Lewisville ISD trustees approve 3% midpoint raises; say House Bill 2 falls short of covering district plan

The Lewisville ISD Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved a compensation resolution for the 2025–26 school year that applies House Bill 2 raises for eligible teachers and a district-funded 3% of-midpoint raise for other employees.

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Rapp presented the compensation package and budget implications, saying, “House Bill 2 does not provide the amount of net funding needed to provide raises for all staff.”

The resolution directs administration to implement HB2-mandated teacher increases (the district cited $2,500 for teachers in years three and four and $5,000 for teachers in year five and above where HB2 applies) and to give a 3% of-midpoint raise to employees not covered by HB2. The district estimated the cost of raises at $23.8 million, health-insurance contributions at $17.7 million, and stipends at $9.4 million — a combined compensation package of about $50.9 million. Trustees and staff told the board the state’s HB2 funding would provide approximately $17.2 million toward those amounts, leaving a projected fiscal-year 2026 deficit of roughly $9 million under current forecasts.

Dr. Rapp and staff outlined other details included with the resolution: a proposed new teacher starting salary of $62,525, a directive for administration to review positions below 95% of the market to consider market adjustments in August, and continued use of existing stipends for hard-to-fill positions. Dr. Rapp also noted the district would not raise employee health-insurance contributions this year and showed examples of how health-premium increases reduce the net pay gain for lower-paid staff.

Board members discussed the balance between teacher-specific HB2 increases and district-wide raises for counselors, nurses, librarians and other employees not specifically covered by the state law. Trustee Buddy Bonner said, “Chief among them are administrators,” arguing for state attention to non-teacher staff; Trustee Parker noted recent central-office cuts and said the district continues to perform required functions despite fewer central staff, stating, “we have cut over a 130 central office positions in the last year.”

The board voted 6–0 to approve the compensation resolution. Trustees also approved direction for administration to bring additional market-adjustment recommendations back in August when the board reviews the budget and certified property values.

The board and staff emphasized the recurring nature of the raises: any increase added to the 2025–26 budget will carry into future years and must be considered in multi-year budget planning.

How the raise package affects individual employees will vary: administration showed examples in which a teacher’s annual raise could be eroded by higher medical-premium costs, leaving a modest net increase for some staff. Trustees said they view the approved package as the minimum acceptable increase given current state funding.

The resolution passed unanimously, 6–0.