Posted 8:39 am Wednesday, August 15, 2012
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Jacksonville ISD employees scheduled for pay raise of 2 percent
Jacksonville ISD employees are slated to receive a pay raise next school year if trustees approve the district's proposed budget.
Teachers, librarians, counselors and nurses would receive a step raise that averages about 2 percent, Superintendent Dr. Joe Wardell said. Other employees, including custodians, maintenance workers, bus drivers, office personnel and administrators, would get a raise of up to 2 percent. Jacksonville ISD has right at 900 employees.
"We just feel like it's very important for our employees," Wardell said. "Health insurance is going up, and naturally expenses are going up. We felt like it was the right thing to do to try to do that for (them)."
He said salaries make up 85 percent of the district's budgeted expenses, so it is one of the biggest items to address when going through the budget process.
According to a budget presentation, total proposed revenue for 2012-13 is $34.6 million. In order to facilitate that budget, the district is proposing the same tax rate as last year -- $1.32 per $100 valuation with $1.04 for maintenance and operations and 28 cents for debt service. That's a 19-cent increase from two years ago, when the tax rate was $1.13 per $100 valuation.
The increase was put in place because of the district's nearly $50 million bond issue, which voters approved in November 2010.
The bond includes new Joe Wright and East Side elementary schools, a new cafeteria, additional classrooms and an expanded library for Fred Douglass Elementary School, and a new cafeteria and cafeteria building, an academic wing with eight science labs and hallways to connect to the main building at Jacksonville High School.
This year, Wardell said the district was conservative with its budget again.
For instance, every year when an employee leaves, the district evaluates whether the position is needed for the future, he said. An instruction technology director position was added so there would be a designated person to work directly with teachers on operating new technology. An administrative position at East Side Elementary School also was eliminated, and a couple of teaching positions were consolidated, Wardell said.
School board members could adopt the proposed budget and tax rate Aug. 27. If they do, teachers would see a raise on their first check at the end of September.
