School administrators are on track to hire more teachers in Rockdale County after school board members approved teacher allotments for the next school year.

The unanimous vote happened at the board’s Jan. 16 regular meeting.

Of the total 797 minimum certified teacher slots, the board allotted 371 elementary teachers, 176 middle school teachers, and 250 high school teachers. The allotment is 36 more teachers than this school year.

Officials pointed to an enrollment increase of 236 students and more students in the gifted program as reasons for the increased allotments, which are still subject to approval of the final 2014-2015 school year budget.

Chief Financial Officer Lee Davis explained that central office staff will now work on staffing plans with school principals. Those staffing plans will go in the district’s budget preparation process, which includes public hearings and tax digest discussions. 

Slots for non-teaching positions will be determined on what is known as the point system. In the system, different point values are assigned to different non-teaching positions. 

Davis explained that the point allocation formula offers principals some flexibility in their staffing decisions. Principals can have various non-teaching positions, but the total points for each must equal their allotment.

In other business, the board also unanimously approved a school calendar revision that will make March 14 a student instructional day instead of a teacher workday. 

The revision makes March 14 a make-up day for  the school day that students lost  Jan. 7 because of the extreme cold.

The board also formally approved last week’s recommendation for the 2014-2015 school calendar.