FCPS approves budget with highest starting teacher salaries in Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - The Fayette County School Board has approved a historic spending plan with a more than $677 million price tag.

The budget includes several highlights. Perhaps the biggest one is the increase in teacher pay.

[Check out the full budget document below]

“It will make Fayette County Public Schools the first district in Kentucky to have a starting teacher salary above $50,000,” said Tyler Murphy, chairperson of the Fayette County Board of Education.

Murphy says this raise applies to everyone, but the pay scale is based on years of service. He says the average pay raise will be 8% with a minimum raise of 4%.

“We want to send a strong message that if we value our public schools, we have to value the folks who make the work we do possible,” Murphy said. “That’s how we protect and expand public education.”

Murphy says hourly employees would get a raise too. The budget would allow it to go up to a minimum of $16.17/hr.

Also included are a $1.5 million investment in fine arts, an $8.5 million investment in new positions that’ll provide direct services for students and $4 million for school-based grants, among other things.

“As schools are looking at their programming and different opportunities, they want to pursue unique to the needs of their students, we’re tapping into some district resources to make those opportunities possible,” Murphy said.

Murphy says this budget aligns with the district’s “A New Way Forward” plan.

“We want to send a clear message to our community that we listen, we hear their concerns and we know the value they place on public education,” said Murphy. “So, we want to put those dollars back into our classrooms.”

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