The Cherokee County School District proposes a budget for the 2019-20 school year that incorporates a $3,000 pay raise from the governor for eligible certified staff, a $3,000 increase in starting teacher pay to $46,000, and no increase in the overall property tax rate.
"We are competing for top talent in the face of a rising teacher shortage, so it is essential that Cherokee County be able to compete for the best talent out there, and I believe this budget puts us in a good position to do that," Superintendent Brian V. Hightower said in a recently released "Financial Facts" briefing document.
The budget calls for an operating/general fund of $481 million and a reduction in class sizes to a six-year low, ranging from a maximum of 20 students per kindergarten to an average of 25-30 students per class in middle and high school. Information: https://bit.ly/2Q2iiAe
Public hearings on the budget are scheduled for 11:30 a.m., June 12, and 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., June 20 (followed by a school board vote), in the school board auditorium in Canton.
The budget also has a 2 percent cost-of-living raise for eligible classified staff, such as paraprofessionals, school nutrition workers and bus drivers.
Funds are budgeted in 2019 for such capital spending as the completion of a new classroom wing at Mill Creek Middle School; beginning construction of a classroom addition at Woodstock Middle School, an auxiliary gymnasium at Woodstock High School and an agricultural science building at Creekview High School; and buying new laptop and desktop computers and up to 30 school buses.
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