Fulton Schools 2019 Budget Includes Pay Raises For Teachers

JOHNS CREEK, GA — Fulton County School Board members on Tuesday gave tentative approval to the fiscal year 2019 budget, making it the first official step toward pay raises for teachers and staff for the 2018-2019 school year. The vote to approve was 4-2, with board members Linda McCain and Katie Reeves voting against the budget as it stands.

The superintendent’s recommended $1.05-billion General Fund budget focuses on employee compensation to ensure that schools are staffed with the most qualified teachers and other personnel and additional support for students, the school system said. It includes paid step increases for all eligible Fulton County Schools employees and funding for 10 social workers to staff Fulton’s social emotional learning initiative.

“This tentative budget was developed as part of an open and transparent process with input from stakeholders from across the school district, including our school board, teachers, staff and members of our School Governance Councils,” said Fulton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Rose. “Our spending also is aligned with instructional priorities identified in our Strategic Plan 2022.”

Sixty-eight percent of the tentative budget is devoted to instruction, with the remaining 32 percent budgeted for pupil transportation, maintenance and operations, and other administrative functions. It represents an increase of 3.6 percent over the previous year’s final budget.

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The proposed General Fund budget also takes into consideration student enrollment for next year as well as the district’s increased employer-paid contributions to health insurance and the Teachers Retirement System. Increases to TRS and employee benefits for classified employees make up 81 percent of the overall increase to the fiscal year 2019 budget.

As part of the budget development process, a second public hearing to allow for community feedback will be held on June 21 at 6 p.m. at Asa G. Hilliard Elementary School in East Point. The tentative budget may be revised, pending additional input from stakeholders.

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On her Facebook page, Board member Katie Reeves said the budget accounts for using all but about $10 million of the anticipated increase revenue to be added to the system's reserves — not returned to Fulton County taxpayers.

"With many of our constituents struggling with extreme increases in their assessed value, the only relief will be for local governments to restrain spending and roll back the millage rate to the extent possible," she added.

Another thing missing from the fiscal year 2019 budget is a focus on safety and security measures at the elementary school level. This subject, she said, is a top priority for the community. She noted it could be possible for board members to dedicate a portion of the reserve fund to roll out a two-year pilot to tackle security measures.

"The superintendent could then design a program with specific measurements that best addresses these concerns," she said.

The breakdown of the tentative budget is:

• General Fund: $1 billion
• School Nutrition Fund: $41.9 million
• Debt Service Fund: $12.1 million
• Special Revenue Fund: $54.1 million
• Capital Program Fund: $509 million
• Pension Fund: $34.1 million
• Student Activity Fund: $19.2 million
• Total All Funds: $1.7 billion (rounded)

Final approval for the budget is set for June 28. You can click here to view a summary of the proposed 2019 budget.

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