At Tuesday's opening public comment period, a series of campus leaders and student-support staff asked the Judson trustees to restore pay parity for non-classroom employees left out of state teacher pay increases.
Amber Gonzales, who identified herself as a campus principal, told the board she and many administrators were "deeply concerned about the decision to give no raise to principals and assistant principals this year," saying the choice "affects morale, recruitment, and retention." She urged trustees to "invest in us so that we can continue to invest in our staff, our students, and our community." (Gonzales's full remarks were submitted to the board by email, she said.)
Heidi Meist, identified as an academic trainer at Copperfield Elementary, told trustees the district's instructional coaches were excluded from House Bill 2 raises and said, "Academic trainers make a difference on every campus." Meist said that her campus improved from a D to a C rating since her assignment and noted AET/GT workforce decisions will affect student outcomes.
Multiple school counselors also addressed the board. Jessica Lapier, a school counselor at Wagner High School, said counselors are "frontline mental health professionals, crisis responders, advocates, and mentors for every student" and asked the board to add an agenda item for a retention incentive for counselors. Tiffany Gutierrez, another counselor, called social-emotional learning "crime prevention, addiction prevention... suicide prevention" and urged trustees to include counselors in compensation adjustments.
Several speakers noted the state law's technical definitions (attendance or roster requirements) that affected whether certain specialists qualified for state-mandated pay adjustments; counselors and trainers asked trustees to explore local remedies for retention while administrators clarified the technical limits of state eligibility.
Trustees thanked the speakers and later discussed compensation items in the meeting, and the board asked staff to return with proposals and to form an ad hoc committee to consider equity across employee groups.