ATLANTA — Atlanta Public Schools (APS) employees are slated for a historic pay increase next year after the school district finalized its newest budget. Teachers will receive an 11% pay raise and all district staff will see a 3-5% cost-of-living adjustment, marking the biggest teacher pay raise approved by the Board of Education since 2009.
The board said the raise is a way to thank teachers and staff for their hard work in giving students a quality education.
“This pay increase is great news for our teachers, which was a big focus for us,” Board Chair Erika Y. Mitchell said. “The budget helps us improve student outcomes and teacher morale, and we need to make sure it matches our priorities and needs.”
In addition to the pay raises, the 2024-2025 budget includes several other important allocations, including:
- $11.8 million for the “Readers are Leaders” initiative to ensure all students are reading at grade level.
- $9 million for Special Education.
- $15.4 million for a new in-house Nutrition Program.
- $720,000 for Safety and Security.
- $7.8 million for an additional position at every school to support overall student development.
“We know how valuable our employees are, and we want to offer competitive salaries to help them take care of their families and keep our talented staff. We're glad our board members support this," Superintendent Danielle Battle said.
The district says a portion of the funds were made available by cutting back on the district's central office staff, allowing for more money to go directly to the schools.
APS has a teacher salary calculator available so anyone can see how much they could potentially make under the new salary thresholds. Anyone interested in learning more information about applying for openings can click here.