Bibb school board restores staff salary step increases

Daryl Morton cast the only opposing vote, warning that restoring the money could lead to higher property taxes.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — The Bibb County Board of Education voted Thursday night to restore staff salary step increases for the 2026-2027 school year, reversing part of the budget it approved in June.

Board members amended the fiscal year 2027 budget to add back an estimated $1.5 million for the increases. Daryl Morton cast the only opposing vote.

Morton said he supports giving employees step increases but fears restoring the money will lead to higher property taxes.

“The only way we have that additional revenue is if we don’t roll back the millage rate, which is a fancy way of saying we raise people’s taxes,” Morton said. “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see how tough things are for people right now.”

Much of the discussion focused on teachers, but some board members and Chief Financial Officer Eric Bush clarified that the increases apply to all eligible staff members who were scheduled to move to another salary step.

The board’s original budget, approved June 25, kept employees at their current salary steps.

Board member Myrtice Johnson said she emailed the other members and asked for the reinstatement to be added to Thursday’s agenda.

Johnson argued in her email, which she read aloud, that withholding the increases might provide short-term relief but could create greater financial and operational challenges by making it harder for the district to retain employees. She also pointed to the costs of recruiting, hiring, onboarding and mentoring replacements.

“I believe that we can cut something else over cutting our staff, teacher step increases,” Johnson said.

Board member Dr. Sundra Woodford also supported restoring the increases.

“Our teachers work really hard,” Woodford said. “I don’t think because there’s a shortfall in our budget that those that are at the frontline and conducting the core functioning of education should be hit like this budget planned for them.”

Board member James Freeman also raised concerns about how the district will pay for the increases but said he felt they earned.

“We made a promise to our people,” he said.

Morton said he’d support the amendment if it only pertained to teachers.

“Whoever it is, just put the $1.5 million back in the budget,” Ficklin responded.

Board member Barney Hester agreed with the motion to restore the increases but, like Freeman, asked where the money would come from.

Superintendent Dr. Dan Sims reminded board members that district administrators had originally been asked to identify more than $23 million in budget reductions.

“When we came back to the board with recommendations for cuts, we didn’t hold anything in our pockets,” Sims said. “We exhausted every possible way to identify cuts not at the expense of what it takes to run this organization.”

Sims said identifying additional reductions would be difficult with the school year about to begin and the budget already adopted.

The original fiscal year 2027 general fund budget projected $287.4 million in revenue and transfers and $302.4 million in spending and transfers, leaving a projected $15 million operating deficit. It projected an ending general fund balance of $33.2 million.

The budget also included the reduction of 77 instructional positions and the addition of 21 state-mandated literacy coaches for kindergarten through third grade.

The district previously said proposed millage-rate options will be presented at future meetings after tax digest information becomes available.