Breckinridge County teachers to get average 6% raise instead of previously proposed 1% raise

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Teachers at Breckinridge County Schools can expect on average a 6% raise this school year.

Originally, teachers were expected to receive a 1% increase. But administrators and the school board reworked salary raises in the last two months after teachers expressed frustrations with a 1% raise not keeping up with inflation.

"I'm very proud of our school district's willingness to go back and review our plan and revise it, and try to take what we were going to do in spring, we're going to spread out over two to three years and put more of it upfront, trying to help our employees address their individual needs," Breckinridge County Schools Superintendent Nick Carter said.

The district's tentative plan is to bump salaries by 2% next school year and another 2% the following year, raising salaries in total between 8% to 10% over the course of three years. However, Carter warns this can change based off the overall state of the economy.

Carter hopes this will attract new teachers to the county schools.

"What this does is it makes us competitive from zero years of experience all the way up to the end of our pay scale," Carter said. "This hopefully will help recruit new teachers into the field and retain the great and wonderful teachers that we have currently employed in our school."

The board also approved to raise substitute pay for retired teachers. Retired teachers will make around $140 per day who substitute.