Proposed Charleston Co. teacher raise already impacting recruitment, retention

Proposed Charleston Co. teacher raise already impacting recruitment, retention

CHARLESTON, S.C. – A proposal with hopes of making teachers’ lives more enjoyable and affordable in the Charleston County School District is already impacting the recruitment and retention of employees for the upcoming school year.

Included in the Charleston County School District’s first budget reading for the 2024 to 2025 school year, teacher salaries would be increased by $7,500. This graphic, provided by the Charleston County School District, lays out what teachers in the district made from 2022-2023 and 2023-2024. It shows what the teachers could be making next school year if the budget is approved: (Charleston County School District)

Positive Impact on Recruitment and Retention

Charleston County School District’s Chief Human Resource Officer, William Briggman, explained that the district must hire around 500 to 600 new teachers at the end of every school year to fill open positions. At the end of May 2023, the district had hired 279 teachers. As of June 4, 2024, 511 teachers have been hired. Currently, 137 open positions are available in the Charleston County School District out of around 3,600 teachers.

“I do definitely see it contributing to recruitment and the retention of our current teachers,” Briggman said. “It’s pretty significant. We’re very excited about that and making sure that our employees just feel heard and valued, because that’s an important part of an organization of our size.”

Competitive Starting Salary

This proposal would put the starting salary of a Charleston County teacher at $55,700 a year, the highest salary in the state. Charleston County is the second largest school district in South Carolina behind Greenville, where the 2024 to 2025 proposed teacher pay is just over $50,000 a year.

“I’m a South Carolinian, and I believe in education across the state, across our nation; it’s an important part of who we are as a country,” Briggman said. “I want the competition. I want other districts to say ‘oh my gosh, Charleston’s paying this, we’ve got to get close to it or we got to maybe pay more.’”

Future Goals

Working alongside the Charleston County School District Teacher Compensation Task Force, Briggman shared the goal is for the starting salary of a Charleston County teacher to be at $60,000 by 2026. “It’s just to make sure that we really start to push the profession as something where a young professional can enjoy, can thrive, not have to have a second job and can really focus on our young people, which is important to our entire community,” he added.

Teacher Appreciation

One longtime Charleston County teacher, Patrick Martin, expressed his excitement about the positive impact on students and teachers. “Here we are poised for a great school year for our students because the compensation has come along in a timely fashion,” Martin said. “We’re really excited to see the numbers follow an inkling that we’ve had for a long time.”

Recruitment Efforts

In terms of recruitment efforts, the district is holding an event for anyone interested in working for Charleston County Schools at R.B. Stall High School on June 12 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.