Memorandum from Mary Kay Murphy
Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D. District 3  School Board Member

A Preview of the 2006 Budget

  April 17, 2005

    The Gwinnett County School System budget for 2006 is being developed and presented in public meetings through May of 2005.  As the District III School Board member, I want to use this opportunity to share important information with readers of Inside Gwinnett about the school system’s 2006 budget.

    The total budget proposed is $1,234,346,776.  The proposed General Fund budget is $1,020,411,256, an increase of $41.4 million, or 4.2% more than FY 2005.  Primary day- to-day operations of the school system are budgeted through the General Fund.

    Student achievement and the teaching and learning process are the central focus of this portion of the budget.  That commitment is evidenced by the fact that 75.9% of the General Fund budget is targeted for instructional services.

   The cost of educating an additional 7,062 students expected to enroll in August 2005 is approximately $50.6 million, at an average per student expenditure of $7,164 for all students.  This represents a decrease of $67 per student from FY 2005.

    Although budgets have not been set for 2006, using data from FY 2004, Gwinnett County ranked ninth of Georgia’s ten largest public school systems in the amount of per student expenditures, the most recent year when these figures were available.

    In FY 2004, Atlanta City enrolled 51,236 students (FTE, full-time-equivalent) at an expenditure of $11,116 per student, the highest of any other school system in Georgia .  Fulton County enrolled 72,142 students at the cost of $8,558 per student, while DeKalb County enrolled 97,793 students at the cost of $7,827 per student.

    Ranking fifth among Georgia ’ top ten public school systems was Cobb County , with 102,059 students and a per student expenditure of $7,335.  Gwinnett County ranked ninth with 131,586 students at $6,885 per student.  The State of Georgia enrolled 1,498,580 students in FY 2004, for a per student expenditure of $7,261.

    In the FY 2006 budget, all employees of Gwinnett County Public Schools will receive at least a 2% cost-of-living salary increase.  Eighteen percent of the school system’s 9.093 teachers will receive between a 2-2.9% salary increase.  A total of 32% will receive between 3-3.9% increase.  Nearly 20% will receive a 4-4.9% increase.  Receiving a 5-5.9% increase will be 17% of Gwinnett teachers.  Nearly 12% will receive between 6-6.9% salary increases, while .12% will receive salary increases of 7%. 

    The beginning teacher salary is projected to be $35,912 for a T-4 certificate holder.  The average teacher salary is projected to be $50,552, or $65,582 including employee benefits costs.  The percent of a teacher’s salary increase depends on the level of experience and certification, known as the Step Level, plus the 2% increase.  The benefits package for school system employees is approximately 33-34% of the employee’s salary and is in addition to the base salary.

    State funding per Gwinnett County student is expected to be $3,545 in 2006, an increase of $132 from FY 2005, but $61 less per student than Gwinnett County Public Schools received in FY 2002.  Local funding from property taxes per student will be $3,441, an increase of $138 per student from FY 2005, but $73 less per student than we received in FY 2004.

    State funding of Gwinnett County Public Schools is projected to be 50.7% for FY 2006, while local funding will be 49.3%.  State funding percentage for Gwinnett County has declined from 54.3% in FY 2001.

    The General Fund reserve is projected to be $46 million, representing 4.5% of General Fund expenditures.  The percentage of General Fund budget spent on instruction, 75.9%, is projected to be the highest in six years, up from 74.9 percent in FY 2005.

    The percent of the 2006 budget slated to come from local property tax is 47.7 percent of the General Fund budget.  A growing percentage of property tax revenue is being derived from residential property, representing a concern on the part of the Gwinnett County School System.

    In FY 1999, for example, 50.7% of the school system budget was funded by residential property tax, while 46.5% came from commercial and industrial property tax.  This trend has changed over the years, when in FY 2004, for example, 60.6% of the assessed tax value from residential sources supported public education in Gwinnett, while 36.7 percent came from commercial and industrial property tax.

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