Denton ISD leaders are considering a district-wide raise for all employees to bring DISD salaries inline with other districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The overview
An April 14 presentation from Jason Rainey, the interim superintendent for human resources, proposed a 4% raise for teachers and librarians based on market median teacher salary and a 2% raise for all other staff. The salary adjustments would cost the district roughly $9 million for fiscal year 2026-27.
The proposal came out of a staff survey where almost one third of DISD teachers said compensation was the most important issue for teachers. The district also found that the starting salary for new teachers in DISD was the lowest out of 18 nearby school districts.
Currently, DISD teachers earn below the market median for all experience levels, ranging between 96% and 97% of the market median of $63,000 annually, according to district documents. If officials approve the raise, Denton teachers will earn more than the market median, which is between 101% and 102% of the median.
Looking ahead
Current projections for FY 2026-27 show the district earning about $10 million more in revenue than expenditures. The Denton ISD board of trustees could decide on the salary adjustment at the May 12 board meeting.
“About $380 million in revenue and about 370 million in expenditures [leaves] us a variance of about $10 million,” Superintendent Susannah O’Bara said. “If we approve this compensation plan in May, it will absorb almost all of that variance.”
