Guilford County, North Carolina — Guilford County Schools has proposed a budget for 2024-2025. During the board meeting, the Guilford County Educators Association called for these four elements.
1. Reinstate meaningful measures for school nutrition service personnel;
2. Veteran teachers of 15 years or more will receive raises funded by qualified local grants.
3. Three funds for classified pay level improvements based on projected market rates from the 2022 Pay Level Survey.
4. Fully implement a five-year commitment to increase locally certified supplements.
Of the proposed $977 million budget, $10 million would be earmarked for teacher raises. Currently, GCS is one of the lowest in the surrounding area. lower than Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
“The problem is that teacher compensation, vacancy rates in the profession, everything is under fire,” Oakley said. I don’t think it’s a sustainable strategy, whether it’s at the state level or the legislative level, to just go to commissioners every year and try to find out what they can do to get through the next year. ”
The budget also includes $8.6 million for school nutrition in Phase 2 of the Classified Staff Compensation Plan. This ensures that staff are paid a salary commensurate with their years of experience. School nutrition staff have been on strike for just five months demanding better pay and conditions.
“We’re digging a very deep hole of decades of underfunding,” Oakley said.
Mr. Oakley mentioned teacher transfers. The rate for the past year was 18.3 percent, higher than the state and WSFCS.
“We still have a long way to go, and we must maintain the staff and leadership tools necessary to complete this work,” Oakley said.
The budget is still in its early stages at the moment, with the next meeting scheduled for May 7, when the public will have their say on what looks good and what doesn’t.
