MACON, Ga. — Governor Brian Kemp spoke with Central Georgia educators about his initiatives to support teachers across the state.
“The pay raise is a step, but it's not everything. We have to show a commitment for a number of years to let educators know that we appreciate them, that we need them,” he said.
The Bibb County School Board is doing their part to help. “We're able to fund the $3,000 that the governor has put into place for most of our teachers,” Superintendent Curtis Jones said, “But as you know, we have more teachers than what we're authorized by the state.”
Bibb County School Board Members took their support a step further by approving an amendment to the 2019 budget that would give all full-time employees a one-time 2% bonus.
“We've had a good year, good attendance, good discipline and we wanted to be able to recognize the hard work they've put in,” Jones said.
District leaders said they had enough money in the 2019 budget to put $3 million back in their employees' pockets for the hard work put into the district's success this year. “We had heard about Governor Kemp's, but we had no idea that this other bonus was coming,” Central High School IB History Teacher Josh McCorkle said. “So when it was announced, we were all caught by surprise, but we totally feel supported.”
With the district's National Superintendent of the Year achievement, Central High’s Band Director Michael Scott said Jones wanted to make sure his staff knew they were the ones to make it happen. “He stated to us that he feels that he feels that it could not have been accomplished without the collective works of everybody in the entire county so to include all full-time staff is a huge deal,” Scott said.
District employees should get their bonuses at the end of June. Board members also discussed cutting property taxes by half a mill, which they will vote on at the end of June.