After learning one administrative employee could stand to receive an $11,000 raise under the “40-80-80” plan, the Cumberland County Board of Education’s budget committee decided Monday to abandon the initiative.
“I’m giving the teachers $3,000. I can’t justify giving one person $11,000 in one year,” said board Chairwoman Teresa Boston, 8th District, who serves on the committee with Anita Hale, 4th District, and Chris King, 6th District.
The committee will convene Tuesday to further discuss pay raises to be included in the 2024-25 budget for school administrators. The meeting will start at 4:30 p.m. in Central Office at 368 Fourth St., Crossville.
Under the plan that was proposed last week, the teacher’s scale would be followed for paying certified administrators, with an additional $40 per day paid to assistant principals, with other administrators earning an additional $80 per day.
The committee tabled action at that time to enable members to further study it.
“Basically, the way that I had done this is I proposed the principals would be on the teachers scale,” said Kim Bray, the school district’s chief operating officer. “They would be the teacher, and then based on their years of experience and based on their education level, you divide that by 200, and that would get their daily rate. And then, if they’re a principal, you would add $80 a day and then multiply that by the number of days that they currently work.”
Teachers are paid for 200 working days, 180 of which are in the classroom with students.
“It would be very close on some people,” Bray added. “Some people would not get very significant raises, but we would not have to freeze anybody. Everybody would get a little something.”
She said the lower-end raises would be less than 1%. The highest would be 17% for the administrator receiving an $11,000 pay increase. The administrator nor their position were identified in Monday’s meeting.
“I don’t know what the solution is, and I’m not saying you’ve not worked your fingers off,” Boston told Bray. “I’m just saying I can’t do that.”
The raises through the 40-80-80 initiative would have added $162,832 to the budget for 33 school administrators who include assistant principals and above.
The budget committee last week favored giving the system’s teachers $3,000 across-the-board raises above the amount based on the teachers scale. Boston wondered if something similar can’t be done for administrators as well. That amount would add around $100,000 to the budget.
“We have other people in our system that need raises, too,” Hale said. “The bus drivers and cafeteria workers. And I know we gave them a little bit … but it’s pennies compared to what we’re giving the Central Office.”
Also to be discussed during Tuesday’s meeting is the proposed school budget for 2024-25. The budget and pay raises are pending final approval by the full school board and county commission.