THOMASVILLE, Ga.  — The Thomas County Board of Education tentatively adopted a 2016-2017 school year $60.3 million budget that will fund a 2 percent salary increase for all system employees, the first increase that teachers have seen since 2009.

During the last eight years, school district employees have experienced reductions in local supplements, unpaid furlough days and stagnant wages.

The Thomas County School District eliminated furlough days during the 2015-2016 school year.

“While the 2 percent salary increase for 2016-2017 is very modest and much less than we would like to provide for our employees, we hope that it represents the reversal in a negative trend and that there will be additional salary increases in the years to come,” said Thomas County School Superintendent Dr. Dusty Kornegay.

The Thomas County School District projects a $2.3 million increase in revenue for fiscal year 2017, with the bulk of the increase coming from state funds.

The system will receive $1.2 million in additional Quality Basic Education Funds (QBE) earned primarily because of enrollment growth, $623,000 in equalization funds received as a result of the decline in per-pupil wealth in the Thomas County tax district relative to the entire state, and a little more than $1 million in partial restoration of austerity cuts imposed on all Georgia School Districts since 2003.

Enrollment growth has been important to the system’s recovery from the recession. The county school district’s enrollment reached 5,777 in 2016, up from 5,236 in 2010, a 10 percent increase.

“The additional funding received from enrollment growth has allowed the system to provide many more opportunities and programs for our students. As a result, a vast number of our students have excelled as champions in a multitude of areas at the local, regional, state, and national levels,” Assistant Superintendent Lisa Williams said

“While we are very appreciative to our state leaders for the partial restoration of state austerity cuts, additional funding in future years will be required to recruit and retain high-quality teachers,” Kornegay said.

The Thomas County School District administered a survey to all employees in January to seek input on budget priorities. One of the top priorities for teachers was reducing class sizes.

“Twelve new teaching positions have been added to accommodate enrollment growth, reduce class sizes and reduce special education teaching loads.” Kornegay said.

Assistant Superintendent and the School District’s Chief Financial Officer Joey Holland said, “The restoration of earnings from the state and other revenue increases have allowed the school system to give cost-of-living increases to all staff members for the first time in nine years, and I’m grateful for the salary sacrifices our employees have made during the past decade.”

“Our proposed $60.3 million budget for fiscal year 2017 has finally exceeded the level of our 2008 budget. I hope we, both the school system and the state, will not have to face another period of austere budgets as we have in the last eight years,” Holland added.

The Thomas County School District’s reserves exceed $6 million.

“I believe the school system is currently in a good financial position, but we must be cognizant of a new state funding formula possibility in the next couple of years and be prepared for how it will affect our state funding, which currently is about 58 percent of our revenue,” Holland said.

“The proposed 2016-17 budget builds upon a foundation of motivated teachers and students,” said Associate Superintendent Melanie Chavaux. “The budget supports an ambitious summer professional learning calendar which builds teacher capacity to improve student learning and opportunities.”

“Funding from innovative grants relieves the pressure placed on our general fund budget and allows the Thomas County School System the opportunity to provide teachers with summer professional learning and resources while also providing our students with a strong, vertically aligned K-12 curriculum that includes not only core instruction, but innovative practices that support the teaching and learning of our students beyond the classroom walls,” Chavaux said.

The Thomas County Board of Education will consider final approval of its 2016-2017 budget at a June 14 meeting.