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GONZALES, La. (AP) — The Ascension Parish School Board has adopted a nearly $220 million budget that includes a 3 percent pay raise for its 2,800 full-time employees.
The pay increase is the first permanent hike for system employees since 2008.
Board President Troy Gautreau Sr. tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/1njkCNz ) on Tuesday the raises are long overdue.
"Our test scores and performance indicators show we're one of the top-flight school districts in the state," he said in a committee before the board meeting. "We need to make sure our employee salaries reflect that."
The 3 percent raise and corresponding benefits increases will cost the district $5.6 million, Gautreau said, and will be paid through increases in property tax revenues from the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
The 2014-15 budget predicts general fund revenues of $219.8 million, $5 million more than the current year's amended budget, which the board also approved Tuesday.
Expenditures for the next fiscal year are projected at $217.9 million, $12 million higher than the current year's budget.
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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com
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