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https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/memorial/news/article/Spring-Branch-ISD-board-of-trustees-approves-new-14060075.php
Spring Branch ISD board of trustees approves new budget and pay increases
Published 12:00 am CDT, Saturday, June 29, 2019
Spring Branch ISD
Photo: Spring Branch ISD / Spring Branch ISD
The Spring Branch ISD Board of Trustees has voted unanimously to adopt a 2019-2020 operating budget during its regular monthly meeting and to raise salaries for eligible teachers, nurses and librarians between 6 and 9%.
Under the new salary plan, teachers, nurses and librarians with five to 15 years of experience will earn a pay increase of approximately $4,900, which represents an 8.4 to 9 percent increase. New teachers will earn $57,000 a year under the new pay plan; those meeting five years of experience will be paid $60,000 annually.
Teachers with 16 or more years of experience will receive salary increases ranging from 6 to more than 8%, based on the district's "Teacher Step" plan. Counselors and diagnosticians will receive increases of 4 to 7%. Other eligible SBISD employees who are not on a step schedule will receive salary increases of approximately 4% based on the pay grade midpoint of their position categories.
"The Board of Trustees is pleased to be able to provide these well-deserved pay raises for our teachers and staff," Board President Pam Goodson said on Monday evening. "Teacher compensation has always been a top priority of our Board. We also recognize the value and impact that all SBISD employees have on student achievement."
"Tonight, our SBISD Board of Trustees approved a district budget affirming their commitment to you - the extraordinary people of SBISD," Superintendent Scott R. Muri wrote to employees in a special email message after Trustees voted on the new district budget and higher compensation. "The salary increases included in the budget go beyond the requirement set forth by the state as part of the new school finance model and provide a significant pay increase for all employees."
Muri was joined by Jennifer Blaine, SBISD's incoming superintendent, in crediting Trustees for going above and beyond in their support for salary increases. Both praised the work of local lawmakers and state leaders for the increase in school funding during the recent Legislative session.
"We know that for so many years, our employees have shouldered much of the impact of the old and outdated school finance system, with pay increases that were not always aligned with the job market elsewhere," Blaine said. "We are pleased that the new state funding system has enabled us to provide a more substantial pay increase for all our employees."
Extra funding for classroom teacher, school nurse, librarian and counselor salaries occurred, in part, as a result of House Bill 3 in the recent Texas Legislature. In the new budget approved on Monday evening, SBISD Trustees allocated more than $1.5 million in district funding for compensation beyond what was mandated by the state.
House Bill 3 will also include new property tax relief for area homeowners and a welcome reduction in district recapture payments, also called Robin Hood.
Under the budget approved on Monday, the proposed Spring Branch ISD tax rate is anticipated to move from a current rate of $1.3945 per $100 valuation to $1.3210 for a decrease of just more than seven cents.
Although SBISD's recapture payments to the state will not go away, next year's payment is expected to be reduced to approximately $35 million, which is less than half of an estimated 2019 payment totaling $86 million. In the past four years alone, SBISD was required to send more than $166 million away from its classrooms under the state's Robin Hood school tax formula.
SBISD Associate Superintendent for Finance Karen Wilson noted that the new budget funds other key district priorities while providing raises to teachers and full-time staff. SBISD's budget of $341 million includes priority funding for its campus and department budgets, district professional development, staffing positions with Career & Technical Education (CTE) and Special Education/Dyslexia departments, instructional specialists, as well as added Guidance and Counseling and System of Care staffing to serve students.
The district's new budget includes a formula funding revenue increase of approximately $30.9 million, which includes several state-mandated expenditures, including a provision requiring that 30 percent of new revenues be allocated for non-administrative salary increases.
At this time, SBISD leadership is continuing to study House Bill 3 to fully understand how it will impact district finances, especially over the long term.
A public hearing was held Monday before Board adoption of the new budget.
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