EDUCATION BRIEFS
News fromMontgomery & Conroe ISDs
Montgomery ISDapproves $2,000 raise for teachers
BY ANNA LOTZ
Lynn said April 19 that MISD has made it a priority to give the greatest pay increase and stipend possible while maintaining a balanced budget. The starting teacher salary will also increase to $56,200 for the 2022-23 school year, he said. District data for 2021-22 shows the salary was $54,450. “Is it where we want to be? No. Is it a significant improvement to where we were? Absolutely,” Lynn said. He said prior to a compensation review in 2021, the starting salary for teachers was $51,000. “At every level, whether you were a teacher, a paraprofessional, an administrator [or] a bus driver, we were starting to not be as competitive in the salary market as we would like to be,” Lynn said.
PAY CHANGES Montgomery ISD trustees approved pay changes in March and April.
MONTGOMERY ISD The Montgom- ery ISD board of trustees voted April 19 to approve the compensation package for the upcoming 2022-23 school year, which includes a $2,000 raise for teachers and an approximately 3% raise on the midpoint value for staff. Kris Lynn, assistant superintendent of finance and operations, said during the April 19 meeting the increase in pay is in addition to employee incen- tive stipends previously approved. The district approved its employee incentive plan for fiscal year 2022-23 on March 22. Incentives include $1,000 paid to employees who return for the 2022-23 school year as well as an additional $500 stipend for employees in hard-to-fill positions, Lynn said.
$2,000 $1,000 $500
raise for teachers incentive for returning employees additional incentive for hard-to-fill positions
MONTGOMERY ISD STUDENTS GET HANDS-ON TRAINING On April 20, over 700 Montgomery High School students participated in the hands-on portion of Stop the Bleed training, a national campaign from the American College of Surgeons that teaches members of the community how to render aid to victims in traumatic events, such as car crashes, fires and shootings. Students learned how to apply direct pressure for bleeding, how to pack a wound and how to apply a tourniquet. “Because of issues that we’ve had in previous years at other schools with Columbine and Sandy Hook, I think it’s important that [the students] all realize that this can really happen; this can happen here,” said Tonya Cooper, a teacher at Montgomery High School and a nurse. Randy Gauny, director of trauma services at HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe, said the program aims to provide training to anyone who wants to learn how to save a life. Conroe ISD trustees Will meet at 6 p.m. May 17 and June 21 at 3205 W. Davis St., Conroe 936-709-7752 • www.conroeisd.net Montgomery ISD trustees Will meet at 6 p.m. May 17 and June 21 at 20774 Eva St., Montgomery 936-276-2000 • www.misd.org MEETINGSWE COVER
3% raise on the midpoint value for other staff
Starting teacher salary upped to from $54,450 $56,200
SOURCE: MONTGOMERY ISD/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
CISDeyes virtual school
REMOTE LEARNING PLANS A virtual or hybrid school offering remote instruction could be funded by federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. Grades: 5-8
BY VANESSA HOLT
CONROE ISD The district took the first step toward the creation of a virtual hybrid school offering remote instruc- tion for the 2022-23 school year at an April 19 meeting. The board approved a resolution to submit an application to the Texas Education Agency for a campus number for a vir- tual hybrid school, which is required to open new schools. “Last year we started the process, but the bill ... didn’t get passed in May, so we ended up not doing the program,” said CISD Deputy Superintendent Chris Hines, referring to state legislation to enable the formation of virtual schools. However, when Senate Bill 15 was signed into law during a special session in September, it created an option for Texas school districts to create one year of a virtual or hybrid school in 2022-23, he said. Hines said $1.5 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds would be allocated for the program. The school would include fifth through eighth
Funding: $1.5 million in ESSER funds Academic year: 2022-23
Maximum enrollment: 60 students per grade
SOURCE: CONROE ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
grades with a maximum enrollment of 60 per grade level and an application process based on attendance, engage- ment and academic success, Hines said. The dedicated program would consist of full-time teachers possibly supplemented with part-time teachers for electives, Hines said. Through SB 15, a virtual school campus number would expire Sept. 1, 2023, after which time new legislation would be needed to continue virtual instruction, according to meeting materials.
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