At its monthly administrative meeting on Monday, May 1, the Atlanta Board of Education will tentatively adopt Atlanta Public Schools’ $1.66 billion all funds budget for the 2023-2024 school year. The spending plan includes $59.3 million in support of a compensation strategy, along with an additional $27 million for schools, as compared to the adopted FY2023 budget. 

The FY2024 budget has been developed around certain expenditure parameters that align with the goals/guardrails developed and set forth by the Board. This budget strives to sustain and support changes in school enrollments, new schools, changes in school designs, and shifts in school programs, as recommended, and approved through the facilities master planning process. The budget supports a compensation strategy and central office structure that aligns district initiatives with the recommendations from internal and external reviews and audits.

The FY2024 budget also contemplates federally funded programs and positions, especially those funded through CARES, and begins the process of folding in or rolling off those expenditures as appropriate. In addition, the budget has taken into consideration the increase in the cost of services due to inflation. The FY2024 budget also supports enhancements to the school nutrition program

As we inch closer to the tentative and final FY’24 budget adoption, we are proud to have the Atlanta Board of Education’s support to invest approximately $59.3 million dollars in you via employee compensation and total rewards!  APS recognizes that employees are our most valuable resource and maintaining a compelling employee compensation structure is our priority.  The proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2023, contains tentative pay increases to recognize and reward our hardworking staff, including but not limited to: 

• New Base Salary pay structure for all employee groups incorporating 2023 Compensation Study findings and State-of-Georgia budget adjustments including the proposed $2000 increase to the State’s salary scale for Teachers,

• Market Salary Scale increases for all employee groups and step increments for all eligible employees on a pay grade/step (ranges from 6.5% to 8.4%),

• $3,000 one-time payment for employees not eligible for step increments. 

• Reinstate the doctorate degree band for the instructional support pay grade,

• $3,000 retention stipends for special education, mathematics, dual language immersion, ESOL teachers,

• $500 - $2,000 retention stipends for all staff in high-poverty schools (with >65% direct certification),

• $3,000 strategic early hiring incentives for Special Education, World Language, Dual Language Immersion, Art, and CTAE Teachers,

• $3,000 retention stipend for Turnaround School Teachers,

• $5,000 retention stipend for Turnaround School Principals, and 

• Funding to sponsor teacher recruits seeking H1-B VISA sponsorship

More information regarding details of the compensation recommendations for next year are posted on the Board’s Budget Commission’s website. For questions, please contact the compensation team at [email protected].ga.us.  Additional highlights of Atlanta Public Schools’ FY2024 budget include:

School Highlight

• Increases to Special Education by $9.2 million

• Increases to Extended Learning programs by $1.9 million

•  Increases to Counseling services by $685,000 (Up 7%)

• Increases to K- 5 Grade Level by $1.8 million

•  Increases to Math by $1.3 million

• Increases to Reading and ELA by $1.2 million

•  Increases to Social Workers by $872,000 (Up 12%)

• Increases to Signature Programs by $880,000

•  Increases to the fine arts programs including Art, Music, PE, World Language, etc. by $2 million 

Other Operational Enhancements

• An Increase of $4.5 million for safety and security including $800,000 for SRO’s in our Elementary Schools.

• $1 million for the continuation of Athletic trainers

• Increases in Academic Supports including Special Education contracted services ($700k), Fine Arts transportation ($425k), Learning Dev ($495k), PAACT ($1m), Reading/ ELA ($530k)

• Increases for Software purchases and system upgrades $2.6 million)

• A little over $4 million for Board elections

• An additional $10 million to support inflationary costs on contracts and facility supplies. 

Regional Budget Meetings for Community Feedback

The community is invited to learn more about the proposed APS budget and provide feedback in two upcoming Regional Budget meetings taking place as follows: 

Monday, May 8 (Virtual) – This meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Zoom. Register in advance for this meeting: 

https://atlantapublicschools-us.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsceutrjgrE9PpDTczONgq-uw5_b2q-9T2

Those who register will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. 

Wednesday, May 10 (In-Person) – Beginning at 6 p.m., this meeting will take place at the Alonzo A. Crim Center of Learning and Leadership Auditorium (CLL).

The Board will vote on final adoption on June 5, 2023.