At Monday evening's regular meeting of the Berkeley County Board of Education, members voted unanimously to approve a three percent pay increase for all employees effective April 15, 2024 with a May 15, 2024 pay date. Members also unanimously approved phase one of a salary study which will raise minimum pay for full time positions to $15 an hour.
BCSD Superintendent Dr. Anthony Dixon said he could not be more appreciative of the Board’s ongoing commitment to increasing teacher and staff pay as, last June, the Board approved a 6.5 percent pay increase for all employees. The recent votes also come right on the heels of a historic $10,000 recruitment and retention incentive for special education teachers.
“There is no doubt that this board is prioritizing teacher and staff pay again and again,” Dixon said. “We are thankful to be in a financial position to continue increasing pay without resident millage increases, and we are excited about the work we will do on the 2024-2025 budget to ensure we are retaining and recruiting the very best for Berkeley County.”
During Monday’s meeting, the administration also reviewed phase one of an ongoing salary study, with the Board approving the designation of $1,516,785 from fund balance to complete.
“The goal for phase one of the salary study was to align job responsibilities to equitable pay and appropriately compensate our classified employees and non-teaching professionals for their years of relevant job experience gained in the private sector,” said Chief Human Resources Officer Aimee Fulmer. “Members of our board have expressed their desire and commitment to raising pay for employees to, at least, $15 an hour for full time positions, and, with this vote, they have achieved that goal.”
Michael Ramsey, Chair of the Finance and Human Resources Committee and District 1 representative, says this recent pay increase is still just the beginning.
“We are very happy to be able to approve this three percent pay increase tonight; however, we want to reassure our employees that teacher and staff pay remains our priority,” Ramsey said. “We will be transitioning into our budget planning for next school year, and competitive compensation for teachers and staff will anchor us. I appreciate the work of the administration and my fellow board members to keep us on track to realizing our goal of increasing first year teacher pay to $50,000 by 2026, or sooner.”
You can find more information about career opportunities at BCSD schools and the district by visiting the BCSD careers page: https://www.bcsdschools.net/careers