Along with teacher pay raises, district officials recommend increasing the salaries for new first-year teachers and auxiliary staff, said Duana Kindle, PISD’s chief of employee services, during an April 8 board meeting.
The discussion
District staff are recommending a 3% raise for teachers, nurses and librarians, which will cost $11.06 million, according to the meeting presentation.
The starting salary for first-year teachers will be $62,200—a $1,200 increase from last year’s starting salary.
“We feel that would keep us in a good position ... as districts around us are all competing for the same small group of new hires,” Kindle said. “This would help us remain competitive.”
The current teacher pay scale moves in $400 increments as teachers gain experience in the district. District leaders are proposing raising the pay scale to $450 increments to honor the teachers who have stayed with the district, Kindle said.
District officials are also expecting to increase auxiliary salaries, such as maintenance positions, to remain competitive in the job market, Kindle said. Bus driver salaries would increase by $1 to be $25 per hour in the 2025-26 school year, which is estimated to cost the district $376,616.
Overall, adjusting auxiliary salaries to keep up with market rates will cost $742,840, according to the presentation.
Some context
A 3% raise was included in preliminary budget discussions.
The 3% raise, if approved, will add about $11.06 million to the district’s budget. Raising the experienced teacher pay scale is expected to cost $130,230, according to the presentation.
As of October, PISD had 6,520 staff members, including:
- 3,391 teachers
- 710 paraprofessionals
- 1,334 auxiliary staff
- 768 professional support
- 77 central administrators
- 240 campus administrators
Going forward
A public hearing and adoption of the budget is expected in June, and trustees are expected to adopt the tax rate in August.
