Fulton Schools Budget Includes Teacher Raises, Holds Class Sizes Steady

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The Fulton County School Board on Thursday gave tentative approval tonight to the fiscal year 2016 budget, the first official step toward implementing raises for teachers and staff for the 2015-16 school year.

Final approval is slated for June 9.

“When I arrived in Fulton County Schools four years ago, it was immediately clear that our teachers and staff were in dire need of a raise,” said Superintendent Robert Avossa. “Georgia was facing some of its darkest budget years, and going without a raise for so long was tough on our employees. This salary increase both feeds their morale and their faith that we recognize their hard work and want to compensate it.”

The budget proposed by Avossa includes a 3 percent raise plus a step increase for eligible non-teaching and a tiered raise structure for teachers that corresponds with their years on the step schedule. Steps are how school systems define an employee’s years of experience and compensate them accordingly.

Under the tiered structure, more than half of Fulton’s teachers could see an 8- to 10-percent increase in pay next year. Teachers on Steps 0-5 would receive a 4-percent raise plus a step increase; those on Steps 6-20 would receive an 8-percent raise plus a step increase; and those on Steps 21-26 would receive a 4-percent raise plus a step increase. Teachers above Step 26 would receive a 4-percent raise only.

“We’re very fortunate to now be in a place where salary increases and step raises can again be considered,” Avossa stated. “I applaud our school board’s fiscal oversight in the most lean budget years so this could happen.”

Under Dr. Avossa’s leadership, Fulton County Schools is the only metro Atlanta district that has been able to offer some financial increase to its employees for four consecutive years, including a 3-percent salary increase two years ago, and the elimination of furlough days five years ago. This year, the district also is offering signing bonuses, ranging from $1,000 to $2,500, to new teaching recruits.

Instruction – at nearly 67 percent of the general fund – remains the largest allocation of the proposed budget, with the remaining 33 percent budgeted for pupil transportation, maintenance and operations and other administrative functions.

The tentative budget also keeps class sizes the same and does not include any staff reductions or furlough days for employees. A combined millage rate of 18.502 also is proposed, and if approved, it will remain the same for a sixth consecutive year.

The breakdown of the fiscal year 2016 tentative budget:

• General Fund: $921,334,693
• School Nutrition Fund: $41,578,757
• Debt Service Fund: $19,986,472
• Special Revenue Fund: $50,016,965
• Capital Program Fund: $181,801,902
• Pension Fund: $33,784,979
• Student Activity Fund: $20,000,000
• Total All Funds: $1,268,503,768

In 2013, Fulton County Schools adopted a new budgeting approach, called modified zero-based budgeting, that closely aligns funding needs with the district’s priorities.

The budget was developed using this process and it required that the budget be developed from the bottom up and based on demonstrated need rather than just approving incremental increases or decreases.