TEXARKANA, Texas - Despite current economic conditions, the Pleasant Grove Independent School District approved 2% raises for all administration and auxiliary staff in their most recent board meeting.
With concerns of the state possibly coming in at a budget deficit because of the COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices, announced by Texas comptroller Glenn Hegar, there have been warnings to state agencies in Texas to prepare for a decrease from five to 15% in funding during the current biennium.
According to Hegar, estimates show the deficit could reach nearly $4.6 billion.
While the state did exempt public education from a decrease, and PGISD is confident the state will fully fund education during the 2020-21 year, they also feel it is important to take measures to prepare for any possible cuts in the future.
"We look at surrounding districts and what they're doing with their staff, and we look at the current status of the economy and where we're at," PGISD director of finance Derick Sibley said. "Some things give us some concern as we move forward in the next year, with the comptroller backing off of some revenue estimates, and how that's going to affect the state."
However, the district feels it is just as pertinent to ensure their teachers and staff are compensated for their work in difficult and confusing times, like the entire country is currently in.
"So, we felt like we needed to do something for our staff," He said. "There was never any doubt that a raise was necessary, but we feel like we needed to be kind of cautious with where we're at, with what we see coming in the future."
For this reason, they approved a 2% raise for all auxiliary employees.
While this raise didn't include teaching staff - teachers, counselors, librarians and nurses - the board did approve step raises for them based on their current salary schedule. These step raises allow for teachers to make more the longer they work under the district, incentivizing longevity.
"If you go through our current teacher salary schedule, that average increase from one year to the next is two percent," Sibley said. "So, we feel like our teachers are getting a two percent raise, while all of our other employees are also getting a two percent raise. We felt very fair with what we were giving across the board."
The district also approved to amend pay grades for employees, increasing maximum grades for longer-tenured employees who have reached or exceeded maximum salaries for their pay grades. The midpoint of the pay grade was also increased, while minimum grades will stay the same.
"Our teachers, librarians, counselors and nurses are paid on a scale that steps zero through 20 years and so forth, and then all other employees are paid on a pay grade," Sibley said. "The last time this was really reviewed was 2017. Since then, we've had between five and 10 employees who have basically reached their maximum. So, that just caused us to go amend that pay grade schedule, so that we're still in compliance."
Here are the requested changes to the following positions - pay grades:
Digital Learning Specialist - Admin, Pay Grade 3
Director of Maintenance - Admin, Pay Grade 4
Counselor (HS) - Admin, Pay Grade 4
Speech Therapist - Admin, Pay Grade 4
Principal (ES) - Admin, Pay Grade 6
Principal (IS) - Admin, Pay Grade 7
Classroom Aide - Clerical/Tech, Pay Grade 1
Computer Technician - Clerical/Tech, Pay Grade 4
Secretary (HS) - Clerical/Tech, Pay Grade 5
Superintendent's Secretary - Clerical/Tech, Pay Grade 7
Maintenance-Machinery Operator - Auxiliary, Pay Grade 5
Maintenance-Carpentry/Repairs - Auxiliary, Pay Grade 6
Maintenance-Electrical/HVAC - Auxiliary, Pay Grade 7