Education
BY ANGELA BONILLA
Conroe ISD ocials said at a June 24 budget workshop they are seeking a balanced budget for CISD’s 2025-26 scal year, including 6% raises for teachers and sta following the signing of House Bill 2 by Gov. Greg Abbott. HB 2, which was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 4 to provide additional funding for schools, established a $3.7 billion teacher retention allotment, which will be used to provide permanent raises for teachers with at least three years of classroom experience, as previously reported by Community Impact . In addition to providing raises for educators and support sta , HB 2 will overhaul how the state funds special education and set aside money for schools to spend on xed costs, such as utilities and insurance. CISD’s FY 2025-26 budget includes $761.05 million in both projected estimated revenues and expenditures, with no anticipated shortfall, according to information at the June 24 meeting. CISD Chief of Finance Karen Garza said Senate Bill 4 and SB 23, which will go before voters in Conroe ISD seeks 6% teacher raises
House Bill 2 funding in Conroe ISD
Allotment type and amount for 2025-26
Impacted areas
$19.6M: Teacher retention
$2,500 for teachers with three to four years of experience and $5,000 for teachers with ve or more years of experience $106 per enrolled student for general expenses Added basic allotment weight for districts $62.15 per K-3 student; reallocates existing funding to districts operating full-day pre-K $45 per regular program allotment for non- administrative sta New funding for special needs assessments $33,540 per campus and $20 per student, based on average daily attendance Targeted programs in districts
$7.8M: Basic costs $5M: Basic allotment $3.8M: Early education
$2.7M: Support sta retention
$2.5M: Full individual and initial allotment $1.9M: School safety
$1.5M: Other funding
Total: $44.8M
NOTE: THIS LIST IS NOT COMPREHENSIVE.
SOURCE: CONROE ISD¡COMMUNITY IMPACT
from $100,000 to $140,000, and SB 23 would give homeowners who are over 65 years old or have a disability a $200,000 exemption. Both exemptions could reduce overall taxable property values, Garza said.
November, could also impact the estimated tax rate of $0.9496 per $100. The estimated CISD tax rate is the same as FY 2023-24. If approved, SB 4 would raise the statewide homestead exemption for public school taxes
What’s being done
CISD teacher starting salaries
What’s next
2024-25 salary
2025-26 proposed salary
Garza said HB 2 will increase the teacher retention allotment for the district for the 2025-26 school year by $19.6 million and will increase the support sta allotment by $2.7 million. While HB 2 includes funds for teachers with three or more years of experience, the CISD budget also includes higher starting salaries for teachers with zero to two years of experience. The following recommendations, totaling $33.1 million, were made for various types of employers in CISD’s FY 2025-26 budget: • $20.5 million for a 6% increase to the teacher pay scale • $6.2 million for a 6% raise for administrative support, instructional support and auxiliary sta • $6.1 million for a 4% raise for administrative business, administrative education and technology sta • $300,000 for a 4% raise for district police
Years of teacher experience
Conroe ISD ocials said they are looking at what other options can attract new teachers to the district. Garza and board of trustees President Misty Odenweller said the potential raises will help the district attract and retain teachers. “We wanted to make sure that we prioritize them in terms of the compensation increase, and then we added a new pay structure for our technology employees to stay competitive in that market. That’s one of those areas where we need to stay competitive,” Garza said. “I want to be sure that we do incentivize those [teachers] to stay in the classroom and be rewarded even if we aren’t increasing the pay across the board. ... I don’t want to lose those veteran teachers,” Odenweller said. The nance department will hold a budget hearing Aug. 5; then nalize revenue projections and present the nal budget for approval Aug. 19.
$61,600 $64,000
0
$61,750 $64,300
1
$61,900 $64,600
2
$62,200 $64,900
3
$62,500 $67,500
4
$62,850 $67,850
5+
SOURCE: CONROE ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT
21
THE WOODLANDS EDITION
Powered by FlippingBook