The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District board of trustees on July 21 approved a 2025–26 compensation plan after a budget workshop that updated trustees on enrollment, state funding changes from the Texas Legislature and recommended pay adjustments for several employee groups.

School finance officials told the board that the district’s enrollment is down from last year and that newly enacted House Bill 2 and related allotments create limited, targeted funding the district must direct to employees. The board approved the compensation plan as presented and amended by trustees.

The plan was presented to trustees during a multi-hour budget workshop led by district staff. Administrators said the district’s current total enrollment across campuses was 3,303 students compared with 3,979 at the end of the prior year, a decline of 676 students, and that the refined average daily attendance (ADA) figure the administration was using for revenue planning was 3,097.

Why it matters: House Bill 2 and related formulas change how districts receive and may spend new funding, and Uvalde CISD staff told trustees the new dollars are insufficient to fully close labor-market gaps. The board approved a compensation package that administrators said balances the limited state money, local priorities and long-term affordability.

Key points from the presentation

- House Bill 2 increases the basic allotment by $55 per ADA (administration estimated roughly $170,000 on the refined ADA) and adds a new “ABC” allotment of $106 per ADA that the district can use for transportation, retired-teacher hiring, benefits, utilities and property insurance (estimated at about $348,846 using the refined ADA). These figures were presented by district finance staff as examples of how the state changes affect Uvalde’s budget.

- The Support Staff Retention Allotment (SSRA) was described as $45 per ADA; using the refined ADA the administration estimated roughly $139,365 in SSRA funding. The board was informed that SSRA is earmarked by the Legislature for nonteacher, nonadministrative positions.

- The administration recommended directing SSRA and other available funds into across-the-board and targeted increases: a $4,000 increase for teachers with three to four years of experience and $8,000 for teachers with five or more years (the presentation noted the law requires the increases be treated as salary but does not fund associated benefits). For teachers with zero to two years’ experience the administration proposed a $300 increase. For other staff, the administration proposed percentage increases calculated off midpoint salary values; example figures included a roughly $116,000 package for paraprofessionals and auxiliary staff, approximately $23,000 for bus drivers/monitors (bus drivers’ minimum moved to $20.15/hour; monitors to $14.25/hour), and additional smaller increases for other professional staff.

- Food service employees previously received a onetime $2.75/hour payment; administration proposed maintaining that onetime amount and increasing base pay modestly (an additional 25¢/hour) funded from the child nutrition fund (a fund separate from the district’s general fund).

- Administration estimated the total impact of the SSRA-driven pay changes plus stipend adjustments would be roughly $186,004.50 including about 10% fringe-benefit costs; staff said they expected to receive a portion of SSRA and would absorb the remainder from the general fund if needed.

Board discussion and direction

Trustees asked staff for more specificity about how many teachers fall into each experience band and asked how the district would sustain increases if future calendars restore more days on campus. Trustees also raised the long-term goal of moving toward performance- and student-growth-linked compensation rather than incentives tied only to credentials.

The board discussed stipend changes (the board earlier directed a 10% up/down adjustment on stipends), requests to reclassify some roles (for example moving nurses and librarians from teacher to professional pay scales) and the practical consequences of calendar changes to guaranteed hours for positions such as bus drivers.

Formal action

The board approved the 2025–26 compensation plan as presented and amended in the meeting (motion by Trustee Robert Quinones; second by Trustee Suarez; all in favor; outcome recorded as approved). The motion covered salary schedules, stipend changes, substitute and extra-duty rates, mileage adjustments, and the Teacher Incentive Allotment spending plan.

What’s next

Staff said the compensation plan will be incorporated into the district budget process in August after final property values and the maximum compressed tax rate (MCR) are set; the district must submit value data to the appraisal district before finalizing a tax rate and adopting a budget.

Ending: Trustees told staff to continue refining the numbers, return with a final budget-ready package in August and to provide details on headcount by experience band before the next meeting.