Governor Brian Kemp announced Monday morning that all state employees, public school teachers and school support staff in Georgia will receive a $1,000 bonus this holiday season. Kemp also announced a plan to include funding for school safety improvements statewide in the Amended FY 2024 budget.
Kemp said roughly 112,000 state employees and 196,000 educators and school support staff will receive the bonus, which Kemp called a state employee retention pay supplement. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the bonuses will be included in end-of-year paychecks next week.
"Throughout the pandemic, a summer of unrest, and the unprecedented challenges of the last several years, our state employees have worked hard, taken on additional challenges, remained committed to serving their fellow Georgians, and become more streamlined so we can remain the best state for opportunity," Kemp said. "This retention pay supplement will arrive during the holiday season, and it’s part of my administration’s way of showing our appreciation for all that they do."
Kemp's amended FY 2024 budget submitted to the General Assembly in January will include about $330 million for the one-time payments, including $202 million for K-12 teachers and school support staff. The budget will also include more than $100 million to provide ongoing annual funding for local K-12 schools for school security and safety.
In total, Kemp said every public school in Georgia will receive $45,000 to use on campus security improvements through funding that will be added to the yearly base budget.
“This additional investment in school safety will benefit every part of the state,” continued Governor Kemp, “and it’s just the latest action we’re taking to secure our classrooms and back our law enforcement. This new funding comes on top of the $7,000 teacher pay raise and historic K-12 funding levels we’ve put in place since I took office.”
Kemp previously authorized two school safety grants totaling $185 million. In 2019, the governor approved grants of $30,000 for every public school in the state to improve campus security. Those grants were followed by a second round of grants earlier this year totaling $50,000 per school.
“The safety and well-being of our students across the state is always my top priority,” Lt. Governor Burt Jones said. “I want to thank Governor Kemp for his support of significant funding for local school safety initiatives and his leadership on this issue. I am looking forward to building on this announcement and enhancing school safety measures, as I outlined in my Georgia School Safety Initiative in October, and strengthening our commitment to making Georgia’s schools the safest in the nation”
"I’m proud to join Governor Kemp in providing additional funding for school safety initiatives as well as supplemental pay for our state employees,” Speaker of the House Jon Burns said. “We want every child in our state to have the opportunity to learn, grow and explore in a safe and secure environment, and this proposal will help ensure that happens. We also want to continue prioritizing our state employees who help deliver the critical services our state depends on. We look forward to working with our colleagues in the Senate to make these priorities a reality during the upcoming legislative session."
