Schools promise raises despite concern

Districts OK bumps in pay as questions emerge over new law

Kimberly Dixon had to doublecheck her math after texts started pouring in from her fellow teachers at Sheldon Independent School District early Tuesday morning.

They shared screenshots of a Facebook post, in which officials in the ship-channel-area school district wrote the school board approved 10 to 15 percent raises for all teachers, counselors, librarians and nurses. That meant a kindergarten teacher would receive at least an additional $6,000 annually. Administrators and paraprofessionals would receive 7 percent pay bumps, and hourly employees, such as bus drivers and food service workers, would get an extra $1 per hour.

The amount seemed unbelievable to Dixon, who has been teaching for two years. She said until now, she has had to keep a tight budget to pay rent and afford the $1,000 to $2,000 she spends annually on classroom supplies.

“As soon as I saw that I thought ‘Oh my god, I can move to a nicer apartment, and I might not have to struggle with my bills this month,’” Dixon said.

At least nine of the larger Houston-area school districts have proposed or approved raises for teachers and other staff this month, after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a landmark school finance bill into law June 11. The new law, known as HB 3, will pump about $6.5 billion in new spending into the state’s schools and provide roughly $5.1 billion to help lower property tax bills.

The law requires districts to use at least 30 percent of the new funding on pay raises for staff. Of that, 75 percent must go toward raises for teachers, school-based counselors, librarians and school nurses. The remaining 25 percent goes to other staff members.

While that calculation seems straightforward, district financial officers are not sure how much additional money they will have.

Under the new law, local tax dollars now will be based on current year property values rather than those of the previous year, making projecting future budgets more difficult. Exact amounts to be distributed from some special allotments and additional funds for student subgroups have yet to be determined. The Texas Education Agency told school districts in a budget update earlier this month that “given the magnitude of changes prescribed by HB 3, it will be several months before the agency can put up a new report” with all the changes.

That has not stopped school boards in some of the Houston area’s largest districts from approving raises between 3 and 15 percent, and boosting starting salaries as high as $58,500.

In Humble ISD, the school board approved 7 percent raises and bumped starting salaries for first-year teachers from $54,400 to $56,700. Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen said there still is a lot she and other district officials do not know about how much money the district will have next year. However, after conservative estimates showed the district could receive an additional $48 million, or about 10 percent of its 2018-2019 total revenues, leaders recommended adopting the pay increases before the rest of the budget was finalized.

“We compete in a very competitive market in Houston for the same pool of talented people,” Fagen said. “We want to make sure we’re part of that picture for educators to say ‘If I go anywhere, I’d like to go to Humble ISD.’”

Planning struggles

HB 3 reshaped the base amount districts will receive per student, as well as special allotments and additional funding for certain students, including those who are economically disadvantaged or are English language learners. The effects of some of those changes have not yet been projected or modeled by the TEA.

Those unanswered questions linger as districts across the state rush to finalize their budgets by the end of their current fiscal years. For many, that is June 30, giving budget officials less than a month to learn and apply the new school funding system to their districts.

Catherine Knepp, an associate with the Austin-based Moak, Casey & Associates school finance consulting firm, said some districts might have a more firm idea of their 2019-2020 financial outlook than others because of key parts of HB 3.

For example, the law includes a new allotment to provide funds for supplemental educational services for economically disadvantaged students. While those students used to be tallied based on their free or reduced-price lunch status, the new school finance law counts them on the basis of the census tract in which they live. Each tract will be given a different rating based on criteria that has not yet been announced by the TEA. For districts in high-poverty areas, the state’s decisions on how to define poverty and fund the allotment could affect millions of dollars in funding.

Another measure would give districts extra money to set up incentive programs to award teachers bonuses if they are rated highly on teacher evaluation systems. Districts do not yet know how much additional money they will get for offering the merit-based raises, or what criteria are needed to qualify.

More unsettling for some school districts, the new law requires districts to base their local tax collections on current year property values rather than the previous year. Knepp said that can make planning for the future more difficult in some districts, especially those in Harris County that typically do not receive certified property values until midto-late August.

It also complicates finances for districts plagued by natural disasters or those at the mercy of oil booms and busts.

“So much school funding comes from the local area, and that can be challenging, especially in areas if you’re still trying to recover from Harvey and don't know if enough of property value has come back on,” Knepp said. “I was talking to a district yesterday, and they said ‘Yeah, it was great to have prior year values, because we could bank on the fact that we know values from last year and can plan around that. But if you’re using what’s currently happening, we can’t plan.’”

Kevin Brown, executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators, said although his organization was overall supportive of HB 3, his team lobbied against the current year property value change. He said it could especially harm fastgrowth school districts, where property values are more volatile, creating a moving target.

Careful spending

That uncertainty has led some districts — including Houston ISD — to be cautious. After saying earlier this month the district would not release proposed salary raises until staff had more time to learn about HB 3, Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan on Tuesday proposed teacher pay raises of between 3.5 and 8 percent.

Officials in Aldine ISD are waiting until their regularly scheduled board meeting June 24 to announce any salary proposals. Tamika Alford-Stephens, the district’s assistant superintendent of finance, said it is difficult to project how much they can allocate to teacher raises when they do not know how much new revenue they will receive.

“That’s why it’s so important we understand the full implications of HB 3, because we don’t want to overproject or underproject what that 30 percent could be,” she said.

Still, Alford-Stephens said it is important to publish proposed raises sooner rather than later as new teachers apply for positions and returning educators weigh their options over the summer. She and other Aldine officials have been watching other districts, hoping they can compete with some of the salary gains posted nearby.

Some districts are trying to compensate for the uncertainty by offering bonuses or increased stipends along with pay raises. For example, Katy ISD plans to give teachers lump sum payments equal to about 1 percent of their salaries twice this year — once in the fall and once in the spring — in addition to 4 percent raises overall. Altogether, Superintendent Ken Gregorski said some teachers could earn as much as $4,945 more this year if trustees approve the proposal on Monday.

“Some would ask why we’re doing it this way. It’s because there are some unknowns in the formulas,” Gregorski said. “Until I know exactly how much money is in there to cover all these expenses, some (of the raises) will be one-time lump sums.”

Conroe ISD’s board voted unanimously Wednesday night to give teachers with less than five years of experience a $2,000 raise, and those with more experience a $2,500 pay bump, a roughly 3.5 percent increase.

For Ashley Wright, a counselor at Conroe ISD’s Bradley Elementary, the state-funded pay bump showed lawmakers finally put money behind their platitudes. Wright worked as a teacher for nine years before becoming a counselor and said although the district was always supportive and paid competitive salaries, she had been waiting for the state to kick in more for public schools.

The extra money, she hopes, will help her save to start a family.

“Whether it’s $50 or an extra $100 (a paycheck), that’s more support toward my family,” Wright said.

“That’s why it’s so important we understand the full implications of HB3, because we don’t want to over project or under project what that 30 percent could be.” Tamika Alford-Stephens, Aldine ISD’s assistant superintendent of finance