Salary increases are on the way for Cobb County School District employees.

The district’s fiscal year 2022 general fund budget, which is about $1.2 billion, was approved Thursday by the Cobb County School Board.

Every permanent employee will see raises ranging from 4% to 8.6%, the district said. Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the raises are a small way to thank district teachers and staff for their work during the last year.

“It has taken every single team member to get through this year, and I could not be more proud of our team,” he said.

The budget and the pay increases go into effect July 1. Cobb’s budget does not include a tax increase, furloughs or layoffs. Pay raises would be applied in addition to any increases eligible employees are entitled to each year based on experience.

Chief Financial Officer Bradley Johnson said the budget is based on the county seeing a 5.54% increase in its tax digest, and the restoration of about 60% of $62 million that was cut from the current budget due to a statewide 10% cut in spending.

Cobb schools is the largest employer in the county with about 18,000 workers, about 7,300 of which are teachers, according to its website. The district is the second largest in the state with about 107,000 students.