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17 <br /> <br />• Projected 2% state mandated salary increase for classified staff <br />• Projected Retirement increase to 21.44% <br />• Projected Hospitalization of $6,647 annually per employee <br />• Elementary Universal Breakfast Program <br />• Continued equity professional development for all staff <br />State mandated benefit and salary increases continue to be the driving force in the requested <br />continuation budget increase. Based on historical data, the employer portion of employee <br />benefits has risen upwards of 30% in the past five years. <br /> <br />2020-2021 EXPANSION BUDGET <br />As previously stated, legislatures failed to come to an agreement and pass a budget for the <br />2019-2020 fiscal year. As a result, no additional funds were distributed from the State to provide <br />salary increases for all staff. Even though it was approved to give Certified Staff (i.e. teachers) <br />credit for their previous year of experience which allowed movement on the salary scale, the <br />state salary scales remained unchanged for not only Certified but all other staff as well. This <br />decision to credit one year of service did allow Certified Staff (i.e. Teachers) to receive a $1,000 <br />annual salary increase. However, no other staff employed with Orange County Schools received <br />any salary increase for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. <br /> <br />We know Commissioners value the service all Orange County Schools employees provide the <br />students attending our schools as much as we do. As a result, we request a onetime funding of <br />$1.0M to provide a onetime bonus to staff. This is not requested as a per pupil increase. <br /> <br />Now, let’s look at the other expansion items being requested for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. As <br />we dug deep into our data, it became very apparent that to move the work forward in the three <br />foci areas outlined at the beginning of this document, additional resources and support would be <br />required. <br /> <br />Foci I outlines our intent of doubling down on Literacy. Our data reflects that our marginalized <br />students are falling behind in Literacy at an unacceptable level. 45% of our 3rd through 8th <br />grade students are not proficient in reading as reflected on the 2018/2019 end of grade tests. <br />In order to interrupt the systems in place and improve student outcomes, our Board supported <br />and approved the following expansion items in support of the Literacy Foci: <br />• $105,500 to hire a Directory of Literacy. <br />o Approx. 64% of our black students in grades 3-8 are not proficient in reading <br />o Approx. 67% of our Hispanic students in grades 3-8 are not proficient in reading <br />o Approx. 85% of our English language learners in grades 3-8 are not proficient in <br />reading <br />o Approx. 87% of our students with disabilities in grades 3-8 are not proficient in <br />reading <br />• $138,000 to hire two additional school counselors to offer additional support at various <br />schools. In this year alone, OCS has experienced the following: <br />o 135 suicide assessments <br />o 78 social service referrals <br />o 19 medical emergencies <br />o 400+ referred and/or receiving school based mental health services <br />• $74,100 to hire a Social and Emotional Learning Coordinator. <br />o 50% of our students qualify for Title I funding <br />o 43.25% of our K-12 students receive free & reduced meals <br />o 70.3% of our PreK students received free & reduced meals