Jefferson College’s 300 employees will receive pay raises for the 2023-2024 school year.
“Certified staff and faculty will receive increases of 3.5 percent,” President Dena McCaffrey said.
“Classified staff (which includes non-teaching positions like custodians, secretaries, mechanics and maintenance workers) will average 6.81 percent increases.”
She said the raises for the classified staff vary because those on the lowest pay grades will get larger percentage increases.
Daryl Gehbauer, vice president of finance and administration, said employees typically receive raises each year.
The Jefferson College Board of Trustees approved the pay increases in preparation of setting the college’s 2024 fiscal year budget at its next board meeting.
Under “budget assumptions,” college officials expect the pay raises will cost a total of about $585,900 next school year, Gehbauer said.
The proposed budget for the 2023-2024 school year includes $37.5 million in operating costs, and of that, $26,205,000 is for employee salaries and benefits, he said.
Gehbauer said he expects the final budget will be approved at the June 8 board meeting.
“Those numbers could change,” he said. “I don’t expect them to change much, though.”
The college’s budget year runs from July 1 through June 30.
The college’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously April 13 to approve the employee raises.
The April meeting was the first for new board member Marc Williams.
Williams and Margie Passmore, who filed for re-election, were sworn into six-year terms without an election as they were the only two candidates who filed for the two open seats on the board.
Longtime board member Gary Davis did not run for re-election.
The board also includes Steve Meinberg, Susan Tuggle, Krystal Hargis and Ron Scaggs.