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DIGGING INTO THE BUDGET
AVERAGE TEACHER SALARIES
Dallas ISD adopted a $2 billion budget for the 2023-24 scal year. It included a smaller percentage allocated for payroll costs, but the percentage for contracted services increased.
With a starting salary of $61,000 budgeted for the new school year, the average teacher salary in Dallas ISD is $64,020 . Here’s how that compares to the average salary of other school districts adjacent to DISD. According to data from the district’s 2022-2023 Compensation Handbook, the typical teacher’s salary increases between $300-$750 for each creditable year of service.
Contracted services: $370M Payroll costs: $1.466B Supplies and materials: $110M Other operating costs: $34M
$64,020
Dallas ISD
$57,901
Duncanville ISD
$2 B
$60,720
Garland ISD
$61,645
Grand Prairie ISD
Debt services: $12M Capital outlay: $8M
$64,815
Irving ISD
$63,749
Mesquite ISD
SOURCE: DALLAS ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT
$58,618
Richardson ISD
Teacher compensation With the new budget, teachers will get a starting salary of at least $61,000 based on experience, a $1,000 increase from last year. The average teacher salary in DISD is $64,020, compared to $58,618 in Richardson ISD and $60,687 in Plano ISD, according to the Texas Education Agency. DISD teacher Chris Leal—an exec- utive board member of labor union Alliance/American Federation of Teachers—said the small raise the dis- trict set is not enough to manage ris- ing costs of living. The district uses an incentive bonus
stay nancially a oat amid rising in ation. However, lawmakers failed to pass proposed bills that would have increased that funding, leav- ing DISD to fend for itself to increase teacher salaries enough to recruit and retain educators. “It is unfortunate ... but we did the best that we could do to leverage the resources that we do have to at least show our sta that we do value and appreciate the work that they do day-in and day-out,” DISD Chief Financial O cer Tamika Alford-Ste- phens said.
model based on a system called the Teacher Excellence Initiative, which evaluates teachers based on class- room observations and student evalu- ations and achievement. It uses goals, such as student learning objectives, to measure success through the system. Leal said TEI “frankly doesn’t work” because it pits teachers in a competi- tion for limited bonus funds. “These bonuses are just little Band-Aids that help [o cials] save face in the moment, but you can’t count on that,” Leal said. “Some peo- ple get pennies, and some people get
a dime, but it’s not enough all the way around.” Asking teachers to go above and beyond with “exemplary” perfor- mance is counterproductive with the statewide teacher shortage, Leal said. As teachers deal with growing class sizes, budget cuts and a number of socio-political issues on top of their general workload, it’s “undigni ed” to force teachers to “prove” how hard they’re working, he said. Robert Abel, DISD chief of human capital management, said via email that the district has used “strategic
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