Catoosa County schools budget sees boost in teacher spending

RINGGOLD, Ga. - Catoosa County Schools' local pay rate for teachers is going up for the first time in years. How long has it been? Nobody on staff can remember, said Blake Stansell, the system's director of finance.

But, he added, it hasn't happened in at least two decades.

"We had to go back, searching through records," he said Thursday night, after the board of education's second of three budget hearings.

The board's proposed budget calls for a boost in the local supplement for certified teachers this year of 5 percent and a 3 percent pay increase for classified staff. This means a total of about $70,000 extra for certified teachers and $362,000 for classified staff, such as janitors and bus drivers. (Unlike certified staff, who mostly receive money from the county, teachers are almost entirely state funded.)

The spending is a reflection of the key change in the district's budget this year, when the board expects to take in about $5 million more overall than last year and spend an extra $5.6 million. The bulk of that money will go to teacher salaries and pension contributions.

The local supplement is additional payment to certified teachers on top of what the state gives them. Superintendent Denia Reese said the board and central office staff have pushed for it since they adopted their six-year strategic plan in 2015.

"We have worked very hard to increase the supplements for our coaches, to increase the supplements for our teachers," Reese said during a budget hearing Thursday night.

"It seemed like a far reach [three years ago]," board Chairman Don Dycus said. "Congratulations to you and all your staff for moving so many that seemed impossible at the time in that direction. Good job."

Overall, the board's budget calls for $105.6 million in general fund revenue, a 5 percent increase from last year. The elected officials also forecast $107.8 million in spending, a 5.5 percent increase.

The budget calls for a decrease in the general fund balance, dropping it from $13.8 million to $11.6 million. Catoosa County Schools spokeswoman Marissa Brower said the drop may not actually be that dramatic. The board usually overestimates how many employees will enroll in health insurance when it makes the budget.

Compared to past years, Brower said, there is no key initiative to highlight in the budget, such as boosted spending for more technology in the classroom. Instead, this year's budget was focused on teacher spending. In addition to the local supplement boost, the system will pay about $950,000 more than last year as the result of step increases - the mandated raises for teachers who have gained another year of experience or have gone through extra training and education.

But a bigger increase in spending is going toward pensions. Last year, the Teacher Retirement System of Georgia's board voted to increase the employer contributions for the fund, from 16.81 percent to 20.9 percent. That rate is the amount the school district has to give to the fund, based on total salaries.

In Catoosa County, the board expects that will result in an extra $2.1 million in spending this year.

Revenues

The biggest boost in revenue will come from the state. The board expects to receive $4.2 million more this year, a 6 percent increase from last year. The key driver? The state Legislature's budget, which called for Georgia to fully fund the Quality Basic Education formula for the first time since 2002.

QBE is an equation, passed by the legislature in the 1980s, to try to fairly fund all school districts in the state. Districts are supposed to get money based on the number of students they have in 19 different categories. The district receives more money for certain students than it does for others. For example, a high school senior in standard classes does not cost as much money to educate as a kindergarten student or a special education student.

But Georgia districts have not received full funding, based on the formula, in more than a decade. And in addition to full funding, the district also gets more money because it boasts about 130 more full-time-equivalent students than it did last year, Brower said.

Unlike in Tennessee, districts in Georgia impose their own property taxes. Here, Stansell said, combined property values have increased by $55.9 million. As a result, the board will roll back the tax rate and take in about the same amount of local money.

The tax rate will drop from 17.756 mills to 17.171 mills. This rate is separate from the county's local government, which is still forming its budget.

Expenses

In addition to increases in teacher salaries this year, the district plans to hire 13 more teachers, bringing the total number up to 819 in the system. The district is also hiring five more school resource officers for about $200,000.

While the district will cover salaries and benefits for the officers, the county commissioners have agreed to cover other costs, such as uniforms and vehicles. The officers will be divided among between the district's 10 elementary schools.

Overall, Catoosa County Schools featured 10,748 students in March, the last time enrollment figures were submitted to the Georgia Department of Education.

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.