Hays CISD is proposing pay increases that total $1.54 million for the 2015-16 school year, with a majority of the funds boosting teacher pay. At the Hays CISD board of trustees’ agenda workshop June 15, many board members expressed support of the proposed pay hikes, and a decision on employee compensation for the upcoming school year is expected at its June 22 business meeting. According to past salary surveys conducted by the Texas Association of School Boards, the district’s teachers were not being compensated as well as their regional counterparts. Elaine Howard, Hays CISD chief human resources officer, said the pay hikes would make the district’s more experienced teachers among the most well compensated in Central Texas. “At year 5-15 we become a force to be reckoned with in the region,” Howard said. “On top of that we offer a wonderful cost of living here in the Hays community. … If I were coming out of a district looking for a place to go, Hays has so much to offer.” Teachers, nurses and librarians will receive a 4.4 percent pay bump, which equates to $1,600 in addition to their regular annual pay raise, or step increase. The average Hays CISD teacher will receive a pay increase of $2,090, Howard said. In May 2014 Hays CISD increased annual salaries for teachers, nurses and librarians by an average of 3.9 percent for 2014–15. A salary survey of 15 area school districts conducted by the Texas Association of School Boards on Hays CISD’s behalf sparked many of the adjustments, including alterations to the various employee pay scales, which dictates how one’s salary graduates with the experience he or she attains. The survey found that pay ranges in general at Hays CISD were too low and not competitive with the market. “You guys have already made the effort to equitize the teacher pay scale,” Howard said. “We are not only taking [teachers] competitively, but we are also taking them in step with other school districts.” Under the proposal starting teacher salaries would be boosted to $43,600, up from $42,000 currently. Counselors would receive 3.7 percent pay increases, which amounts to their step increase plus $1,600. All other employee groups receive raises equal to 2 percent of their pay range midpoint. For example, a receptionist earning $10.95 an hour in 2014-15 whose midpoint is $13.53 would earn $11.17 an hour in 2015-16.