Board discusses steps toward $50,000 teacher minimum and trade-offs for paraprofessionals
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Summary
Trustees reviewed salary schedules, heard staff note paraprofessional pay rose roughly 32% since 2019 and certified pay about 24% in earlier years, and discussed options for phasing toward a $50,000 teacher minimum depending on state and federal funding.
Members of the Coffee County Board of Education discussed the district's salary schedules and how to approach a state-focused $50,000 teacher minimum.
A trustee asked how many teachers would need raises to reach the $50,000 threshold; staff responded that "if all of them are still with us" the count would be about 43 teachers. Staff also summarized earlier pay changes: paraprofessional/classified scales have increased about 32% since 2019 and certified scales averaged roughly 24% over a comparable period. "We've increased this scale by 32%," S6 said while describing changes to the classified pay schedule.
Trustees acknowledged planning would depend on final state and federal funding. Staff said the district has prebuilt scale plans that can be phased to raise lower-paid positions first and then give smaller top-end raises to make the move financially manageable. The board did not adopt a firm raise schedule at this meeting; trustees directed staff to return with comparative salary figures and contingency plans once funding details are clearer.
