(Credit: Round Rock Independent School District)
Thanks to the passage and eventual signing of House Bill 3 into law, school districts across Central Texas have been beefing up their teacher and staff salaries for next year, and the Round Rock Independent School District is the latest to do just that.
On Thursday, the school board met to discuss the district’s new $446-million budget, which includes the new bumps in pay. For veteran teachers, librarians, and registered nurses with six or more years of experience, those raises will be about $4300 annually. For those with fewer than six years of experience, the raises will be between $3200-$3600 annually.
Veteran counselors will see pay increases of $4800, and those with fewer than six years of experience will see an increase of at least $3200.
All other staff members will be given a 3.5-percent raise, based on their current salary.
District officials said this would likely not be possible without the passage of HB3 this year, and much like other districts across Central Texas, they feel this is the best way to remain competitive and bolster teacher retention rates.
“House Bill 3 allows us to meaningfully address teacher salaries across the board, but particularly to focus on our experienced teachers,” Superintendent Steve Flores said. “We want to give them the opportunity to remain in the classroom…rather than move into administration or out of the education field altogether in order to make a higher salary.”
The pay raises will ad an additional $22-million to RRISD’s spending.
