Berkeley County School District teachers and staff will begin their school year with a historic 6.5% pay increase. Employees eligible for the additional state STEP increase will receive an almost 8.5% pay raise. The increase was included in the unanimous approval of the FY 2023-2024 general fund budget at the meeting of the Berkeley County Board of Education on Monday, June 26, without a resident millage increase.
See FY 2023-2024 BCSD Teacher Salary Schedule
“This was my first budget experience as Superintendent, and I could not be more appreciative of the support we received from our Board and stakeholders to increase teacher and staff pay,” said BCSD Superintendent Dr. Anthony Dixon. “One of our priority goals this budget season was to work together to address the obvious teacher and staff compensation concerns. We met that goal without compromising needed school support and resources.”
The budget approval and employee pay increase comes right on the heels of the $5,000 incentive payment approved for all employees in April. The Board also approved an increase of the salary schedule to 30 years, with a plan to add additional years over a three-year period, positively impacting seasoned educators and district employees.
“This is only the beginning in Berkeley County,” said Board Chair Mac McQuillin. “This Board has committed to providing staff incentives and pay increases as funding continues to grow, without shifting that burden to taxpayers, including raising our first year teacher pay to a minimum of $50,000 by 2026. When a school board can work seamlessly with administration to act in the best interest of employees, students, and families, the sky will be the limit for our district.”
Newly appointed BCSD Chief Financial Officer Marcie Abrahamson led the District as an interim through the budget cycle. She says that the district will remain focused on providing support for academic growth, student enrollment increases, and employee recruitment and retention.
“As Board Chair McQuillin referenced, we have committed to conducting a FY23-24 mid-year budget review to determine if actual revenues are higher than projected,” said Abrahamson. “If actual revenues are higher than projected, the administration will bring a budget amendment to the Board for consideration, which could provide either a retroactive pay increase for all employees or a one time incentive. We will also establish a salary review committee to begin work in July to examine all salary schedules and ensure employee salaries are fair and competitive at every level.”
The approved $418,002,923 general fund balanced budget will support school and district operations and programming, with 85% of the budget invested in teacher and staff salaries and benefits.
Budget highlights:
- 50 teacher and school support positions approved by the Board in March 2023
- Increase in service days of bus assistants, bus drivers, and student bus transportation office support
- Increase in school classified staff & teacher assistants hours to support teacher focused unencumbered time policy
- 6.5% increase in salary for all employees (almost 8.5% for employees who qualify for state STEP increase)
- Continued focus on the BCSD Instructional Framework and continued improvement in teaching and learning models