A new aligned salary structure is expected to save the DeKalb School System more than $2 million over the next three years, the district announced on May 24.

The change, which is part of Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson’s reorganization of the central office and district staffing, follows the consolidation of more than 380 job titles into 17 job classifications in April.

The new salary structure, which adjusts the compensation of 489 positions, including central office secretaries, counselors, psychologists and physical therapists, will realize savings of more than $800,000 in FY 2013. It is uniform across departments, is competitive with current market for salaries and positions, and will be implemented over a three-year period.

Atkinson said the new job classifications and salary structure will create more equitable compensation across departments and bring salaries in line with similar school systems and produce significant cost savings.

The reorganization began in November 2011 with an independent audit of central office and school-based personnel.

So far, 73 central office positions were eliminated at a savings of $5.1 million. More than 3,197 positions, previously coded to the central office budget, were eliminated and/or reassigned to schools.

With the reorganization, which is scheduled for completion by mid-fall 2012, the central office has been streamlined from 4,098 positions to 814 positions, or 6 percent of the district’s total work force. The changes make the district comparable to districts with similar student enrollment.

For more information, visit www.dekalb.k12.ga.us.