Draft BOE budget includes raises

Jim McIntyre

Knox County Schools on Wednesday released its preliminary proposal for the fiscal year 2017 general fund budget that will go to the Board of Education for review.

Superintendent Jim McIntyre is recommending a general school purpose budget of $453,500,000 - an increase of $15,500,000, or 3.54 percent, from the current budget.

At its core, the proposed budget includes approximately $12 million for educator salaries and benefits, including a 3 percent salary increase for teachers, maintaining current percentages paid by employees for health insurance, and offering Workers’ Compensation to certified employees for the first time.

Other highlights include:

• A 2 percent salary increase for classified employees.
• $56,000 to support the work of the Disparities in Educational Outcomes Task Force
• Increasing investment in the student transportation program by $1 million
• Sustaining KCS’s Personalized Learning Environment (PLE) effort and initiating a comprehensive instructional technology initiative at the high school level

“Our teachers and staff continue to do an extraordinary job of facilitating student learning and success in an era of great change and heightened expectation,” McIntyre said in a released statement. “A significant salary increase for our hard working teachers and support staff both recognizes their remarkable success with our students, and also ensures that the Knox County Schools can retain our outstanding educators and recruit the next generation of exceptional teachers.”

Once the BOE approves the plan, it will go to Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett to incorporate into his overall budget for the county. From there it will go to the Knox County Commission for final approval.