Conroe - Montgomery Edition | December 2023

Education

BY CASSANDRA JENKINS

Conroe ISD trustees approve 2.5% employee pay raise Superintendent Curtis Null said the funds come from a resolution the board passed in January. The resolution stated if the 2023 bond passed, the $30 million taken from the district’s savings account for land purchases would be returned to its savings

Lone Star Family Health breaks ground on Conroe expansion

The Conroe ISD board of trustees unanimously approved a 2.5% employee pay raise Nov. 14. How it happened The approved scenario will result in: • A 2.5% raise on districtwide midpoint salaries • Starting teacher pay of $61,600 • Retroactive raises to the employee’s contract start date in 2023-24 and 2024-25 Cost to the district Chief Financial Ocer Darrin Rice said the estimated cost to the district is $14.6 million per school year. According to district ocials, the funds for employee raises are coming from the district’s savings account. In addition, the CISD Police Department raised its starting salary for police ocers to $58,900, an annual raise of $6,537, Chief of Police Matthew Blakelock said.

A groundbreaking for an expansion project at Lone Star Family Health Center, a nonprot family health center with locations across Montgomery County, took place Nov. 16 in Conroe. The big picture Karen Harwell, CEO of Lone Star Family Health, said the center needed to expand to meet the rising demand for accessible health care in the Greater Conroe area. The project includes expanding into a new 24,000-square-foot building next to the location at 605 S. Conroe Medical Drive as well as 20,000 square feet of renovations to the existing building. The expansion is estimated to be complete by September, Harwell said. Harwell said the entire project will help create: • An additional medical pod

• More dedicated space for oce and nancial services for patients • New space for the women’s health center Harwell said the expansion also includes space for future growth and ex space for employees. “No one here thought that we would need this expansion, only being in this building for 11 years,” she said. “It’s crazy to think, ‘Wow, where will we be in another 10 years?’ It’s exciting.” How we got here The expansion is funded by grants the center received in January, Community Impact reported. • Texas Department of State Health Services granted $500,000 • Montgomery County Community Foundation donated $12,500 • Houston Methodist Health Innovation granted $185,000

“We’re at the point where we need to give the teachers something,

show some essence of goodwill. I think 2.5% is what we can aord, as much as we can aord.” DATREN WILLIAMS, BOARD MEMBER, CONROE ISD

account from the designated land funds in the bond package, making the funds available for employee compensation. Voters approved the $1.8 billion bond Nov. 7. However, Rice said without legislative action, approval of the raises will result in a budget shortfall. With the raise approved for 2023-24, there will be no funding for increasing employee compensation again in 2024-25. If no action is taken by the Legislature, Rice said the district will have to look at cutting about $15 million worth of positions to have a balanced budget for scal year 2025-26. “There is risk involved in giving a raise,” Null said. “We believe that is a risk we have to take at

A groundbreaking for an expansion project at Lone Star Family Health Center took place Nov. 16 in Conroe.

CASSANDRA JENKINSCOMMUNITY IMPACT

this point. We need to take care of our people.” A quick note The 88th Texas Legislature did not provide funds for teacher raises during the normal session, but the agenda for the Legislature’s fourth special session—which began Nov. 7—includes funding for employee raises among other education topics.

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• A new dedicated mental health suite • A larger pharmacy with retail space

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