Overview:
This holiday season, many public school teachers in Georgia are celebrating Gov. Brian Kemp giving all state employees a $1,000 retention bonus, except teachers in Atlanta Public Schools.
This holiday season, many public school teachers in Georgia are celebrating Gov. Brian Kemp giving all state employees a $1,000 retention bonus, including teachers. However, Education in Atlanta has learned that there is confusion on whether teachers in Atlanta Public Schools will receive the additional compensation.
On Monday, Governor Kemp announced educators would be given their retention bonus on a paycheck they would receive this month, with many districts sending a communication to staff that due to schools and district offices being closed due to winter break, teachers can expect to find their extra monies in their Jan. 2024 checks.
According to a statement sent to their staff yesterday, Atlanta Public Schools educators will not receive those checks.
“We greatly appreciate the Governor’s willingness to use the state balance to share in the cost by providing stipends for our teachers, as this allows us to use our fund balance for other educational needs. Since we used the district fund balance to secure the appreciation payments made to all eligible employees on the December 15th payroll, the state funding announced today will be used in support of other APS priorities.”
This morning, State Supt. Schools Richard Woods sent a letter to interim APS Superintendent Dr. Danielle S. Battle that strongly disagreed with the idea that APS teachers would not get the bonus.
“Let me be very clear: the intent of the $1,000 retention pay supplement is not to backfill the Atlanta Public Schools budget or “share in the cost” of additional recognition already provided by districts to teachers,” Superintendent Woods wrote. “The funds APS will receive from the state for this bonus are not intended for “other educational needs’- they are intended to provide well-deserved retention bonuses to your teachers and educational support staff.”
Superintendent Woods then asserts that this retention bonus given by Gov. Kemp has nothing to do with previous district bonuses.
“The state is very clear on this, regardless of what the teachers received before from the district, they are also due this $1000 bonus payment that has been specifically outlined for them in the budget. Anything given to them prior by APS has no bearing on this retention payment,” the letter read.
As the Georgia Department of Education posted, Supt. Woods’s letter was posted to social media around noon today; teachers gave their thoughts on the retention bonuses and how they are distributed to staff.
“What is most disturbing about the sequence of recent events is the verbiage APS gave employees in the initial communication. They used phrases such as “These stipend payments are a symbol of Atlanta Public Schools’ continued investment in YOU!” and “…we are proud to be a district that prioritizes the financial well-being of our dedicated employees,” an Atlanta Public Schools administrator spoke on the promise of anonymity describes the ordeal as disturbing. “By APS refunding themselves with the money from the state and/or making the claim that the money we received already from the state doesn’t align with those comments.”
Updated: We reached out to Atlanta Public Schools about the letter and they provided this statement.
The intent of Atlanta Public Schools and the Atlanta Board of Education was to reward our hardworking teachers and school staff with a bonus before the holiday break, while also being fiscally responsible stewards of taxpayer funds. We did that as a district on December 15th and we are committed to passing along any additional funds once funds are disbursed for the Governor’s proposal and clarification is provided on which categories of employees should be covered by the bonus.
Metro school district statements regarding Gov. Brian Kemp’s retention bonus.
Atlanta Public Schools
“We greatly appreciate the Governor’s willingness to use the state balance to share in the cost by providing stipends for our teachers, as this allows us to use our fund balance for other educational needs. Since we used the district fund balance to secure the appreciation payments made to all eligible employees on the December 15th payroll, the state funding announced today will be used in support of other APS priorities.”
Clayton County Schools
“Clayton County Public Schools is aware of Governor Brian Kemp’s announcement on December 18, 2023, regarding a $1000 Retention Stipend for teachers and school support staff. At this time, Georgia school districts are awaiting more details regarding the specifics, such as eligible district employees. School systems have been advised that they will receive additional information from the Governor’s office after January 1, 2024. CCPS is aware that today’s article noted payment would appear during the month of December 2023; however, since the announcement school systems have been notified that more details will be made aware, and once funds are available, eligible employees will receive the $1000 retention stipend.”
Cobb County Schools
“We are excited for Cobb teachers, schools and students to benefit from Gov. Kemp’s continued support for education. While we haven’t received operational details yet, we will make sure the dollars are received by our educators.”
Fayette County Schools Schools
“At this time, we have not received guidance on how the funds will be distributed, paid or which school district employees will be eligible to receive the payment. We will make every effort to expedite processing of the supplement once it is available from the state.”
Fulton County Schools
“Fulton County Schools is pleased to learn of the generous $1,000 bonus for all state employees to be paid by the end of the year announced by Governor Kemp. During the winter break, we look forward to getting the details of the proposed incentive for teachers and eligible staff. As is the Fulton County Schools custom, the final paycheck of the year has already been distributed. As a result, a comprehensive payout proposal that ensures all Fulton County Schools staff knows they are appreciated will come in January. More information will be provided as details are finalized.”
Gwinnett County Schools
“On Monday afternoon, Governor Brian P. Kemp announced a state employee retention pay supplement of $1000 for each of the roughly 112,000 state employees and 196,000 educators and support staff across the state. We are pleased to share the news of this payment with Team GCPS. During the coming days, we look forward to getting the details of the proposal incentive for teachers and eligible staff. As you know, the final paycheck of the year has already been calculated for GCPS staff and will be paid out on Thursday, December 21, 2023. The December 2023 paycheck includes a one-time retention payment of $1,000 to all eligible employees that was approved as part of the FY24 annual budget. Because the December payroll is complete, any retention payment from the state would be issued to eligible employees no earlier than January 2024.”
Marietta City Schools
“We learned today of Governor Kemp’s plan to give eligible certified staff and critical support staff a $1,000 bonus. As of the time of this email, superintendents have not received clarification from the GaDOE on which staff are considered (by the Governor and GaDOE definition) as eligible “certified” or “critical support” staff. We also have not received guidance on the timeline for this payment. While we obviously will move as quickly as possible to get this payment to qualifying staff, we are not at liberty to pay you before the funds are transferred from the GaDOE to the district. Stay tuned – at this point, we don’t know if it’s possible to process the payment this month.
In summary, regarding who is eligible and the timeline for payment, please know I will provide you with details as quickly as I get them.”