of about $3,000. Gwinnett officials wanted to increase starting pay to be more competitive with nearby school districts. The average salary increase for nearly all teachers will rise by about 4 percent.
Board members initially adopted the budget two weeks ago, but were required to hold a public hearing Thursday before the final approval. One resident, Ken Craft, urged the board to remove any funding for some Advanced Placement courses that were revised during the 2014-15 school year. Craft and others have complained the revised curriculum in the AP U.S. History course is politically biased and contained some inaccuracies.
No changes were made to the budget.
About the Author
Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.
