Kemp Announces Bonus Checks, More School Security Funding

State employees, including public school teachers, will be getting a bonus in their paychecks for Christmas.

On Monday, Governor Brian Kemp announced every state employee, including all K-12 public school teachers will receive a $1,000 bonus with their next paycheck.

In a separate announcement, Kemp said money is being allocated for every public school in Georgia to go towards improving their security measures.

The governor’s office said the safety funding will be included in the amended 2024 budget and 2025 proposed budget.

The news of additional funding comes at a time when the Franklin County School System has invested in another new security measure for all five schools.

Last February, the Board of Education approved up to $200,000 to install hi-tech detection equipment in each school. The money came from SPLOST V.

The decision by the School Board to purchase the weapons detection system was in response to three separate incidents in 2022 on Franklin County school campuses.

The weapons detection system is part of an overall safety plan instituted by Scott Andrews, Director of Safety and Security for the Franklin County Charter System.

In August, the new system was implemented in all schools.

Last week, however, School Superintendent of Operations Carl Dekker told the School Board that the original weapons detection system installed in the elementary schools did not fit their needs and a new walk-through system had been installed.

Other security measures over the past year include a new app for students to use to report if a student was carrying a weapon or any other kind of incident and a key card entry system for all of the schools.