AC School Board OKs raises for employees

Information from WYSH Radio

Thursday night, the Anderson County School Board unanimously approved pay raises for some 600 certified employees of the school system and about 400 classified employees.

Certified staff will receive a $1,000 raise, which equals about 2 percent.

Classified staff will receive a 48-cent-per-hour raise, which equals about $1,000 for all 260-day classified staff as well.

School officials point out that some staff members do not work the 260-day-a-year schedule, so their raise will not equal $1,000.

Certified personnel include teachers and administrators, while classified personnel include custodians, cafeteria workers, and teachers’ assistants.

Funding for the raises came from last month’s vote by the Anderson County Commission to raise the property tax rate by eight cents.

At first, officials had proposed two percent wage hikes for all of the system’s employees, but during meetings between school leaders and members of the local teachers’ union, concerns were raised that a flat two percent increase would benefit higher-paid central office staff and administrators more than it would help lower-paid workers, hence the $1,000 a year raises for certified employees.

Both increases represent raises of approximately 2 percent.

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