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Board trims supplements
Move affects 230 positions
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Forsyth County News
At a glance
The following is a breakdown of position supplements, totaling about $350,000, that the Forsyth County school system plans to eliminate for the 2009-10 school year.

Counselor
Supplement: $1,500
Positions: 68
Total: $102,000

Psychologist
Supplement: $1,500
Positions: 12
Total: $18,000

Social worker    
Supplement: $1,500
Positions: Seven
Total: $10,500

Elementary music teacher
Supplement: $1,500
Positions: 23
Total: $34,500

Media specialist    
Supplement: $360
Positions: 33
Total: $11,800

Technology education  
Supplement: $2,000
Positions: 17
Total: $34,000

Teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students
Supplement: $1,250
Positions: 9
Total: $11,250

Teachers of vision-impaired students
Supplement: $1,250
Positions: 4
Total: $5,000

Speech/language pathologists  
Supplement: $1,250
Positions: 57
Total: $71,250

Total: $298,300 x 1.17* = $349,011

* Forsyth County Schools spokeswoman Jennifer Caracciolo explained the total is multiplied by 1.17 to account for Social Security, medical insurance and teacher retirement benefits associated with the supplements.

The Forsyth County school system plans to trim about $350,000 in employee supplements next year.

The Board of Education voted 5-0 on Thursday to discontinue some supplements that are part of the salaries of various positions, including counselors, media specialists and speech language pathologists.

Candy Norton, chief human resources officer, told the board the cost-saving measure comes ahead of the 2009-10 school year contracts.

“We were advised that when we tender contracts to teachers, which we hope to at least present most of them before spring break on April 2, that we should let these individuals know that this will not be part of their salaries next year,” Norton said.

The deleted supplements range from an extra $360 per year for media specialists to $2,000 per year for technology education.

“They will still be eligible of course for the local supplement that’s built into our salary schedule, as well as for any responsibilities that we currently have for academic or other responsibilities,” Norton said.

District spokeswoman Jennifer Caracciolo said supplements for employees who have additional responsibilities, such as coaching or yearbook, were not eliminated.

Caracciolo said the supplements, which are locally funded, were in addition to employees’ state-funded base pay.

In other action at Thursday's meeting, the board approved the use of a three-year average to calculate the baseline measurement for high school English in the district’s application for investing in Education Excellence, or IE2, status.

The contract, if approved, would provide flexibility from some state mandates in exchange for more accountability.

The state Department of Education is expected to consider the proposal next week.

E-mail Julie Arrington at juliearrington@forsythnews.com.