Rutherford County School Board discusses pay raises and other changes to compete for staff

The Rutherford County School Board is considering upping the ante for how much the district pays its special education teachers and faculty.During budget preparation in last week’s meeting, board members discussed the pay hike to maintain competition with other school districts.Board member Frances Rosales also suggested giving an incentive to education assistants (EA) for students learning English as a second language.“We are growing so fast and this population, it is growing. And it’s not just Spanish speakers, we also have Arabic as well and I do see a value in having bilingual EAs in our buildings because these kids are coming, and they do not understand the language and some of them are having a hard time really, they’re just struggling and I believe if someone that understood the language that can help them and carry their hand a little bit will be beneficial,” said Rosales.Vice Chair Clair Maxwell echoed this support and suggested aligning ESL with special education so that those supports and incentives would be accessible as well.Other board members proposed changing staff payments to bi-monthly instead of monthly. If the board approves such a change, it’s possible the district won’t implement it until next year.“I would like to have further exploration as well about the bi-monthly pay scale. Like you said, we are competitive in a lot of areas. Let’s just not let off the gas any, let’s just keep going,” said board member Caleb Tidwell.