Teachers pleaded for more, but a 3% raise will be given to Fayette school employees

The Fayette County Public Schools board on Monday voted to give teachers and other employees a minimum 3% salary increase, despite teachers asking for a 5% increase.

According to media reports, staff in multiple school districts in Kentucky have recently received raises, including Lincoln County with a 3% raise and Barbourville Independent with a 4% raise.

Fayette Board Chairman Tyler Murphy asked Superintendent Demetrus Liggins last month to craft a proposal for at least a 3% salary increase.

Liggins said raising salaries was a priority. He said some employees could receive more than 3%.

The Republican-led General Assembly did not approve Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s budget that included a 5% raise. Instead, the General Assembly wanted raises through small increases in per pupil state school funds.

Sara Green, representing the employee group Fayette County 120 United AFT, said at a May meeting that under a 3% increase, a teacher with 20 years of experience would only receive $200 more per month. A new teacher in Fayette County would only receive $100.

Since 2008, Fayette County public schools has only seen a .4% increase in the average teacher salary while the rate of inflation has been 34%, Green previously said. Inflation increased about 8% in just the last year.

After the vote Monday, Green said on behalf of her group, “While we appreciate the Board moving the pay raise from the initial reports of 2% to 3%, our members still feel that a 5% pay raise across the board would have allowed our district to attract and retain the most qualified employees. “

She said her group would continue to work with the board and superintendent.

“We have consistently risen to the challenges of the past several years,” Green said. “We are hopeful that our board and district will also rise to the challenge of passing a pay raise that will help our employees in our current economic climate.”

Jessica Hiler, president of the Fayette County Education Association, said in response to the raise, “We appreciate the school board and superintendent for recognizing the hard work and sacrifice that school employees make everyday to serve our kids by authorizing a salary increase.”

“The legislature kicked the can and left raises up to local school boards, excluding teachers from a mandated raise while raising salaries of state employees by 8%. We look forward to continuing to work with the board and administration to ensure that the salaries of teachers and staff in Fayette County continue to attract and retain staff,“ Hiler said.

Fayette County Board of Education Chair Tyler Murphy said board members scrutinized the budget to maximize the salary increases for our employees

“In reality though, the incredible people who work in our schools every day are worth more than we can ever pay them,” Murphy said.

This story was originally published June 13, 2022 at 8:22 PM.