Atlanta Board of Education Adopts FY15 General Fund Budget

Patch Staff Report

The Atlanta Board of Education adopted the FY15 General Fund Budget for Atlanta Public Schools (APS) by a 6-3 vote during a special legislative meeting on Tuesday.

The FY15 budget of $658 million will provide additional resources to the curriculum and instruction in the following areas:

· Fine arts and foreign language programs to ensure equity across the district from elementary school to high school

· Investing approximately 1 million dollars as part of a three-year, $3 million dollar commitment in the district’s Physical Education Department to reduce childhood obesity in Atlanta

· Investing $4 million in the district’s Student Support Team, which exists in every school and is  comprised of teachers, administrators, resource professionals and parents, who work together to improve student performance

· Providing enhanced technology and support for APS classrooms to improve the reliability and use of computer equipment by students and teachers

· Expanding the Atlanta Virtual Academy, a tuition-free online learning program designed to increase the number of flexible learning opportunities and to increase the graduation rate

This budget also reflects a salary increase for the following APS employees:
•       All part-time and hourly employees will receive 5% increase in hourly rate
•       Full-time employees who have not experienced a salary change in last two years will receive a step increase or equivalent
•       Full-time employees who have not experienced a salary change in last four years will receive an additional step increase or equivalent
•       All full-time employees will receive $1,000 one-time payment, with two exceptions
–      employees hired after January 1, 2014 would receive only $500 one-time payment
–      employees receiving two-step increase would receive no one-time payment

The total cost of the pay increases is approximately $15 million, including benefits.

The district’s operating budget increase from $595 million in FY14 to $658 million in FY15 is primarily due to increased revenues from rising property tax collections and a small increase in the state’s education funding allotment to APS. The budget does not include a millage rate increase for residents or furlough days for APS employees.

“This budget will impact our core function – to raise student achievement – by expanding the resources we provide to our students, schools and employees,” said APS Superintendent Erroll Davis in a news release.

For more information on the APS FY15 budget, click here: http://www.atlantapublicschools.us/Page/41028.