After a rocky budget season, the Metro Nashville Public Schools board voted on Tuesday to approve the 2022-2023 Operating Budget. Among the main priorities set for this year are pay raises for support staff workers — a point Mayor John Cooper touted in his April State of Metro speech.
The budget process hit a hitch when representatives learned the district would receive $22.6 million less than it was expecting from the state. As a result, the school board and the Metro Council had to scramble. MNPS moved around $7.5 million out of its textbook and charter funds to make up some of the deficit, and the Metro Council made up the rest by pulling dollars from multiple places. The district also had to dip into the city’s fund balance, which serves as a kind of emergency savings account. Additionally, the Council added $5 million in one-time bonuses for MNPS support staff workers, and $4 million in one-time spending to ramp up school security provisions. It is unclear how the $5 million in one-time bonuses will be allocated.
The budget that passed on Tuesday includes all of the pay raises originally proposed, plus raises for some support staff roles that were initially left out. In the coming year, MNPS employees will receive a 4 percent cost-of-living adjustment and paid family leave. Certificated staff — like teachers — will receive a salary step increase and support staff will see a pay upgrade. Originally, the support staff pay increases were allocated to paraprofessionals, bus drivers and nutrition service workers; the new budget includes additional roles likes secretaries, bookkeepers and security personnel.
Insurance coverage for staff will also see increases. Certificated staff will see a 12 percent increase in insurance, and support staff will see a 5.6 percent increase; the district covers 75 percent of its employees' insurance.
