The Cumberland County Board of Education unanimously approved Superintendent Dr. Marvin Connelly Jr.'s recommended budget for fiscal year 2024-25 — but not without facing some tough truths about teacher pay.
The discussion came during Tuesday’s board meeting as Associate Superintendent of Business Operations Jay Toland took questions from the board about the proposed budget. Toland initially presented the budget to board members on April 9, facing only one question from board member Greg West, but Tuesday was a different story as Chairperson Deanna Jones raised the topic of teacher bonuses.
“I know we approved the retention bonuses, but I would like to see more done with it,” Jones said. “I’ve had discussions with the teachers … Some of them are leaving. They’re going to other counties. And some of them are just leaving the profession altogether.”
Retention bonuses for this school year range from $300 for teachers with one year of service to $2,100 for teachers with 30 years of service or more, according to Cumberland County Schools documents.
Board members Jacquelyn Brown and Judy Musgrave echoed Jones’ concerns.
“If we can give huge pay raises to some people, it does make it look real funny when you can’t do it for the people who are down in the trenches,” Musgrave said.
Members of Connelly’s cabinet received up to 15% raises in January. Toland, the highest-paid member of Connelly’s cabinet, made $187,616.46 in 2023 but did not receive a raise.
Toland cautioned the board that they would already be asking the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners for a $3.5 million increase in funding from last year because of increased utility costs and state-mandated pay raises and benefit matching. The school system will be requesting just over $91 million from the county, CityView previously reported.
Associate Superintendent of Human Resources Ruben Reyes noted the board asked the county to approve an average 2% increase to teacher supplements in 2022, but county commissioners rejected the request.
Reyes said the average teacher in Cumberland County Schools received a bonus of $966 last September, and bonuses will be paid again this September.
West said he agreed teachers should receive larger bonuses, but said the timing of the discussion was simply too late in the budget process.
“The budget cycle is a months-long process, and by law, it’s due to the county commissioners in seven or eight days,” he said, referencing the deadline of May 15 for submission to the county. “I think it’s too late to go there this year.”
West suggested making the topic a priority next year, which he and his colleagues ultimately agreed to do.
Board member Donna Vann called the reality of teacher pay “disheartening,” adding that many teachers must work additional jobs to provide for their families.
“We’ve got teachers, we’ve got coaches that are Uber drivers,” she said. “They are delivering food just to make ends meet. That’s not what a premier professional needs to be doing to make ends meet.”
Furthermore, Vann noted, taxes cut significantly into bonuses.
“You’re told you’re going to get a $1,500 bonus and you get $600, $700,” she said. “I realize there’s a law, but bonuses are not paychecks.”
Brown said she feared teachers would leave for private and charter schools rather than await higher pay.
“You’re going to lose them,” she said.
The budget will now be forwarded to the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners for approval.
In other business:
The board will next meet at 6 p.m. June 11 at the Central Services Building at 2465 Gillespie St.
Reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@cityviewnc.com or 910-423-6500.
This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501c3 charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.
