ATLANTA — The Georgia State Senate passed House Bill 977 by a vote of 39-0 on Tuesday, April 27th. Sponsored by Representative Ed Rynders (R-Leesburg), HB 977 prevents a school system from increasing the pay of administrators when that school system has furloughed other school employees.
“It is unfair for school administrators to give themselves pay increases while demanding furloughs from their teachers and education support staff,” said Representative Rynders. “HB 977 evens the playing field and creates a more transparent system.”
House Bill 977 states that, if a local board of education furloughs its teachers, paraprofessionals, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, custodians, support staff, or other non-administrative positions during a school year, then that local board of education is prohibited from using any state funds to provide a salary increase for the local school superintendent or administrators during that school year.
The bill also requires that any school board attempting to bypass the use of state funds by using local funds to raise the pay of an administrator or superintendent must first hold a public hearing so as to explain their reasoning and receive community input.
The bill now moves to the Governor for his consideration. A link to the bill can be found by clicking here.
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Representative Ed Rynders represents the citizens of District 152, which includes portions of Colquitt, Dougherty, Lee, and Worth Counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2002, and is currently the Chairman of the Intragovernmental Coordination Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Health & Human Services Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations and Transportation Committees.