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Stimulus money to help boost teacher pay
Published August 23, 2009
A portion of the additional state funding coming to local school districts from a federal stimulus package must be spent on increasing teacher pay.
There is no mandate on how school officials can spend the rest, but most Brazoria County districts are using it to give raises to the rest of their employees.
One local school district, Alvin ISD, is using it to fund more teaching positions needed because of the district’s growth.
The state fiscal stabilization funds, part of the federal stimulus package, were used by the Legislature to fill gaps in the state budget. The stabilization money designated for school districts came with a requirement that a specific portion be used to give raises to all teachers, nurses, counselors, speech therapists and librarians. Districts that met that requirement would get the remainder of their allocation to use as they saw fit.
This funding is for only two years, and school officials are unsure how they will pay for the salary increases after the two years of extra money.
Districts received at least $120 per student, although some received more based on their weighted average daily attendance, which is part of the Texas Education Agency’s formula for state money.
Regardless of the per-student amount, a flat $60 had to go toward pay increases for professional staff.
The remainder had no stipulations on how it should be used, Brazosport ISD Assistant Superintendent Dennis McNaughten said.
In most Brazoria County districts, the rest of the state fiscal stabilization money, no matter how great or small, will be used to give all other district employees an across-the-board raise.
Damon ISD received about $53,000 while Brazosport ISD is receiving $1.9 million.
In Brazosport ISD and Sweeny ISD, all employees will receive a 3 percent raise, district officials said. At Angleton ISD, all employees will receive a 3 percent raise at midpoint.
“We think everybody is valuable,” McNaughten said.
All personnel, including support staff, contribute to Brazosport ISD children’s education, he said. Administrators also will receive a 3 percent raise, he said.
Columbia-Brazoria ISD and Danbury ISD also will use the extra money to give across-the-board raises, but the district still is working out the specifics, said Dee Ann Ogburn, executive director of business services at Columbia-Brazoria ISD, and Danbury ISD Superintendent Eric Grimmett.
At Alvin ISD, the money will be used to fill 20 new teaching positions necessary because of area growth, said Shirley Brothers, the district’s public relations coordinator. Other positions created include three assistant principals for Alvin ISD junior highs, she said.
Because Alvin ISD has seen a large increase in enrollment during the past few years, it is receiving more money than many other districts, she said.
Salaries also will increase for all support staff, Brothers said.
“We’re very pleased to get money to pass on to staff,” she said.
Damon ISD will be able to use its extra money on more than salary increases, Superintendent Donald Rhodes said.
“We’re going to spend it,” he said.
In addition to raising salaries, some of the money will be used to pay an additional teacher’s aide. Money also will go toward staff development and instructional material, he said.
But while the extra funding for raises is welcome, some area districts are concerned about what will happen after the money no longer is given to the district by the state.
“How they got to the local district is a concern to everyone,” Grimmett said.
Though the districts have no problem raising teacher’s salaries, they might have a problem two years down the road when the federal funding is gone. The districts will be unable to take away the increase and will have to pay for the large salaries themselves, Ogburn said.
“The common concern I guess everyone has with this money is it’s a two-year thing,” Sweeny ISD Superintendent Randy Miksch said. “After that, where is the money coming from?”
Katlynn Lanham is a reporter for The Facts. Contact her at (979) 237-0150.
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