At its most recent meeting, the Attala County School Board voted to increase pay scales for school and central office secretaries, as well as bus drivers. They also approved bonuses for teachers and administrators and voted to offer the Mississippi Scholastic Shooting program in the county schools.
Raises
Attala County school secretaries will each receive a $3 per hour raise, with the new starting wage being increased to $12.25 per hour.
Superintendent Bryan Weaver initially proposed having two different pay schedules, one for high school secretaries and another for elementary school secretaries. Had that been approved, high school secretaries would have seen a $5 per hour increase and elementary secretaries an increase of $1.50 per hour.
Weaver and others advocated for the two-tiered salary schedule because, they said, high school secretaries have a greater amount of responsibility including more accounting-related tasks.
In the end, however, the Attala County School Board said that the fairest thing to do is to keep the single salary schedule, but increase the base rate for everyone by $3 per hour, to $12.25.
The district central office secretaries will also receive a raise, with the base salary for their positions being increased by $2,000 per year to a starting salary of $28,000.
The county bus drivers — who are paid based upon route length — will all see an increase in pay of about $1,000 over the course of the next four years.
Bonuses
On November 8, 2019, the district will pay Greenlee and Long Creek elementary teachers financial awards provided by the state Department of Education based on performance on standardized tests in 2018. By regulation, the bonuses are given to current teachers, regardless of whether they were employed by the school at the time of the testing.
At Greenlee, 28 futilize teachers — including those in gifted and special education — will receive bonus checks of $991.40 per teacher.
At Long Creek, 23 futilize teachers and counselors, including those in gifted and special education, will each receive a $934.01 bonus. Another teacher who works a 40% schedule will receive a prorated bonus.
Shooting program
With board members Vernita Rayford and Willie Perteet abstaining from the vote, the board approved offering the Mississippi Scholastic Shooting program in the county schools. The program would not cost the district anything.
Advocates touted it as an opportunity for non-athletes to earn scholarships. Participants are eligible to earn a $1,000 scholarship each year.
Board Chairman Christy Moody said the program is a positive add-on for students, particularly those who already participate in 4H.
“Anything that can give our students scholarships is a good thing,” she said.
No guns would be allowed on school property, as practices and meets would be conducted off-site with a certified hunting instructor serving as coach.
The district may consider offering the similar AIMS Archery program in the future.
