BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – Berkeley County School District board members unanimously approved a record-breaking incentive for those who work in special education.
At Monday night’s board meeting, board members approved the designation of more than $5.1 million from Fund Balance to provide a $10,000 retention and recruitment incentive to all special education classroom teachers for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, as well as $5,000 for special services paraprofessionals and non-classroom teachers.
According to a BCSD news release, the full incentive will be divided into three payments to be paid in September and December of this year, and in April 2025; employees will only receive the final payment in April when they sign a contract for the 2025-2026 school year.
BCSD Board Chair Mac McQuillin said he is proud of the progress the board has made in addressing teacher compensation.
This is the largest incentive the district has provided for special services teachers and assistants. In May 2023, they received an additional $2,500 to the $5,000 incentive the board approved for all employees at the time. This was one of four incentives the board approved in 2023, totaling up to $9,325 for full-time staff, and $11,825 for special education teachers or assistants.
Last June, the board also approved a historic 6.5 percent pay increase in the 2023-2024 general fund budget, which was passed without a resident millage increase.
“This board will continue to prioritize teacher and staff compensation in order to ensure that we have the best professionals working to support BCSD students,” McQuillin said.
BCSD Superintendent Dr. Anthony Dixon said he appreciates the board recognizing the critical need to retain and recruit highly qualified special education teachers and support staff.
“As a former special education teacher, I applaud the increased incentives this Board has provided last year and this year,” he said. “Teacher compensation remains a priority for our budget planning, and we are committed to working collaboratively to retain and attract talented education professionals.”
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