Gov. Nathan Deal and lawmakers got a lot of publicity for approving 3 percent pay raises for teachers this year, but thousands of educators never saw their salaries increase.
A Georgia Department of Education survey found that only 40 percent of school districts passed along the money as a salary hike.
About 40 percent more used at least some of the money on a one-time bonus — not necessarily 3 percent — for fear they couldn’t afford to pay for the raise in the future if the state didn’t continue funding it.
Others used the extra raise money — about $300 million statewide — to reduce teacher furloughs left over from the recession or to fill holes in their school system budgets. Some districts, the Department of Education reported, are still having teachers take days off without pay to cut costs years after the recession ended.
How school systems used the pay-raise money shows the clear split between urban and rural, have and have-not districts in Georgia. The Department of Education survey shows most urban districts gave pay raises, although not all the full 3 percent. Most who used it to cut furloughs or give one-time bonuses were districts from small-town Georgia.
To read more, including Deal's reaction, check out the full story on myajc.com.
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