Fulton Schools Budget Calls For Pay Raises, Maintains Class Sizes

ATLANTA, GA -- The proposed fiscal year 2018 budget for the 2017-18 school year was presented to the Fulton County School Board Thursday, providing these elected officials an opportunity to review the district's funding priorities for the upcoming school year.

The proposed budget focuses heavily on employee compensation to ensure that schools are staffed with the most qualified teachers and support personnel. A 2-percent raise is proposed for employees paid on the teaching salary schedule and a 1-percent raise is proposed for all other district staff. Eligible employees in the district also would receive a step increase as they transition to the new budget year. The budget also focuses on appropriately aligning funding to personnel and programs.

“This proposed budget was developed using an open, transparent, and all-inclusive process which solicited input at different stages," said Schools Superintendent Jeff Rose. "We involved all groups of stakeholders including the School Board, staff, parents, principals, and the community at large. I’m pleased to present a prudent plan that enables the district to put students and classrooms first, invests in our employees through increased compensation, and aligns to our school board’s priorities.”

Sixty-eight percent of the $1 billion budget is devoted to instruction, with the remaining 32 percent budgeted for pupil transportation, maintenance and operations, and other administrative functions. The budget also keeps class sizes the same and does not include any staff reductions or furlough days for employees.

The proposed pay increases continue the school system’s seventh year of providing some level of increased compensation to employees. The proposed budget also aims to keep the millage rate the same for the eighth consecutive year, maintaining the school board’s commitment to low property taxes. At 18.483 the combined millage rate continues to be the lowest in the metro Atlanta area.

The proposed budget takes into consideration student growth for next year as well as the district’s increased employer-paid contributions to health insurance and the Teachers Retirement System. It also assumes a 6-percent increase in tax digest and a 2.3-percent increase in Quality Basic Education (QBE) funds.

Public hearings to allow feedback on the proposed budget are slated for next Thursday, April 20 at Asa G. Hilliard Elementary, and on May 9 at the North Learning Center. Both will be held at 6:30 p.m.

The FY 2018 budget is expected to be tentatively approved May 18, with final adoption slated for June 13.

School Board hears update on 2017 Georgia legislative session

At the meeting, the school board also heard an update on the 2017 Georgia legislative session. Two bills closely followed were Senate Bill 211, which aims to allow flexibility in the use of student assessment under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and House Bill 338, which commonly was called the “First Priority Act” for low-performing schools.

Senate Bill 211, which the school board strongly championed, was passed by both the Senate and House chambers of Georgia’s General Assembly and now heads to Governor Nathan Deal’s desk for his signature. The bill provides direction to give local systems maximum flexibility on assessments by providing for research-based assessments in grades 1-2, with the goal being real-time data analysis.

The bill also would direct the GDOE’s existing ESSA assessment workgroup to pursue maximum flexibility for assessments under federal law. It further provides for a comparability study to determine and establish the concordance of nationally recognized academic assessments with content standards and assessments in Grades 9-12.

House Bill 338 also goes to the governor’s desk for signature. The bill creates the “Office of School Turnaround” and a “Chief Turnaround Officer” as well a definition for turnaround-eligible schools. The bill provides for gradual escalation of consequences based on levels of performance and cooperation with a three-year turnaround implementation plan. It also creates levels of support, such as turnaround coaches and third-party supports, to help struggling schools.

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