Superintendent Dr. Porterby told the Port Arthur ISD Board of Trustees that the district is asking the board to approve a new salary schedule that would set the starting teacher salary at $55,500 and provide a 3% raise for other staff.

Dr. Porterby said the state has provided funds to districts to support teacher pay increases and that the district is using local funds to move some raises earlier: “The state has given our teachers money. ... it started at the third year, but we decided to move it up from our own coffers for the first and second year,” Dr. Porterby said.

The superintendent characterized the proposal as a district decision to accelerate state-intended raises and said the schedule is one of several items on the board agenda that night. The transcript records the superintendent asking the board for approval but does not include a recorded motion or roll-call vote specifically for the salary schedule. Minutes and a consent agenda later were approved by voice vote, but the record does not tie a discrete vote to the salary schedule in the supplied transcript.

Board members who spoke later in the meeting praised recent hiring and district momentum, but the transcript does not record additional debate over the salary numbers themselves.

Dr. Porterby’s staff report also noted the district will return to normal working hours and will hold convocation on Aug. 4; the first day of school was referenced as Aug. 13 in the transcript.

The board packet or formal agenda materials were referenced generally; the salary schedule was presented as an item requiring board action but the transcript does not show a separate approval vote for the schedule itself.

Looking ahead, the superintendent asked trustees to act on the schedule at the meeting; any formal adoption or implementation date should be confirmed in the official minutes or agenda materials.