Education
BY COMMUNITY IMPACT STAFF
Texas moves forward rst K 12 mandatory reading list After delaying a vote in January, the State Board of Education gave preliminary approval April 10 to roughly 200 literary works that all Texas public school students K-12 would be required to read beginning in 2030. The SBOE trimmed about 100 titles from a list proposed by the Texas Education Agency, which critics said was too long to be taught. The Republican-led board signed o on a revised list in a 9-5 party-line vote April 10, with all Republican members in favor and all Democrats opposed. The draft list ranges from nursery rhymes and short stories in early grades to classical and 20th-century literature in high school. The list also includes about a dozen excerpts from the Bible. Board members will have the opportunity to make additional amendments to the lists before taking a nal vote, which is scheduled for June. The full draft list of books being con- sidered can be found at https://bit.ly/4dEJJwp for those interested.
Liberty Hill ISD approves teacher pay raises The Liberty Hill ISD board of trustees approved increased teacher pay for the 2026-27 school year, raising salaries above local market medians.
director, said.” If we can get our salary scales adjusted, we’ll be able to retain those teachers.” Funding for the increases comes in part from Proposition A, approved by voters in 2025. The proposition allocated $10.7 million towards supporting student programming, teacher recruit- ment and retention. Additionally, the district also receives state funding tied to retention. The rst Teacher Incentive Allotment payout of $1.1 million is also expected in August.
Previously, LHISD ranked last among evaluated districts in compensation for teachers with 10 or more years of experience. Now, the starting salary of a LHISD teacher will rise to $58,500—surpassed by only Killeen ISD and Jarrell ISD, per district data. “Our goal is to recruit and retain strong teach- ers,” Rebecca Owen, human resource executive
Liberty Hill ISD teacher pay increases
2025-26 salary
2026-27 salary
$80K
+3.4% +3.74%
+2.78% +3.02%
+3.72%
$60K
Under new pay scales, teachers at every ve-year experience increment will exceed local median levels. The local median starting salary is roughly $57,266, according to district documents. A compensation audit was performed by the district, comparing LHISD’s previous pay scales to those of 15 surrounding districts.
$40K
$20K
$0
Starting salary
5
10
15
20
Years of experience
SOURCE: LIBERTY HILL ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
TSTC adding semiconductor, robotics curriculum The Williamson County Texas State Technical College campus will add semi- conductor technology as well as automation and robotics technology curriculum this fall, TSTC announced April 8. The addition of these courses to the Hutto school’s curriculum responds to a surge in demand for skilled workers in the semi- conductor and manufacturing industries locally, per a TSTC news release. This surge in demand is largely driven by increased fabrication and domestic chip production. The new curriculum will join the college’s existing Industrial Maintenance program among o erings in the greater Advanced Manufacturing program.
Leander ISD must comply with updated state seat belt requirements and equip 106 of its buses with three-point seat belts.
COURTESY LEANDER ISD
Leander ISD considers $18M for improved bus safety At its April 23 meeting, Leander ISD’s board of trustees considered two options to comply with state requirements that school buses have three- point seat belts by 2029. 212 of LISD’s 318 buses meet the requirement. For the remaining 106, the district can: o cials said the district’s bus manufacturer won’t warranty retro tted buses. • $18 million budget impact: Buy 106 buses before September 2029 DeWayne Street, senior executive director of
facilities, said LISD must decide on whether LISD’s general fund budget can comply with the require- ment before May 29.
• $4.2 million budget impact: Retro t noncom- pliant buses at $30,000-$45,000 each. However,
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LEANDER LIBERTY HILL EDITION
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