A bill designed to increase teacher pay in public school districts across the state is moving through the legislative process. It passed the Texas Senate with a unanimous vote Feb. 18 but still needs to go through Texas House.
The bill would increase teacher pay across the state but could negatively affect teacher acquisition and retention for larger districts like the Victoria Independent School District.
would entitle a school district to an annual allotment for each employed teacher. Districts with fewer than 5,000 students would receive $5,000 for each classroom teacher with three to five years of teaching experience and $10,000 for those with over five years of experience.
Districts with more than 5,000 students would receive $2,500 for each teacher with three to five years of experience and $5,500 for those with over five years of experience. The disparity between teacher allotments designated to districts of different sizes could make things tougher for VISD going forward.
VISD had 13,253 students for the 2021-2022 school year, well above the 5,000-student maximum required for the increased teacher allotment designated in SB 26, according to . All 10 school districts bordering VISD serve less than 5,000 students, including Edna ISD, Cuero ISD, Yoakum ISD, Industrial ISD and Goliad ISD. Each of these schools would qualify for the higher teacher pay allotment.
òòò½ÊÓƵœWe are surrounded by districts that will potentially, if the bill moves forward, see double the increase from the state that we will,òòò½ÊÓƵ Tammy Sestak, VISD assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and accountability, said at the VISD March Board of Trustees meeting. òòò½ÊÓƵœWe will need to find a way to make up that difference.òòò½ÊÓƵ
VISD may implement the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program as a way to fill the potential teacher pay gap created by SB 26. The district has submitted a letter of intent to apply this year and has a district team and District Education Committee members working on the program application.
TIA is an incentive program that pays additional funds to teachers who meet certain criteria set by a school district, including measurement such as student growth and teacher performance determined through observation. VISD has factored the inclusion of teacher attendance in its criteria as well.
VISD would need to decide which campuses and teachers are eligible for the TIA program for the first wave of its implementation. There is no cap as to how many teachers can qualify, but it is beneficial to begin with a smaller group of possible teachers, Sestak said.
Teachers who are within the group of eligible teachers for the district and earn a certain number of points based on the set criteria would qualify for one of three designations: A recognized teacher, an exemplary teacher or a master teacher.
The amount each designation pays is dependent on a teacheròòò½ÊÓƵ™s specific campus, the enrollment at that campus and the economically disadvantaged percentages at that campus. The funds acquired through the TIA program are campus designated, not teacher designated.
Once a district receives TIA funds earned by a teacher who qualifies for one of the designations, they must award 90 percent of the funds to staff at that teacheròòò½ÊÓƵ™s campus and may retain 10 percent of the funds at the district level. The 10 percent retained by the district would be used for expenses associated with the program such as implementation, professional development and assessment measures.
òòò½ÊÓƵœFor our district, a teacher who performs at the recognized level could receive between $3,629 and $7,496 [for that incentive pay],òòò½ÊÓƵ Sestak said. òòò½ÊÓƵœAt the exemplary level, that amount would be between $7,257 and $14,993 and $14,095 to $26,980 at the master level.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Once a teacher qualifies for a TIA designation, they hold that designation for five years. If they were to leave VISD before the end of the five years, the funding they earn through the program would follow them and no longer go to the district. If they were to switch campuses within VISD, the funding would go to that teacheròòò½ÊÓƵ™s new campus.
If a teacher with a TIA designation from another district were to begin teaching at VISD, the funds they earn would follow them to their new VISD campus. Implementing the program at VISD could help retain qualified teachers and increase teacher acquisition.
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