School Board Approves Proposed FY2025 Budget

In a press release issued yesterday afternoon, June 19, The Stephens County School System confirmed that the Stephens County Board of Education, at the Tuesday, June 18 meeting, adopted the tentative FY2025 budget as presented, unchanged from the proposed budget that was presented last month.

As previously reported by WNEG News, the school district’s $51.5 Million FY2025 budget is $3,670,910, or 7.68% higher than the adopted FY2024 budget of $47,787,815. Looking back to Fiscal year 2022, this just-adopted budget is 33%, or $12,767,496 above the FY2022 Budget of $38,691,229.

Below is the full press release: 

School Board Approves Proposed FY25 Budget

TOCCOA, Ga. — At its June 18, 2024, meeting, the Stephens County Board of Education (BOE) approved the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025. The $51 million budget includes salary increases for all employees, increases in health insurance costs, and consolidated and non consolidated federal funds allotted to the school system.

Relating to the salary increases, the approved budget includes a state-mandated $2,500 flat rate pay increase for certified employees (teachers) and a BOE-approved, locally funded $2,500 flat rate pay increase for full-time classified employees (support staff) that will be prorated for part-time classified employees. Certified employees will also receive a two percent increase in their local salary supplement.

According to Emily Bennett, Chief Financial Officer, heavily impacting the FY25 budget is a hefty increase in the employer-paid portion of the health insurance premiums. “The health insurance premiums for certified employees will increase to $21,360 annually or $1,780 monthly, for each certified employee. The health insurance premiums for classified employees will increase to $18,720 annually or $1,560 monthly for each classified employee.

Bennett states, “The total cost to the Stephens County School System for this one expense [employee health insurance premiums] is $900,000, an increase of 23 percent for FY25. Additional strains on the budget are continuously increasing maintenance and supply costs. The Teacher Retirement System (TRS) employer contribution portion will also increase by almost one percent per employee (from 19.98 to 20.78 percent) in FY25 totaling $743,000. Due to these operating expense increases, the millage rate will hold steady with no rollback.”