Veteran teachers for Lake Travis ISD will get a $3,000 salary increase across the board. Voted on during the June 19 meeting, the salary adjustments would apply to any teacher, librarian, counselor, and nurse (TLCN) with five years of experience or more, according to LTISD Director of Communications, Media and Community Relations Marco Alvarado. District information states that all TLCN employees with less than five years experience will receive a raise of $2,700. All other employees, such as aids or bus drivers, will receive a 4% salary increase off the midpoint LTISD pay grade, which varies depending on the position. Alvarado said each position within the district is structured with a minimum, midpoint and maximum salary or hourly rate, and the raise is factored based on each position's midpoint. The adjustments combined create an average 5.3% salary increase for Lake Travis ISD employees, Alvarado said. The compensation adjustments fit in accordance with House Bill 3, legislation signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 11, according to the Texas Education Agency. The bill requires minimum salary increases for full-time veteran teachers based on allotment increases. Though Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick presented an average $4,000 raise to the Senate, a majority of Central Texas districts found their calculations to be much lower. "I want the board to understand the difficulty we're facing is a professional staff; a teacher group specifically who has heard $4,000," Superintendent Dr. Brad Lancaster said. Former LTISD special education aid Cheryl Spelman said she worked for the district for seven years, but had to quit because the pay was not enough for the hours and stress aids are put in every day. "I loved working for the district," Spelman said. "I stopped working for Lake Travis ISD in December, and it was a difficult decision.” A stipulation within HB 3 mandates $1,462 raise for TLCN employees. The board agreed during the June 19 meeting to match that contribution, netting a $2,924 raise. “An increase in pay would allow us to get more employees to the district and better employees to the district," James Galbraigh, a 4-year district employee said. "It would allow us to keep them. Lake Travis always says they’re very competitive with other districts, so why not set the standard?”