Trussville school board approves teacher pay raise

Over 500 Trussville City School teachers and school employees will see a 3-percent pay increase next month thanks to the Trussville City Schools Board of Education and the Alabama Legislature, the Trussville Tribune reports.

Trussville City Schools board of education unanimously approved the 2018-2019 salary schedule Monday evening,  welcoming its faculty and staff back to the new school year with a .5-percent TCS salary increase in addition to the state’s 2.5-percent increase.

Alabama HB174 enacts a 2.5-percent salary increase for public education employees of K-12 public schools, the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB), the Department of Youth Services School District, the Alabama School of Fine Arts, the Alabama High School of Mathematics and Science, and two-year, post-secondary institutions under the Community College System’s board of trustees.

The statewide salary increase will cost the state about $91 million annually and is part of the approved 2019 education budget, which calls for spending $6.6 billion from the Education Trust Fund. It is the largest education budget for Alabama’s schools since the great recession of 2008.

Although the state-funded pay increase becomes effective October 1, 2018, the TCS Board will implement the combined 3-percent increase to its teachers and school employees beginning July 1. The state will provide reimbursement to  TCS beginning in October of this year.

“I appreciate the hard work of every employee in Trussville City Schools and a salary increase is a wonderful way to say thank you for serving the students of Trussville,” said Superintendent Pattie Neill.

“Anytime we can give our employees a raise, we will,” added TCS Board President Kathy Brown. “Our employees are the cornerstone of our school system and we, as a board, appreciate the incredible work they do for our students and also our community.”