Atlanta Public Schools to grant state’s teacher bonuses after receiving criticism

ATLANTA — After criticism over how it planned to use a state bonus for school teachers, Atlanta Public Schools district said it is now waiting for guidance on how to proceed with distributing funds.

Gov. Brian Kemp announced bonuses for education employees and state employees on Monday, promising $1,000 to each individual.

Hours later, APS employees were told by email that the bonus was included in their Dec. 14 paycheck as a holiday retention bonus, and that the district intended to use the additional funds to backfill their budget.

Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods said the decision was “inconceivable” and “baffling” in a letter to Atlanta Public Schools. He asked district leaders why they are not giving their teachers the $1,000 retention bonus announced by the governor earlier this week.

Following the pushback, and in response to questions from Channel 2 Action News, a spokesman for Atlanta Public Schools said the district was changing directions.

“The intent of Atlanta Public Schools and the Atlanta Board of Education was to reward our hardworking teachers and school staff with a bonus before the holiday break, while also being fiscally responsible stewards of taxpayer funds. We did that as a district on December 15th and we are committed to passing along any additional funds once funds are disbursed for the Governor’s proposal and clarification is provided on which categories of employees should be covered by the bonus.”

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Earlier Thursday, Woods sent a letter to the interim APS superintendent saying the “intent of the state’s $1,000 supplement is not to backfill the APS budget.”

It’s unclear when the school district will receive guidance on who will receive the bonuses or when they will arrive. Instead, they say they are waiting on those details to come from the governor’s office, or the Georgia Department of Education.

“The state is providing a $1,000 retention payment to teachers and support staff, and it is my expectation that they will receive it. Anything less is a disservice to the teachers and staff whose efforts in the classroom- far more than anything that takes place at the state or central officer – are the reason our students succeed,” Woods wrote in the letter.

Woods said he was stunned about what the district had decided to do with the money.

“Frankly, I am baffled by the assertation that APS somehow predicted the exact timing and amount of the bonus that had not been finalized or announced at the time of the district-level payment – particularly since this payment does not align with the timing of retention payments made in past years,” Woods said.

The governor’s office said the money for the bonuses will be paid to the individual school districts by the end of the year.

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