School district proposes pay increases for employees at budget committee

WEST JACKSON, Tenn. – The Madison County Commission’s budget committee met Thursday to discuss the school system’s budget for the next fiscal year.

The main requests from the school district includes a 2% raise for all school employees, a $5 per day increase for substitute teachers and the addition of 26 new school personnel, mostly for pre-kindergarten positions.

“I think this budget allowed us to do a lot more of the things that we wanted to do to help our schools, especially our schools that are most in need,” said JMCSS superintendent Eric Jones.

The school district also outlined potential projects that would total around $8 million in the coming year. Superintendent Jones said the meeting was productive.

“Our budget committee received well, and this budget hearing was received well, so we hope it’s the same for our overall board and our funding body as well,” Jones said.

Chairman of the budget committee, Doug Stephenson, said some uncertainty with the budget had to do with outside factors.

“Most of the uncertainty I would say was with the superintendent resigning, and what’s taken place and some of the decisions that have been made,” Stephenson said.

Still, Stephenson praised the board’s requests and said their demands were in line with previous years, including Basic Education Programs.

“They’re getting a little bit more BEP money, but the money we have to put in as a county, is basically the same,” Stephenson said.

Other budget items included updating textbooks and school renovations.

The actual vote to approve the school district’s budget is next Thursday.