By Vallean Jackson, For The Tribune
JEFFERSON COUNTY — Jefferson County Board of Education held a committee and special board meeting on Tuesday, May 10, to discuss the terms of two of the four new principals set to start in the summer, approve listed recommendations, and discuss the salary increase for teachers.
Following Huddleston and the finance report from Laura Nance, payroll director Brandon Seigman had the room eager to hear about the teacher salary raise details.
“Two bills were passed involving active public education employees’ salaries. 2022-285 pay raise that provides a 4 percent pay increase to public education employees beginning with the fiscal year 2022-23. 2022-393 adjustments to the state teacher salary matrix that says within the ETF budget for 2023 it provides for the expansion of the state teacher salary matrix,” Seigman said. “The pay raise is required to go into effect by October 1, if approved, it would be effective July 1, and employees would see the raise on the first check of the new year.”
Seigman went on to say that if the schedule is approved, public education employees will make more than the state matrix. Doing this helps Jefferson County stay competitive and helps with recruitment and retaining those employees. As well as make sure that those made salary changes are sustained and do not have to be changed three years down the road.
“I find it very important to look at the long-term aspect when it comes to salary increase as it helps us to see where we are, so I truly thank you for looking into that,” president Carita Venable said. “I have been on the other side of that before, and to have the long-term view of this helps prevent having to lose those teachers.”
Gonsoulin was pegged with the question of what departments had to lose funding in order to have these raises, and he stated that funding was not taken from anywhere else to be able to provide the increase as the state provided it.
“Pay raises in teachers’ salaries are way overdue,” Gonsoulin said. “One of the hardest things to hear is teachers saying that they aren’t getting paid enough. This opportunity is vital to make sure those raises are sustained. We can’t give it to them and then have to take it back. This is why we have to always be looking five years or more down the road. The chance to invest in our teachers…there is not too much that can top that as well as to be able to continue to provide those great teaching opportunities for our students.”
Superintendent Dr. Walter Gonsoulin recognized visitors, by disclosing the following:
- Michael Bissell, that will be the principal of Chalkville Elementary (CES), has a 24-month contract effective July 1 and expires June 30, 2024; and
- Brandi Wilson, who will be the principal of Kermit Johnson Elementary (KJES), also has a 24-month contract effective July 1 and expires June 30, 2024.
In other business, the bid for the JROTC facility at Pleasant Grove High School (PGHS), the recommendation for out of state/overnight field trips, student expulsion, construction concerns pertaining to Erwin Middle School (EMS), the event contract with Dave and Buster’s for Pinson Valley High School (PVHS), the contract with R&B transportation for PGHS, and the lease agreement with Pitney Bowes for Hueytown Middle School (HMS) were all approved.
Leading into the committee meeting after the board’s executive meeting and Dr. Gonsoulin made his announcements regarding the annual Exceptional Prom for their Ed Students that will be held May 19 at the Finley Center in Hoover from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with the theme of “A Time to Remember” and their annual 2nd Mile teacher dinner being held on the evening of May 10 at the Botanical Gardens, John Huddleston presented the communications report.
“If we do not tell our story, somebody else will,” Huddleston said before he got into the categories of news and the percentages of each category pertaining to JEFCOED. The outcomes revealed that the majority of the news pertaining to JEFCOED is positive news, and one of their many goals is to continue increasing their social media presence. As mentioned by Huddleston, the increased presence on various platforms help to create more awareness among parents, students, the board, the community, and more.
In other matters, Secretary Orletta Rush discussed the proposal from Resonant Education, the contracted services agreement with Animal Tales, LLC for Bryant Park Elementary (BPES), and the contracted services agreement with SHORT (the squirrel literacy initiative for Bryant Park Elementary).
The next board meeting will be Thursday, May 26, at 10 a.m.