Additionally, LHISD has proposed providing compensation increases for new and beginner teachers as well as campus administrators.
The big picture
LHISD is considering spending $4.94 million to increase pay for staff members in fiscal year 2025-26, according to a presentation by Human Resources Director Rebecca Owens at a June 16 board meeting. Costs associated with these raises would be offset by $3.46 million in new state funding following the passage of House Bill 2 during the 2025 legislation, which adjourned June 2.
In districts with more than 5,000 students, the $8.5 billion school funding legislation allocates $2,500 raises for teachers with three to four years of experience and $5,000 raises for teachers with five or more years of experience.
Totaling $2.62 million, HB 2 funding will provide the following pay raises for LHISD teachers based on years of experience:
- Three years of experience: 4% increase for a salary of $57,750
- Four years of experience: 4% increase for a salary of $57,950
- Five or more years of experience: 7% increase for a salary of $60,650 and higher
LHISD is planning to provide $1,200 raises to around 70 teachers with zero to two years of experience—teachers who were not allocated pay increases under HB 2.
What happened
At the June 16 meeting, the board of trustees approved $1.42 million in district funding for:
- $927,000 in increased benefits contributions
- $280,000 in salary step increases for each year of teacher experience
- $100,000 in increased hourly pay for summer school, extended school year and homebound teachers
- $115,000 in raises through restructuring campus administration pay scales
The TEA has defined eligible teachers as those who teach at least four hours a day in an academic or career and technology education instructional setting.
What else?
The district is expecting to generate around $100,000 in additional expenses to provide raises for more than 100 new teachers hired to accommodate about 1,000 new students next school year, district officials said.
What they’re saying
District officials highlighted the importance of raising pay for campus administrators and criticized the state for not increasing administrator pay.
“It’s a travesty that our state lawmakers do not value our administrators,” trustee Chris Neighbors said. “We are trying... It’s not enough. It’s never going to probably be enough, but I’m happy to support anything we can do.”
The pay for LHISD campus administrators is currently 22.5% to 17.5% lower than the highest competing district in the area, Owen said. Despite restructuring pay scales, compensation for campus administrators is “significantly lower” in LHISD than in surrounding districts, she said.
“The gap that we’ve got impacts our ability to attract and retain strong campus leaders,” Owen said. “Without the competitive pay structure for our campus administrators, we risk losing high-quality leaders and that’s going to reduce our ability to be able to fill vacancies with experienced candidates.”
