Camisha Butler is a textiles artist and art teacher at Maynard H. Jackson High School in southeast Atlanta.
Earlier this month, she received a $1,000 bonus from Atlanta Public Schools (APS), a routine tradition of the district around this time of year.
But there was more good news than normal this holiday season.
After APS issued their bonus – what they called a “Mid-Year Holiday Retention Stipend”– Gov. Brian Kemp announced another one-time $1,000 retention bonus of his own. State employees, including K-12 educators like Butler, would qualify for the pay supplement.
Butler heard about Kemp’s announcement from her mother. “She was like, ‘Yeah! You’re going to get a little bit more money,’” Butler said. But their elation was short-lived.
Following the announcement, APS educators received a message from district officials telling them not to expect an additional $1,000.
“All eligible Atlanta Public Schools (APS) employees have already received the state-referenced employee retention supplement in the form of the mid-year holiday retention stipend,” read the message.
The money Kemp approved would be used for other district priorities in APS.
“I found it kind of weird,” Butler said. “The way it was written and delivered, it didn’t sound as if it was really based on anything… So, I sent them an email.”
Butler was not the only teacher trying to get in contact with someone who could explain and help. Other educators turned to state superintendent Richard Woods.
Wood answered their charge. He wrote a letter to APS’ interim superintendent, Danielle Battle, imploring the district to back-track.
“Let me be very clear: the intent of the state’s $1000 retention pay supplement is not to backfill the Atlanta Public Schools budget,” Woods wrote in his letter to Battle. “Frankly, I am baffled by the assertion that APS somehow predicted the exact timing and amount of a bonus that had not been finalized or announced at the time of the district-level payments.”
Woods continued by saying that APS’ mid-year holiday bonus was “commendable.” But he expects that district educators also get their bonus from the state. Anything less would be a “disservice.”
APS shortly changed course after receiving Woods’ criticism. Within hours, Butler and other APS educators received an updated message from Battle.
Battle said, though “it has not yet been announced by the state which employees would qualify” for the governor’s bonus, APS plans to distribute state funds accordingly once they receive the money and guidance.
According to the district, Butler and other APS teachers are expected to receive the governor’s holiday bonus as state officials intended.
Note of disclosure: Atlanta Public Schools holds WABE broadcast license.
