The Cy-Fair ISD board of trustees unanimously adopted a balanced budget of $894,552,484 at their board meeting June 27. Over $777 million of these funds will be devoted to payroll. CFISD plans to provide a salary increase of 2 percent for all classroom teachers along with salary increases for all clerical paraprofessionals, instructional paraprofessionals and hourly support employees. The raises are part of an effort to remain competitive in starting salaries for teachers and paraprofessionals, said Stuart Snow, associate superintendent of business and financial services. CFISD’s starting salary will be $52,025 in the 2016-17 academic year, which officials believe this will be competitive with neighboring districts. “We are hopeful that we will still be very competitive with those starting teacher salaries, but we just don’t know what those [other neighboring district’s] ranges are going to be as of yet,” Snow said.

Staff attendance incentives

The district is also implementing a new incentive program for teacher attendance. CFISD spends roughly $11 million each year on costs associated with substitute teachers, according to Karen Smith, assistant superintendent of business and financial services. The new program will offer teachers and paraprofessionals with fewer than two absences each semester the chance to enter into a drawing to win $2,000 at the end of both the fall and spring semesters. One hundred winners will be drawn each time. At the end of the school year, all teachers and paraprofessionals with a perfect attendance record will be entered to win $5,000. Five winners will be drawn for this prize. Snow said the district is in the process of identifying excuses such as jury duty and staff development that will be excluded from the policy. “The ones who will win the most are our students because they will get that consistent care and education everyday from our teachers,” trustee Christine Hartley said.

Budget revenue

The majority of the district’s revenue in the 2016-17 budget comes from the local area with $499 million coming from local property tax revenues. Other local funds come from tuition and gate receipts. The state provides roughly $377.3 million, and the federal government gives $6.4 million. The proposed tax rate will remain at $1.44, the same rate adopted in the 2015-16 budget.