The Grayson County School Board meeting Thursday night where teachers and their backers spoke in support of a 10 percent raise (over two years), sometimes revealing extremely personal details regarding financial struggles, resulted in an impasse concerning teacher pay.
While several speakers made salient points during the meeting, a Caneyville Elementary School special education teacher, Morgan London, in her second-year teaching (and first year in Grayson County), perhaps gave the most poignant and heartfelt commentary on her struggle to pay off student loans.
(According to a pay scale graph produced by some Grayson County School District teachers and shared with K105, a first-year teacher with a master’s degree in Grayson County makes $43,793 per year; a fifth-year teacher earns $47,471; a seventh-year teacher is paid $48,204; and an eleventh-year teacher makes $53,349.)
London, 25, originally from Bowling Green, and who graduated from Murray State University in 2022, told the school board that she has $31,600 in federal student loan debt and $34,400 in private student loan debt. She lives with a roommate because, London said, she “cannot afford to live alone.”
But perhaps the most eye-opening comment London made alluded to her repayment, or more pointedly, her non-repayment, of federal student loans.
“I am currently paying zero dollars per month on my federal student loans,” London said. “While this is a blessing, I find it astonishing that as a college educated professional employed in my field of study, I do not make the threshold income to be considered (financially) stable enough to make payments on my federal student loan.”
The financial struggle of some of the district’s teachers is not lost on Grayson County Schools Superintendent Doug Robinson, an educator nearly all of his adult life.
“The stories we heard last night (at the school board meeting) were disheartening to say the least,” Robinson said. “The concerns presented were more than valid. We know our teachers and staff are the absolute best anywhere. As professionals, role models and mentors to each upcoming generation, they give their all to give our kids their very best every day. We want them to be able to live the dreams they had when they entered this field. They deserve that and more.”
Robinson did say, though, that the teacher pay issue is not unique to Grayson County, while also noting teachers in the county have received a double-digit raise since the beginning of the 2021 school year.
“This is not just a Grayson County issue, it’s a statewide issue. Since the 2021-2022 school year, we have worked to increase salaries each year for a combined total of 10 percent over that time.”
Unfortunately, beyond the control of local educators and the school board, is the fact that the cost of living in the U.S., according to the American Institute for Economic Research, went up 12.5 percent between 2021 and 2023.
This led Robinson to concede that the 10 percent raise teachers have received since 2021 fails to keep up with the cost of goods and services.
“It’s still not enough to keep pace with today’s economic environment or compensate our teachers and staff for their professionalism and the impact they make every single day,” Robinson said.
SEEK helps, but not enough
The Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) funding program is a formula-driven allocation of state provided funds to local school districts. The formula includes funding for transportation costs and special needs students as reported by districts, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.
“We certainly appreciate the legislature’s time and effort to increase SEEK funding by three percent and six percent in the next two fiscal years, along with many other education-related highlights,” Robinson stated.
The school board, at Thursday’s meeting, approved a three percent pay increase for certified staff and a minimum $1 per hour increase for hourly employees, which goes into effect on July 1, 2024. The pay increases resulted in a $1.2 million expenditure for the district, according to the district’s Finance Officer, Erin Embry.
(This year’s three percent bump in pay follows a four percent increase in teacher pay last year, which also resulted in a $1 million-plus teacher/hourly employee salary expenditure, Embry said.)
“(The three percent pay increase this year) not only allocated 100 percent of the increased revenue (via SEEK) to our employees, but went beyond what the district is receiving in order to fund a much-needed salary increase,” according to Robinson.
Again, the increase in the cost of living all but erases the three percent raise, as Robinson stated that “additional revenue is needed for more meaningful salary changes.”
To raise teachers’ salaries the requested 10 percent would require budget cuts, Robinson noted.
“(Those budget cuts) will be hard decisions that will include programs, activities, extracurriculars and other areas where we currently are able to provide additional opportunities for our students,” the superintendent said.
One of the reasons budget cuts would have to be executed to give district employees the pay raise they seek — and by all accounts, deserve — is due to the increased insurance, fuel and utility rates the district has incurred.
“Over the last several years the district has seen significant increases in other expenses as well,” Embry said. “To name a few: Our insurance rates have increased 58 percent, our gas and diesel expenses have increased 48 percent and our utility bills have increased 18 percent since 2019.”
(It should be noted that the cost of living between 2019 and 2023 rose 19.2 percent, giving credence to the teachers’ claims of wages not keeping up with the incredibly high cost of living, and the district’s stance that its non-salary expenses are out of control.)
Embry further stated that the district “spends over $30 million a year on salaries and benefits for our employees. With the four percent increase on our salary schedule last year, which also cost in excess of $1 million, our board is forced to make financially prudent decisions in order to ensure financial stability for our district.”
Going forward, Robinson stated that additional, state-level funding for the 2025-2026 school year will allow the school board to revisit teacher raises.
“The district,” Robinson said, “will see additional funding in the 2025-2026 school year thanks to the legislature’s approved two-year budget and SEEK increase. Our board is committed to do as much as possible for our teachers and staff on next year’s salary schedule as well. They deserve that commitment. They deserve that reality.
“It’s said that a rising tide lifts all boats. We all need to come together, to work together – collectively – to make improvements at home and across our state for our profession.”
(Photo l-r: Grayson Co. Schools Superintendent Doug Robinson, Caneyville Elem. special education teacher Morgan London)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
