Gwinnett schools propose raising teacher pay, hiring 159

Gwinnett County school officials propose hiring more teachers and giving employees a raise, bumping up the nearly $2 billion budget by about $87.5 million for 2016-17.

It’s affordable, thanks largely to a projected increase in local property tax revenue and more money from the state, administrators say. It will not increase property taxes, which pay most of the school bills.

Gwinnett Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks and his staff need to hire 159 more teachers as it opens two new schools and want to give nearly all employees a three percent salary increase and boost pay for substitute teachers by $2 a day.