Funding approach would make GCS more competitive in labor market

Greensboro, N.C. – A new approach to classified employee pay grades is part of Superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley’s budget recommendation, presented to the Board of Education today.

Following the district’s salary study findings, Oakley presented a plan to better align classified pay ranges with the current labor market at an estimated cost of $38.4 million.

“I also propose restructuring the pay scales of our classified staff, who often don’t see a raise until after their 15th year of employment. In some cases, supervisors are earning the same rate of pay as those they supervise,” she said in her letter to the Board of Education. “By reducing the number of steps on the pay scale and making each pay grade financially distinct, we can add value to the positions we offer, reduce turnover and decrease our vacancy rate, better serving both our students and our hard-working employees.”

Under Oakley’s proposed budget, teachers would also see an increase in pay. The superintendent is calling for a $10 million increase in the local supplements, which are funds that teachers receive in addition to their state-funded salaries.

GCS currently ranks 11th for its supplement amount, behind Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Durham, Wake and Forsyth counties. Guilford is one of only four large districts in the state that did not receive additional state funding last year for this purpose, despite having higher child poverty, food insecurity and a lower median family income compared to Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Durham, Wake and Forsyth counties.

“We are thankful that the county has supported supplement increases in recent years, but to remain competitive in the job market, we must make it a priority to keep our local supplement competitive. In Guilford County, we have some of the best and most experienced educators in the state serving our 68,000 students,” says Oakley. “Without them, we cannot and will not achieve our vision to transform learning and life outcomes for all students. By investing in our people, we are investing in our students’ future.”

In addition, the district anticipates an increase of $1.25 million for benefit rate increases and another $15.22 million for increases to charter school transfers, utilities and liability insurance. This brings the requested increase in funding from the Board of County Commissioners to $62.65 million.

If approved by the Board of County Commissioners, the district’s 2023-24 local current expense fund would be $311,064,573. Federal funding is estimated at $186,836,743 and state funds are projected to be $461,986,050 pending final approval from the North Carolina General Assembly. This puts the district's projected operating budget at $959,887,367 for the 2023-24 school year.

Oakley’s request also includes $10.2 million in capital outlay funds. The funding will support HVAC projects, technology equipment replacement, maintenance equipment replacement, roofing projects, activity bus replacement and systemwide finishes.

Including capital outlay funding, enterprise funds such as school nutrition ($42,545,000) and ACES ($6,246,733) and the special revenue fund, which includes grants ($10,594,252), the district’s proposed 2023-24 budget is $1,029,473,351.

The Guilford County Board of Education will meet again on May 9 to hold a public hearing on the budget and vote on a budget request to be sent to the Board of County Commissioners. The county must approve a final local budget by June 15. GCS will adopt an interim budget on June 22, pending the state’s final budget.