“We found the funding to make sure we could take care of our staff, just as much as we could in these challenging times,” Superintendent Ryder Warren said.
The vote in favor of the 1.5% midpoint pay increase, which district staff anticipated would make for an impact of $2.4 million to the budget, was 5-0 with two members having to abstain. It also raised the district’s starting pay for teachers to $56,500.
Kim Caley, NISD’s assistant superintendent for human resources, presented the compensation plan to the board and noted its role in keeping the district competitive for good teachers.
“Our employee compensation does help support [NISD’s] Strategic Goal 2, helping us to be able to recruit and retain quality staff,” Caley said.
The pay increase was not originally included in the fiscal year 2021-22 budget the board adopted June 28. However, NISD Chief Financial Officer Brian Carter explained to trustees that among incoming federal relief funds, normal budgeting practices that skew conservative and the district’s student population possibly crossing a new funding threshold, the decision to add to the budget was still financially sound.
“Historically, our expenditures have trended less than what is originally budgeted throughout the year,” Carter told trustees.
Similarly, the third round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding, or ESSER, was something Warren cited when explaining why the district’s leadership recommended the one-time bonus, which was approved in a separate vote.
“We’ve got an opportunity, with the different levels of ESSER funding we’ve received, one of the things we feel is very appropriate is not only supporting our children—but also supporting our staff,” Warren said. “Last year, we knew the year that they had, so just providing them with just a ‘thank you’ and a retention bonus ... that’s what we are proposing.”
According to Caley, the bonus is available to all NISD staff who begin employment before Sept. 1, 2021, and are still employed and in good standing as of Nov. 1, 2021. The budgetary impact from the one-time payments, which will occur in November, is estimated to be $1.5 million.
“We feel it’s a very smart expenditure to invest in our staff,” Warren said.
