The Spring ISD board of trustees will consider further increasing the district’s starting teacher salary from $52,275 in 2018-19 to $54,000 in 2019-20 at its Aug. 13 meeting. The board previously approved a starting teacher salary of $53,400 with the approval the district’s 2019-20 budget in June.

The board discussed the proposed starting teaching salary increase during its workshop meeting Aug. 8. Deeone McKeithan, SISD chief human resources officer, said the proposal came after SISD officials saw how aggressively other school districts increased salaries this school year to comply with House Bill 3.

"After we approved the comp[ensation] plan, we saw several districts and how they were being very aggressive ... with the teacher salaries and the increases they were providing," McKeithan said during the meeting. "So we talked about, 'How do we look at our current scale, and how do we beef that up a little bit in order to be a little bit more competitive in the market as it relates to our teacher salaries?' What we're proposing tonight isn't going to get us all the way there, but it certainly does get us a little bit closer. ... So we're not at a severe disadvantage when it comes to hiring new teachers."

If approved, the new starting teacher salary would be a 3.3% increase from the district’s starting salary last school year. Compared with neighboring districts, Klein ISD approved a 5.61% increase in July from $52,600 in 2018-19 to $55,550 in 2019-20, while Cy-Fair ISD approved a 2.78% increase in June from $54,000 to $55,500.

During the meeting, trustees questioned the sustainability of some of the steeper raises other school districts had approved this year following the passage of HB 3.

"I want to give teachers as much money as I can, but I also want the district to be financially solid," trustee Winford Adams Jr. said during the meeting.

The board will take action on the proposed increase at its next regular meeting Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held in the boardroom of the Gordon M. Anderson Leadership Center, located at 16717 Ella Blvd., Houston. For more information about SISD's 2019-20 budget, staff pay raises and starting teacher salaries, click here.