The Pflugerville ISD board of trustees approved a pay increase for all district staff as well as about 73 new positions on April 23.



Employees on a step schedule, or amount of pay dependent on level of experience and years employed in the district, will receive a raise based on 2 percent of the market median pay for their position, according to board documents. Employees not on a step schedule will receive a 2 percent increase based on their position's midpoint, or the middle of a range of possible salaries for the position. Any position where the pay is still less than 90 percent of market, an additional adjustment will be given, according to board information.



The district estimates the pay increases will cost about $3 million, according to the board documents.



"In order to attract the best personnel, we need to pay a competitive pay rate," said PISD CFO Kenneth Adix.



The district will hire new campus and non-campus positions as well, according to board documents, including nine new elementary teachers, nine new high school teachers, four new middle school teachers.



PISD Superintendent Alex Torrez said while no one knows what the legislature will do in terms of school financing, the district needed to approve the positions now.



"The benefit of approving these positions now is we can pick the best people," said trustee Carol Fletcher. "We don't want to wait until August when everything [at the legislature has] been approved.