Dr. Maynes (district finance/operations presenter) told the Vidor Independent School District Board of Trustees on July 1 that the presented 2025–26 budget is preliminary and reflects major state legislative changes including House Bill 2 and related provisions that will alter how districts must allocate new revenue.

Under the new state provisions the presenter said the teacher retention allotment will be allocated as dollar increases rather than a percentage: for small and mid‑size districts that language requires an $8,000 minimum increase for teachers with five or more years’ experience and $4,000 for those with three to four years, while earlier experience ranges are not mandated for a raise by the state. The presenter said the district projects a roughly $2.8 million increase in total revenue for 2025–26, of which approximately $1.82 million is earmarked for mandated teacher increases.

"For our size district, it's even better," the presenter said, describing the $8,000 allotment for veteran teachers and the district’s plan to use additional state and local revenue to adjust pay grades. Board materials included a TASB (Texas Association of School Boards) compensation study and a proposed teacher scale that would raise a first‑year teacher starting salary to $50,100.

Medicaid and reimbursements: The presenter told trustees that federal Medicaid reimbursement for certain student services has fallen sharply across districts after federal guidance changed; Vidor’s Medicaid reimbursements historically ranged $350,000–$425,000 yearly but the district has received roughly $47,200 so far this year. The presenter said the district expects that reimbursement levels will remain lower than in prior years.

Support staff and pay grades: The presenter said House Bill 2 also provides funds to increase pay for some support staff (custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria and maintenance workers) but that the available per‑student allotments (for example, roughly $45 per student referenced in discussion) do not fully cover the district’s identified needs. Trustee discussion focused on competitiveness for support positions versus local private employers and on how any additional district raises would be balanced with legally required teacher increases.

Board action on pay grades: The board voted to adopt the proposed 2025–26 pay grades and pay scales as presented so district HR and payroll staff can begin hiring and making salary adjustments under the new structure. The motion to approve the pay scales was made by Trustee Camp and seconded by Trustee Harrington; the board recorded the motion as passing 7–0. The presenter said approved pay grades would allow the district to implement increases (effective in the new fiscal year) and to bring employees below new minimums up to the revised scale; pay adjustments tied to the FY26 budget would be effective 09/01 and new paychecks would first reflect the change on the 09/15 payroll date.

Implementation and next steps: The presenter said the district had budgeted about $2.4 million in overall salary increases for the coming year and that the teacher portion consumes the larger share of that amount. Trustees asked for continued work to balance additional targeted raises for support staff with sustainablility concerns; staff said they will return with detailed line‑item calculations as the budget process continues and property values and homestead exemption outcomes are finalized.

Why it matters: The combination of state-dictated teacher increases and limited district discretionary revenue for support staff shapes hiring competitiveness and the composition of the 2025–26 budget; approving pay grades now lets the district proceed with recruiting and payroll adjustments in a narrow hiring window.

Vote at a glance: Motion to approve proposed pay grades and pay scales — mover: Trustee Camp; second: Trustee Harrington; outcome: approved 7–0.

No expenditure adoption or final budget vote occurred at the meeting; staff emphasized the budget presentation was preliminary.