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Superintendent warns Senate version of HB2 would narrow teacher raises and leave other staff out
Summary
Wichita Falls ISD Superintendent Donnie Lee briefed trustees on House Bill 2 developments, saying the Senate draft allocates much less to the basic allotment and ties raises to teachers with specific experience thresholds while excluding many support staff.
Superintendent Donnie Lee updated the Wichita Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees on the 2025 school-finance debate, telling trustees the House and Senate proposals diverge and the Senate version would limit the district’s flexibility and narrow which employees receive state-funded raises.
Lee said the House bill would increase the basic allotment by a larger amount (the superintendent referenced $6,555 reported in the House text), allowing broader local use for pay raises or operations. "The House passed HB2 when it cleared the house overwhelmingly," Lee said. He added the Senate substitute would increase the basic allotment by $55 rather than the larger House figure and tie funded raises to specific teacher experience levels.
Under the Senate approach described at the meeting, smaller districts (under 5,000 enrollment) would receive $5,000 for teachers with three to four years’ experience and $10,000 for teachers with five-plus years; larger districts such as WFISD would receive roughly half those amounts (the superintendent said $2,500 and $5,500, respectively). Lee said district leaders do not favor the narrower Senate language because it leaves out many employees.
The superintendent also described a separate Senate proposal for special education funding that would allocate funds based on intensity of services and add $1,000 for evaluation testing; he said the district supports targeted special-education funding but remains concerned that counselors, librarians and diagnosticians are not included in state-funded raises in the Senate draft.
Trustees asked how local funds would interact with state-directed raises; Lee said the district could make local decisions but that any locally funded raises would come from fund balance or other local revenues and that the loss of flexible state aid would complicate district budgeting.
No board vote was taken; the briefing was informational and staff said the district will continue to monitor the bills and consider local options depending on the final legislative outcome.
