GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Guilford County Commissioners passed the County’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget.
That means that more money is coming to Guilford County Schools teachers and staff members as $395 million heads to support the school system including funding for operations, facility needs, and repayment of the voter-approved school bond.
GCS will be getting $15.4 million to support pay adjustments for classified employees, also referred to as the lowest paid. The Commissioners’ investment will allow the district to implement 40% of the superintendent’s “match market” plan, which has a total cost of $38.4 million to align classified pay ranges with the current labor market.
The money will decrease the percentage of classified staff making less than $16 per hour from 69% to 18%. Under the new pay scale, over 60% of classified staff will make over $18 per hour.
Members of classified staff are frontline workers, bus drivers, custodial staff, HVAC technicians, plumbers, electricians, and safety specialists, just to name a few. Last year alone, the district said operations staff completed nearly 30,000 work orders and school nutrition staff served over 11.4 million meals. They added, every day bus drivers drive over 42,000 miles and make 35,000 stops.
Those who do not benefit from the initial investment and only receive state legislative increases this upcoming year will be eligible for a bonus.
The school system said the passed budget, "is an important first step toward helping Guilford County Schools restructure the pay scales of classified staff, who often don’t see a raise until after their 15th year of employment."
“We are grateful to the Guilford County Commissioners for their support of public schools. Time and time again, they have demonstrated a deep commitment to making Guilford County Schools the best school district to learn, work and grow,” said Superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley.
“In addition to the funding for classified staff, this budget continues the County’s support of the $2 billion in voter-approved bonds for better schools, as well as maintaining current investments in our teachers and other team members,” said Board of Commissioners Chair Melvin “Skip” Alston. “This funding responsibility is not solely on the shoulders of the County taxpayers. Our local municipalities and state partners must also step up to support our county public school system. Tonight, our board presented a resolution imploring the North Carolina General Assembly to prioritize fully funding our public schools. This request is consistent with the state’s commitment to maintain its economic competitiveness and high national ranking as the number one state for business, by joining with us to help fund a well-educated workforce capable of filling the jobs available today and prepared for the ones created tomorrow. Together, by making significant investments to maximize the effectiveness of early childhood education in our county, we guarantee the commitment to our most precious resource and solidify our resolve to attract businesses to our area that will lead to the creation of economic prosperity for residents throughout Guilford County.”
Although there is no increase in teacher supplements this year, the district said the superintendent is recommending to the school board a $1,000 retention bonus to teachers across the district to be considered at their next meeting on June 22.
Since the 2016-2017 school year, the average teacher supplement in Guilford County has increased from $4,741 to $7,465.
$1.1 million is also going to expand school health services by adding ten school nurses and $150,000 to create a School Health Alliance partnership to support a sustainable model for school health clinics constructed during the $2 billion school construction bonds program.
Another thing to note in the approved budget for the county, residents will not see an increase in county property tax rates.
The Board maintained the County’s current general property tax rate of 73.05₵ per $100, while adjusting the County Manager’s Recommended Budget to support an additional $15 million in funding for education.
Fiscal Year 2024 begins July 1, 2023, and runs through June 30, 2024. The approved FY2024 budget will be available on the Guilford County website.