By Marilyn Toppins

At its May meeting, the Union County Board of Education passed a balanced budget with increased funding. Teacher salaries will increase due to a raise in beginning teacher pay from $36,000 to $37,000. This raise causes an increase throughout the scale. There will be no longevity pay for seniority since all educators will get an increase in pay.
The FY21 budget also funds two new district positions in curriculum, one for regular instruction and the other for TNVA. The budget adds ROTC which the board included as a Focus Area in the vocational curriculum to accommodate the instructor salary that is greater than the teacher pay scale.
English/Language Arts will benefit from new textbooks including the professional development for instructors. UCHS Band will gain $10,000 to purchase much needed instruments.
Employees who travel will have access to more reimbursement. Maintenance employees will have a two percent cost of living raise. Other increases cover bus contracts including one with Claiborne County for the Braden district and insurance costs.
The Consolidated Application for Federal Funding will offer support to the regular instructional program, including art and music, while IDEA Federal Funds and state funding will support children with special instructional needs.
Capital projects comprise fire alarms, roofs, sports facilities, Chromebooks, buses and paving. Increases are offset by the retirement of the high school debt, increases in grant revenues, decreases in landscaping and other contracts and healthy fund balances. The budget meets all maintenance of effort requirements and requires no tax increase.
Dr. Jimmy Carter thanked the staff of Central Finance and the supervisors for all of the work to develop a balanced budget. He also praised all employees for their help to serve the instructional, nutritional, and health needs of children during the COVID-19 pandemic and noted that the CARES Act may give the system nearly one million dollars to continue the effort or support the current infrastructure.
The school calendar will change for 2020-2021. Concerns for a second round of the coronavirus in the fall caused the board to change the first day of school for students. Teachers will have only one day of professional development/inservice before students begin.
Director Carter and Attendance Supervisor Roxanne Patterson explained that this schedule will maximize instructional time by moving other professional development to begin on October 9, the Friday before fall break, and continue after fall break. Students will complete one full quarter of the year's instruction before the break. The calendar will have all 13 stockpiled days for emergencies.
Other concerns for the upcoming year include a study of the impact of tying supervisor and principal pay to teacher salaries and the current formula used. Carter expressed that this method may be causing teacher salaries and administrative pay to have wider disparity than a separate scale for administration.
UCEA President Carolyn Murr requested that elementary instructional programs be more equitable by offering IXL in all elementary schools. Board members asked Ronnie Mincey, Federal Programs Supervisor, to seek a waiver for TSBA planning and training scheduled during the second weekend in June.
The next Union County BOE Meeting will occur on Thursday, June 11, at 7 p.m. with the workshop scheduled for 6 p.m. and live streamed by Historic Union County.
Other details:
SCES roof project- let bid, to be completed by August
LES estimate for hallway lighting and additional restrooms in new addition