By a unanimous 7-0 vote Thursday, the Cobb Board of Education approved a measure to increase a Cobb school employee pay raise over what was adopted in May.
The extra 1.5-percent raise comes on top of 1.1-percent raises that were previously approved for all 15,000 Cobb County School District employees, as well as 1.1-percent bonuses.
The school board also voted Thursday to establish the 2018 millage rate at 18.9 mills, a figure that has been in place for 11 years.
The Cobb schools fiscal year 2019 budget that began July 1 is $1.2 billion.
The raises will cost just under $22 million. The additional raises were proposed by Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale after the Cobb tax digest grew more than school officials anticipated.
They had forecast 6 percent growth, but the net tax digest increase for Cobb schools for 2018 ended up being 8.2 percent. The Cobb tax digest for this year is a record $36.7 billion.
Ragsdale said not all of the extra money is being used for the raises, although “a vast majority” of the $38 million more coming into school district coffers is. He said the school system wasn’t able to afford a pay raise last year and he wanted to reward staff when it was fiscally possible to do so.
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At a public hearing Thursday afternoon, Donna Rowe of the Cobb Association of Realtors expressed concern about basing pay raises on revenue from property values.
“That is a fluctuating thing and it is dictated by the market,” said Rowe, who is based at the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in East Cobb.
She said she was speaking as a citizen, mindful of the real estate market during the recession.
Ragsdale addressed that concern, saying that “we not spending every single dollar” of the tax digest windfall on raises.
“Yes, it’s recurring revenue, but it’s prudent for us to make sure that we are financially stable” in case of unexpected expenses, he said.
The board approved the pay raises without discussion.
The additional pay boost, which also will apply to substitute teachers, is “a great step forward,” said Cobb County Association of Educators head Connie Jackson, who had been pressing for a 2.6 percent raise.
That’s what has come to pass, thanks to the additional tax digest growth and another $10 million in state funding due to the termination of state education austerity cuts.
The bonuses will be paid in December. Eligible teachers also will be receiving STEP increases based on their years of service.
Cobb teachers returned this week to begin preparing for the 2018-19 school year. The first day of classes is Aug. 1.
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