Pflugerville ISD approves 1% pay increase for faculty and staff

PfISD in the 2021-22 school year will offer a starting salary of $51,900 for teachers with no years of experience, according to district documents. That number is higher than the starting salaries offered by AISD, RRISD and LISD.

The district’s pay scale will increase marginally with years of experience, and Ramos said PfISD expects to pay better than other competing school districts for teachers with five to 20 years of experience as well.

“We wanted to make sure we were aggressive with [retaining] our experienced teachers,” Ramos told trustees.

The 1% pay increase is the smallest hike for PfISD teachers and staff in recent years. Trustees in March 2020—just weeks before the coronavirus pandemic forced campuses to close to students—approved a 3% increase across the board for staff and faculty. The year before that, PfISD utilized a package of state funds to back a 6.7% pay increase for its employees.

Ramos said these costs have been included in budget forecasts for the next school year. The district in February was looking at a potential $14 million budget shortfall in the 2021-22 school year related to enrollment decreases incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier in May, Ramos said the district is watching several education funding bills moving through the Texas Legislature that may help offset some of the budget constraints next school year.