Local
Gwinnett Schools Scraps $2,000 Staff Retention Payment After State Funding Falls Through
Gwinnett County Public Schools told employees Monday that a promised $2,000 one-time retention payment will not be paid this year because the state budget did not include the funding, and the district says it cannot cover the cost on its own.
Gwinnett County Public Schools employees learned Monday that a proposed $2,000 one-time retention payment will not be paid this year, after state funding for the supplement failed to materialize in the approved state budget.
In an internal message to teachers and staff, the district said the payment had always been contingent on money from the State of Georgia. Because that funding was left out of the final budget, GCPS said it has no room in its current budget to provide the supplement independently.
"We recognize this news may be disappointing," the memo read. "We value the dedication of our teachers and staff and understand the importance of compensation in attracting and retaining the talented professionals who serve our students every day."
The district's fiscal year 2027 budget described the payments as intended for a broad swath of school employees â not only classroom teachers but also custodians, school nutrition workers, bus drivers, school nurses, school counselors and other staff.
The setback follows action earlier this year in Atlanta. In March, Gov. Brian Kemp signed an amended fiscal year 2026 state budget that authorized one-time $2,000 supplemental payments for eligible educators and state employees. Gwinnett officials had pointed to that commitment in planning the local payment.
Union leaders said the reversal lands hard on a workforce already stretched thin.
"Those teachers are disappointed," said Verdaillia Turner, president of the Georgia Federation of Teachers and the Atlanta Federation of Teachers. "The superintendent and school board is just going to have to tell it how it is. Tell them where the money went, where the money is, and who is shortchanging Georgia."
The district's FY2027 budget does include some compensation increases funded locally: a $1,000 salary raise for all teachers, and a 2.0% cost-of-living increase for employees who are not teachers.
For Gwinnett families, the decision raises questions about how the county â one of Georgia's largest school systems â will keep experienced educators and support staff in classrooms and on buses amid ongoing concerns about pay and retention. District leaders have framed competitive compensation as central to recruiting and keeping talented professionals, even as they say the state's funding decisions constrain what the county can do on its own.