May 18, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
DeKalb County teachers and support staff will be getting another pay raise with passage of the 2023-24 budget, and they have the Board of Education and Director of Schools to thank for it.
During Thursday night’s regular monthly meeting, the School Board adopted the new 2023-24 budget which includes a raise of $3,000 per teacher and other certified personnel and a $2,000 increase in pay for support staff. That’s up from the $2,000 per teacher pay hike and the $1,000 increase for support staff granted this past year.
According to Director of Schools Patrick Cripps, this pay raise would put starting salaries for teachers in DeKalb County at $50,000 per year.
Director Cripps will present the proposed spending plan for schools to the budget committee of the DeKalb County Commission next Tuesday night, May 23. The school budget must be recommended by the county budget committee and approved by the full county commission before it can be implemented.
In other business, the Board voted 6-0 to grant Director Cripps a one-year contract extension. Board member Jason Miller was absent. Member Danny Parkerson had earlier moved to grant a two-year contract extension, but the board opted for a one-year extension instead.
Cripps’ contract was to run through June 30, 2023, but a year ago he was granted a one-year extension by the Board to run through at least June 30, 2024. This new extension would make his contract run through June 30, 2025. Cripps has been Director since July, 2015.
Cripps’ base salary according to the contract is $100,000 in the 2023-24 budget but he is entitled to the same salary raises that the Board shall grant to all licensed employees going forward.
The director’s contract is typically reviewed after his annual performance evaluation which shows if he is meeting “most” expectations of the board. According to Chairman Shaun Tubbs, the board gave Cripps and overall average score of 4.32 out of a possible 6 score in its performance evaluation of him.
The board adopted school calendars for both the 2024-25 and the 2025-26 school years and gave permission for the DCHS Football Program to build an addition to the press box provided that the plans meet safety and code regulations.
A motion by Board member Jim Beshearse was approved for DCHS to have a TSSAA sanctioned track and field/cross country program of its own without local high school athletes having to compete in the Warren County program under a cooperative agreement between the two schools.