Kevin Mayhue, a data entry manager at Brightwood Elementary School in Guilford County said after paying rent, car note, utilities and other bills the $1,576 he and many of his colleagues bring home bi-weekly leaves little for food at the end of the month. “This is why a lot of us [classified staff] have to have other sources of income to survive.” In addition to his job as a data manager, Mayhue is a pastor and has his own car detailing business.
Many stories like this were shared last Thursday at the “Fix the Wage Crisis Now” Rally coordinated by the Guilford County Association of Educators and during the county commissioners’ meeting afterward. The meeting was packed with every seat filled by a GCS employee advocating for higher pay.
For months, GCAE has been working to raise the wages of classified staff like Mayhue. The stories of custodians, food service workers, teacher assistants, and others have been ringing in the ears of county commissioners as they consider next year’s budget. The School Board has already approved a $77.6 million increase to fund salaries based on the “GCAE Model” in next year’s budget. This model calls for policymakers to fix the flat pay scale of classified employees with a 6 percent increase between pay grades and a 2.5% difference between steps.
“Simply put, our school board voted to address the impact of the wage crisis on the lives of our lowest-paid workers across our school district,” said GCAE President Kenya Donaldson. “This vote demonstrates an initial commitment to adequately staffing our schools with the most qualified workers. This ultimately increases the quality of education offered to all students in Guilford County Schools.”
Member Monica White agrees. She was an exceptional children’s teacher assistant for 12 years, a job she misses, but the low wages forced her to take a different higher-paying job in the district. “If we would pay our staff a livable wage, our staff wouldn’t have to receive Medicaid or food stamps or any other county-funded resources.”
Currently, there are more than 200 classified staff vacancies in the district. Commissioners will vote on the budget on June 15.
