The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education is considering pay increase proposals for teachers and some other employees.
The finance committee is recommending an across the board increase of $2,000 for teachers and certified support staff. This includes positions such as social workers and school counselors.
District officials say most of it will come from the quarter-cent sales tax that voters passed in the spring. But they're still working on how to address pay bumps for bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and other classified staff.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools asked for extra money from county commissioners for these raises, but that wasn't approved. Instead, the committee is recommending a one-time 3 percent bonus that would be paid in November.
That money would come from savings due to school facility closures and SRO reductions.
WS/FCS Superintendent Angela Hairston says it's a good start.
“The only way we can make this a raise, meaning that it's ongoing past this year, would be to engage in a reduction of force or layoffs and nobody, nobody wants to do that," she says. "So with all that's gone on, this gets us a lot closer to moving in a good direction.”
Hairston says the district will revaluate pay schedules in the coming months to see if any other adjustments could be made.
The school board is expected to vote on the proposals during its meeting on Tuesday.
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