Edinburg CISD board coalesces around pay plan, eyes 3% raises for paraprofessionals and auxiliaries

Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District trustees on July 31 received federal- and state-funding updates and signaled support for a compensation package that would give $1,200 one-time payments to some teachers and 3% raises to paraprofessionals and auxiliary staff while funding other raises at lower percentages.

The proposal, presented by Anna Fred, a district finance staff member, came during the district's fourth budget workshop for fiscal 2025–26. Fred told the board the district briefly received notice in July that several federal grants (including Title I, Part C; Title II, Part A; and other awards) might be paused, a move that at the district level could have affected roughly $5,500,000 in funding. TEA (Texas Education Agency) later notified the district that the grants would continue through review and the district has proceeded under the assumption funds will be honored while remaining prepared for future changes.

Why it matters: Trustees must adopt a budget by the district's Aug. 31 deadline. Funding choices now determine raises for teachers and all other staff, the district's use of one-time federal dollars, and the proposed tax rate for the coming year.

Fred said Edinburg CISD received a state allocation of about $10.5 million specifically tied to teacher pay under recent state action. The state-directed increases include $2,500 for teachers with three to four years of experience and $5,000 for teachers with five or more years if they meet the state's coding and instructional-hour requirements. Fred emphasized the state rules: only educators coded as 087 and providing at least four hours of instruction qualify for the $2,500/$5,000 allotments; other roles such as librarians, counselors, nurses, or social workers may be coded separately and treated differently under state guidance.

On local revenue, Fred said the district's certified property values totaled roughly $10.4 billion, a 6.26% increase from the previous year, which prompted a locally compressed proposed tax rate dropping from 0.8727 to 0.8617 per $100 of valuation.

Compensation scenarios and board direction

Fred presented multiple scenarios for distributing the newly available state dollars plus locally available funds without drawing down the district's fund balance. Board members discussed three main scenarios varying by group:

- The scenario trustees coalesced around (referred to in the meeting as "Scenario 2") would provide $1,200 to teachers in their first two years and $1,200 to nurses and librarians, 1.5% increases for non‑teaching professionals and administrators, and 3% increases for paraprofessionals and auxiliary staff. Fred said that blended scenario would produce a budget shortfall on the order of roughly $500,000 once fringe benefits were included; trustees asked staff to identify offsets to cover that gap.

- Other scenarios showed smaller across-the-board percentage increases or larger flat-dollar increases for lower-paid workers; the board discussed tradeoffs frequently in terms of dollars rather than percentage points so members could better understand real pay changes (for example, a 2% raise for an elementary principal on pay grade 7 would be roughly $2,080 annually under the assumptions presented).

Trustees emphasized preserving jobs and stability; several members noted the district has not conducted layoffs tied to the recent funding uncertainty. The board directed district staff to refine the Scenario 2 budget for public posting and to schedule the required public hearing and adoption before Aug. 31.

Other fiscal and program notes

- ESSER: Fred said TEA initially sent a liquidation notice that paused some ESSER-funded projects, leaving roughly $5 million in outstanding obligations; TEA later approved a liquidation submission for projects submitted by the district, and Fred said the district expects to receive approved ESSER funds once final processing completes. Fred also said a small remainder of ESSER funds (figures discussed in the workshop were granular and subject to reconciliation) remains available to close out projects.

- Special education: The state has announced increased funding for special education in the coming fiscal year and TEA guidance is expected to align funding with services actually delivered. Fred noted the district's special education program has carried a deficit in recent years and that the district is taking steps to avoid increasing that deficit.

- Employer costs: Trustees were reminded that raises trigger employer contributions (TRS and other fringe costs), which added materially to the budgeted cost projections.

Next steps and timeline

The board agreed to advance the compensation Scenario 2 work-up and asked staff to find offsets that would keep the district from drawing down its fund balance. Fred said the district must post budget documents for a 10-day public comment period before adoption and proposed either Aug. 19 or Aug. 26 for formal action; trustees indicated they would work with staff to confirm meeting logistics and required notices.

"We will be holding our fourth budget workshop for the fiscal year 2526," Fred said at the start of the presentation, noting the Aug. 31 adoption deadline.

The workshop closed with trustees directing staff to finalize the Scenario 2 budget package for public posting and hearings ahead of the Aug. 31 adoption deadline.