LOCKHART, Texas — On Monday, the Lockhart ISD board approved up to 8% pay raises for teachers and double-digit raises for hourly employees.
The school district said the 2022-23 compensation plan responds to the district staff’s "urgent needs for higher pay and increased monthly savings in health insurance."
Teachers will receive up to 8% in pay raises with an emphasis on rewarding veteran teachers for their experience and years of services, Lockhart ISD said.
Clerical paraprofessional staff will receive up to a 37% increase, and auxiliary staff will receive up to a 28% increase in pay. Administrative professional staff will receive an increase of 3% of the midpoint of the new pay scale recommended by the Texas Association of School Boards, the district said.
The school district’s compensation package includes self-funded health insurance, which it predicts will save employees extra costs per month with lower deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.
Lockhart ISD said it will add positions to provide special education, behavior, gifted and talented and counseling support for students and will provide a mental health counselor for staff. The district will increase substitute capacity by designating daily substitutes assigned to campuses regardless of pre-planned staff absences.
“The goal of the school district in this budget was to focus on having a LockHeart for People in caring for its staff,” said LISD Chief Financial Officer Nicole Dean. “We are very proud to offer a plan that increases pay at historic levels while also saving our staff money with reduced monthly costs on health insurance.”
“At a critical crossroads for public education, and with many staff experiencing hardship and no shortage of choices for employment, it was important to the Board and our leadership team to make sure we took care of our people so they didn’t have to make difficult choices, and we could keep talent in this district to benefit our students,” added Superintendent Mark Estrada. “While this is a great first step, we commit to continuing the hard work to ensure our compensation package leverages every ability to utilize the funding provided by the State.”
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