COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland One teachers, bus drivers, and eligible non-teachers are on track to get a pay bump after the Richland County council passed their budget Tuesday.
The budget includes raises for starting teacher salary from $43,640 to $50,100, and increases across the teacher pay scale by an average of 9%. The district hopes it will help make pay more competitive and bring teachers into the classroom, Superintendent Dr. Craig Witherspoon says.
"Our folks are very deserving." said Witherspoon. "It keeps us competitive with some of our neighbors here locally and across the state in a time when getting and retaining teachers is at a premium so we are pleased to be in this position."
The district had to cut down on certain items in the budget like after school programs to afford the pay raises after Richland County denied the district’s request for a tax increase.
"We did have to make some choices," said Witherspoon. "We hope to see our way clear mid year this year to be able to reinstate those things."
Having extra pay can be invaluable when teachers are juggling so many things, says Dreher High School dance teacher Kathleen Lee.
"This is coming at the right time for my family, because we have a lot of financial stressors right now," said Lee. "I have tow kids that are going to be in college together next year for one year. I have a mother that’s on hospice. I’m literally paying by the hour for somebody to be with my mother while I’m at my high school working extra hours beyond the school day to do marching band and do other things. So for me that lowers my stress level a little bit to be like, "Wow, maybe I can pay all the bills."
Giving pay raises is vital for both starting out teachers and veterans, especially with so many fields competing to recruit those with teacher credentials, says Palmetto State Teacher's Association's Patrick Kelly.
"Our schools have to be able to pay a competitive salary for those individuals to attract them into the teaching position and then to keep them there so I think this is a step into the right direction in terms of recruiting them into the profession," Kelly says.
But he says there is still work to be done by all school districts to improve working conditions if they want to keep teachers in the classroom.
"I think it’s also important in Richland One and elsewhere to focus on the working conditions issues that veteran teachers across the state have been telling policy makers conclusively have to be addressed if we are going to retain teachers," Kelly said.
A full pay schedule hasn't been released yet, but Dr. Witherspoon says he hopes it will be available this week. Pay raises will be in effect for the start of this upcoming school year.