Trustees voted unanimously June 20 to increase the starting pay for new teachers with no experience to $58,600. That amount is higher than what’s been approved or planned in nine area districts, including Irving, Frisco, Fort Worth, Denton and Northwest ISDs, according to district figures.
District staff looked at median pay for a starting teacher in 22 districts in the Education Service Center Region 11 that were either near the district or similar to Carroll ISD. The median salary for a starting teacher in those districts was $57,045, district documents show.
Board members discussed several scenarios for increasing pay in order to remain competitive.
“I think we're gonna have to do something to make sure that we're equal to or slightly above what the average of all the other schools are at,” board member Eric Lannen said.
The board also approved incremental raises for teachers based on experience. There will be 4.5% raises for teachers with 1-10 years of experience. Those with 11-15 years get a 5% raise, and those with 16 to 20 years of experience get a 5.5% raise. Those with 20 -25 years of experience will get a 6% raise. Those with 26-30 years will get a 6.5% increase, and those with 31-plus years of experience will get a 7% raise.
Lauren Wurman, the district’s executive director of human resources, told the board that raises are determined each year. What’s approved this year does not lock the district into the same percentage increases in the future, she said.
“It might look a little bit different in future years because we redo the [pay] schedule every year depending on what the market looks like and also depending on available funds within our budget,” she said.
The district has 19 teachers with 31-plus years of experience, Wurman said. The bulk of the district’s teachers have between six years and 20 years of experience, she said.
The total cost to the district for those increases is more than $2.16 million, Wurman said.
The raises for teachers are in addition to the one-time retention payments approved at the board’s May 23 meeting. The amounts range from a $1,600 payment for those with zero to five years of experience up to $3,200 for those with 26-plus years of experience, according to district documents.
Also at the June 20 meeting, the board approved a 2% midpoint raise increase for all other district staff, including clerical, nutrition and transportation workers. Board members said they would look at increasing starting pay for some positions that are more difficult to fill at a future meeting. Possible changes to the daily rate for substitute teachers will also be considered at a future meeting.
