Final approval came May 9 for the Henry County Board of Education’s 2022-2023 budget, which district officials said represents the largest local investment in students in the county’s history.

At $446.9 million, the new budget amounts to an average of $10,413 per student. That is an increase of nearly $1,200 over two years.

After recognized that state revenues were projecting better than expected, the school board took action to address competitive compensation for personnel members across the district, focusing more than 97 percent of district expenditures directly on teaching and learning environment operations, while also ensuring key features of the community-inspired five-year strategic plan are supported.

“When we began to lay out this year’s budget, we were thankful for a more stable and improved fiscal picture than what we have faced in previous years,” said Superintendent Mary Elizabeth Davis. “The strong local economy allowed us to advance many of our key initiatives for students while also ensuring our talented and dedicated workforce was compensated at a highly competitive level.”

Chief Financial Officer Shanika Clay reported that the final budget was slightly higher than the proposed budget considered a month earlier. The $5 million increase from the previous month’s report is the result of the district receiving preliminary funding guidance from the Georgia Department of Education.

“The passage of this budget is cause for hope and optimism to help our district achieve so much by way of the new strategic plan that our community helped craft,” said board chair Holly Cobb. “Whether that was uplifting our employees through more competitive compensation or addressing action items detailed in our five-year roadmap known as our strategic plan, everyone can be proud of this budget.”

Cobb’s comments on the action items detailed in the strategic plan point to investments such as the addition of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programming at every elementary school, while also expanding fine arts programs for every middle and high school. Additionally, robotics and coding programs will be added districtwide.
According to district officials, the board has been particularly focused on investing in its workforce and using a strong compensation package to attract and retain the highest caliber employees. The approved budget will provide a one-percent salary increase for all job families and honors salary steps for employees for years of service, which can mean an additional one to three percent increase. With all board considerations and actions, some teachers, paraprofessionals, and psychologists stand to see an eight percent increase in their wages.

“Our employees deserve every dollar they earn, and we hope they see that our push to increase their salaries as much as we can is a direct reflection of how much we value their service to the students and families of our school district,” said board vice chair Annette Edwards.

Multiple job families across the district, including maintenance workers, school nutrition managers, school nutrition assistants, school data clerks, school office secretaries, school bookkeepers, and other administrative and clerical job families that are related are included in this year’s targeted salary investment increases, officials noted.

“We hold the trust of a community with the greatest understanding that all we do matches up with expectations of a high-quality education for the future success of students,” said board member Sophe Pope. “Our community will see that this budget meets the needs of every student and values every employee in a way that places our district at a competitive advantage when it comes to student opportunities and employee satisfaction.”

“A balanced budget, the ability to save for unforeseen challenges, and providing opportunities and access to ensure exceptional outcomes for students,” said board member Makenzie McDaniel, “all add up to a budget we can support and feel confident moves the needle in the right direction for our community.”

The longest-tenured board member, Dr. Pam Nutt, has seen the school district double in size during her tenure.

“This process of developing and approving a budget each year is something none of us take lightly,” she said. “With the focus always on students and supporting our employees, we have been able to steadily grow into a model district that often sees other communities reaching out to us for guidance and support. Henry County can be proud of the work of our board, and we’ll always be here to represent the best interests of students and our community.”