GISD set to receive 1.7 million, approves employee raises

The Graham Independent School District Board of Trustees on Monday approved a compensation plan representing a $950,000 financial commitment to employees in the district.

On June 12, Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3 during the 86th Legislature which along with other issues was related to public school finance and public education. One major aspect of the bill was the creation of a new minimum salary schedule for teachers, counselors and librarians in the Texas school districts.

Under HB3, GISD superintendent Sonny Cruse announced Tuesday in a press release the district will receive $1.7 million in new revenue for the 2019-2020 school year.

“Additional caveats of the legislation require school districts to allocate 30% of the new revenue toward an increase in salaries,” Cruse wrote in the release. “Seventy-five percent of the 30% must be allocated to teachers, counselors, and librarians. Twenty-five percent of the 30% may be allocated to increased salaries for staff other than administrators.”

Compensation plan

During the GISD Board of Trustees meeting Monday, Cruse and GISD Assistant Superintendent Don Davis presented a compensation plan to the board for approval during an executive session. The plan which was unanimously approved by the board included the following commitments:

- A $2,900 raise for teachers with one to five years of experience.
- A $3,000 to $3,140 raise for teachers with six-plus years of experience.
- A 5% pay raise from the pay grade midpoint for employees other than teachers.
- A new hiring schedule which exceeds the mandated new state salary with a salary range of $40,000 to $55,040.
- Adjustments to individual teacher salaries which guarantees they are at least $500 above the new state minimum salary scale.

For the rest of the story, see the Saturday, July 6 edition of The Graham Leader.