State Funding Revisions and Teacher Pay

Today, the Greenville County Schools Administration provided a presentation to the GCS Board of Trustees at the Committee of the Whole meeting about the proposed FY 2023 budget revisions from the state. It has been widely reported that the state will provide a $4,000 pay raise for all teachers, but as details about the budget and the new funding formula have been shared very recently, it has become apparent that is not an accurate picture and is not possible as it is outlined at this point.

Greenville County Schools understands that this is the beginning of the budget process and that the proviso states that districts have the flexibility to use the funds as determined by the local school board to meet the educational needs of students, which means it is not required for districts to use the funding for teacher raises. However, if Greenville County Schools used all of the $19 million of funding from the state as outlined for teacher raises, the amount is not sufficient. In order to provide $4,000 raises to all GCS teachers with the needed fringe benefits and the required annual step increase, it would cost $33 million, which means there’s a $14 million shortfall.

Download/View Board Presentation

The District is meeting with principals and teacher representatives from all GCS schools tomorrow to share this information.