MACON, Ga. — The Bibb County School District wants to be more competitive with their pay scale, so they're considering raises across the board.
But to make that plan work, it may mean higher property taxes. Superintendent Dan Sims says the district is behind districts of similar size, so they want to bridge the gap.
"What we're striving to do is to put ourselves in the right direction so that when people consider employment, and consider a great city, they see the great city of Macon and they see our district as a viable opportunity," Sims said.
That's the cornerstone of the budget, he says. Certified teachers would see a $2,500 salary bump from the state, plus another 2% from the district. Non-certified employees would get a 5% raise. Some of those employees, like para-professionals, bus drivers, groundskeepers and school resource officers would get up to 10%.
"Identified leadership positions" from assistant principals to deputy superintendents would get a 2% pay boost. The district's chief communications officer, technology administrator, communications manager and director of talent would each get specified raises ranging from $22,475 to $3,045, according to the proposed budget presentation from the board's last work session.
"Those raises are in response to that research that we were able to do with a consultant to show us how far behind we were," Sims said.
Sims told the school board last week he recommended they choose the budget that would raise their millage rate by 1.5 mills. That means the owner of a $100,000 house would pay about $50 more in property taxes. Sims says it's all about planning for the future.
"What we need in place is a sufficient fund balance to be able to make good decisions to recruit, and most importantly, retain employees for a city that is growing," Sims said.
Besides pay raises, the district is also looking to put more money into school improvement, literacy and career readiness.
"All of these are based on us going through program audits to determine what it is that we need to retain of our programs and resources and what we can sunset," Sims explained.
The school district's millage rate is separate from the Macon-Bibb County millage rate. The school board and county commissioners each approve their own rates. Those are added together to help determine your property tax bill.
Macon-Bibb County is projecting a millage rate rollback for next year.