MSCS has developed a proposed budget for the 2023-24 school year. Funds have been allocated to prioritize increased compensation for teachers, advanced academic opportunities, and safety. The District is also requesting Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) funds from the Shelby County Commission for deferred maintenance, school safety, building upgrades, and a new school in Frayser. Many of this year's budget priorities are a direct result of input from teachers, students, parents, and the greater community. 

COMPENSATION

At the conclusion of collaborative conferencing with the education associations earlier this year, the District committed to an additional teacher salary investment of $27.3 million. This investment includes the highest starting salary for teachers in our community at this time and highest percentage increase in the Memphis area, a quicker path to the maximum salary connected to step increases. An incremental step increase for school leaders for $3.2 million is included in this initial budget estimate and a 2% raise for all non-instructional employees at a total of $7.9 million.

Also included in this year’s Initial Budget Proposal:

• Sign-on and retention bonuses of $10,000 - $15,000 totaling upwards of $10 million to attract new teachers to the District and fill hard-to-staff teaching positions, such as ESL, Dual Language, Critical EOC, Special Education, Pre-K, and iZone.
• Academic performance bonus based on state data (TVAAS), as opposed to evaluations, of $10 million. The goal is to reward teachers who move the academic needle for students while also driving a culture of achievement in the District. 
• Athletic coaching stipends and compensation alignment for electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and security resource officers of $3 million.
• Expanding new-teacher support and mentor-teacher stipends of $2 million. 

SAFETY

Safety has been at the forefront of all our minds. We have talked at length about securing our campuses and buildings and have already made a $17 million investment this school year to upgrade safety-related technology that is set for completion at multiple schools. 

Our requested amount for 2023-24 of $37.6 million would allow us to address more schools in the District. With this year’s allocation and the latest request, we hope to spend around $50 million in upgrades for cameras and weapons detection, fencing, and personnel to monitor the weapons-detection equipment and campuses throughout the day. 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUPPORTS 

Investments are proposed for additional ESL teachers, sensitivity training, and ESL specific summer learning academies and tutoring. Lastly, we are proposing increased pay for bilingual mentors supporting and working with our students in this special population. These investments as proposed would cost approximately $9 million. 

STUDENT EXPOSURE

We know it would be beneficial to offer students more opportunities to see sites outside of the day-to-day of a school building. To provide field trips that expose our students to various opportunities across the city and country, we are proposing $3 million.

CAPITAL REQUEST

District administration spoke with the Shelby County Commission on Wednesday, April 12, to request new appropriations to support the increasing deferred maintenance of over $500 million for our facilities, including:

• $4.6 million for upgraded intercoms and fire alarm systems; 
• $51.8 million for deferred maintenance, including roof replacements, HVAC upgrades, and other repairs;
• $9.9 million to continue the design and pre-construction process of a new high school for the Frayser community.

The District will keep all stakeholders informed as we finalize the 2023-24 proposed budget with our School Board in the coming weeks.