Dekalb Teachers Probably Won’t See Pay Cut, Despite Contract Clause

On Monday, Dekalb County educators received their contracts for the upcoming year, which outlined a 6% pay cut. Then on Tuesday, they received a letter explaining the pay cut probably won’t happen. For the past few years, the Dekalb Schools has included some kind of austerity cut in teachers’ and administrators’ contracts. District spokesman Walter Woods says the measure is put in place because, by state law, the budget isn’t finished by the time contracts are issued.

“We’ve had the same communication with teachers over the past three years that there’ll be some sort of austerity, whether furlough days or pay cuts or both, and each year we’ve restored it when the budget comes through,” Woods says, “And that’s the plan again this year.”

The board voted last week to cut 133 jobs at the school level. But Woods says the district doesn’t plan to recommend any salary reductions to the board this year. Woods says the budget will be finalized in the next few weeks.