Chatham County Schools presents FY2025 funding request, seeks larger teacher supplement and classified pay changes

Chatham County Schools officials briefed the Board of Commissioners on April 15 about a FY2025 funding proposal aimed at addressing workforce pressures, scaling up teacher supplements and covering rising employee benefit costs.

School leaders said a suite of proposals includes a new classified pay scale (presented as a $1.4 million item), a health-insurance cost increase and a proposal to raise the district’s average teacher supplement. Staff presented an option that would raise the average certified-teacher supplement by roughly $2,700; the school system estimated that option would cost about $3.68 million. School finance staff summarized the total local current-expense request at roughly $5.268 million and added a capital-outlay request of about $6.016 million for school facilities needs.

School leaders said the request also includes state-driven increases in employer retirement and benefit costs and a planned 3 percent classified pay raise already in the state budget. Speakers framed the supplement proposal as a response to recruitment and retention pressures in a highly competitive regional labor market; the board heard that Chatham had fallen outside its prior “top-10” position for average supplements as comparable districts changed their supplements or reduced ESSER-funded support.

Commissioners asked about trade-offs, the pace of any supplement increase, and whether some investment could be targeted to student health and mental-health supports. School staff said they would prioritize retention and closing certified-staff vacancies but acknowledged the county’s broader fiscal constraints and the need to coordinate choices with other county priorities.

No final appropriation was made at the meeting; school leaders said they will continue to refine budget priorities and work with county staff on options for phased or partial implementation.