County reinstates teacher supplement after budget cut in 2020

WADESBORO — Finding a way to reinstate the teaching supplement to the staff of Anson County Schools was a top priority for Superintendent Howard McLean after the county commissioners cut the budget by $400,000 in 2020.

The original budget cut came as a result of the pandemic. County commissioners and the County Manager Barron Monroe were unsure how the budget would be affected with the lockdown, followed by the closing of Walmart in Wadesboro. They anticipated there would be a decline in sales tax revenue.

“That put my school system in an uproar and a panic state,” McLean said.

The schools’ staff were very upset when the news of the budget cut was released. McLean said he did not lose any teachers, but if he was not able to offer a teacher supplement, he was afraid teachers would have left for the 2021-2022 school year. The commissioners did promise to revisit the budget as they gained a better grasp of how much revenue was coming into the county.

“The last few weeks Mr. Monroe and I have been communicating and things are not as bad as he thought they would be with the pandemic,” McLean said.

After reviewing the budget and seeing that sales tax revenue did not decline, McLean happily announced the return of the teacher supplement.

“We have worked hard to give our teachers the supplements,” McLean said. “Let it be known the county commissioners need to be commended for all the work they did for us.”

Only certified staff members receive the teacher supplements. This includes anyone who has a valid teacher license or license with the Department of Education: teachers, support staff, counselors, social workers and nurses.

Each year the county provides this funding, which allows the school district to give out teacher supplements. The other funding for these bonuses comes from a quarter-cent sales tax increase that was passed in 2015 and a teaching grant from the county, according to Holly Berry, financial adviser for Anson County Schools.

“Since ‘15-‘16, we have provided teachers with a 2.5% annually, prorated amount of $65,000, and a prorated amount of the quarter-cent sales tax that was collected each year,” Berry said. “What that meant for ‘19-‘20 is teachers receive 2.5%, then the $65,000 equaled $205.50 per teacher and the quarter-cent sales tax was a $1,385 per eligible staff member.”

Berry said Anson is not at the level of neighboring counties when it comes to how big the teacher supplement is. But compared to years prior, Anson has “come a long way.”

All teachers receive an average of 5% to 7% of their annual salary, according to Berry. This is significantly more than the 1.5% and $218 per month supplement in the 2012-2013 school year.

“We’ve made some great gains,” Berry said. “We’d definitely like to be a little further out there and be more competitive.”

A small group of staff does not receive the teacher supplements, but McLean is working on a way to provide those staff members a bonus. He is working with Berry to find a funding source for these one-time $300 bonuses. This staff includes teaching assistants, custodial staff, cafeteria workers, technology staff and office support.

“Our (teacher supplements) are not the highest around, but it helps to attract people to work in small town,” McLean said.

The positive of reinstating the teacher supplements first is to reward the staff for the extremely hard work they have done through this unusual and stressful school year. This allows the district to potentially recruit more teachers into the district. The district will look more desirable to potential employees.

“For me as superintendent, it was a relief,” McLean said. “It is going to help us as a district to keep recruiting the best teachers possible. We already have barriers with recruiting because we have competition all around us…If you would have thrown in the barrier that Anson County supplement has been cut, we would be at a larger disadvantage.”