NEISD board approves 2025–26 compensation plan including teacher raises and one-time retention supplement
Loading...
Summary
Board approved a three-part compensation plan that adds teacher pay increases tied to House Bill 2, a one-time retention supplement for certain staff and use of the Teacher Incentive Allotment; the measure passed 6–0.
NORTHEAST INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT — The board on Monday approved the district’s 2025–26 compensation plan, voting 6–0 to adopt a package that combines state-directed teacher increases, district-targeted adjustments and a onetime retention payment for selected employees.
The approved plan has three main components: general pay adjustments, a one-time retention supplement and use of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA). Under the plan, returning classroom teachers that meet the statutory definition receive increases aligned with House Bill 2: teachers with three to four years of credible experience receive $2,500 annually and teachers with five or more years receive $5,000 annually. The administration also recommended increases for returning teachers with one and two years of experience of $1,000 and $1,500 respectively, and a new starting salary of $57,500 for teachers hired in 2025–26. The maximum pay for new-to-district teachers with 25+ years experience was set at $70,700.
Employees who are paid on the teacher pay scale but who do not meet the statutory classroom-teacher definition will receive a 1% general increase (the plan noted that 1% of the midpoint equates to approximately $615). Classified hourly employees will receive a minimum 1% increase with targeted market adjustments to roles the district identified as high-need (bus assistants, bus drivers, custodians, special-education assistants and instructional assistants). All other eligible professionals and administrators receive a 1% increase on the midpoint of their pay scale.
District staff also proposed a one-time retention supplement for employees who otherwise would receive only the 1% general increase. To qualify employees must be hired on or before Oct. 1, 2025 and remain employed through the last day of the fall 2025 semester in good standing. The supplement is a one-time payment in November 2025 equal to 1.5% of the annualized pay-grade midpoint with a minimum payment of $375; substitute and temporary employees were excluded, though kin (regularly scheduled aides defined as temporary by schedule) were included.
On the Teacher Incentive Allotment, district presenters explained that district policy directs 90% of any TIA funding to teacher compensation and other instructional staff at the campus where the designated teacher works; TEA rules permit the district to retain up to 10% of TIA receipts to offset district costs (for example the district’s TRS obligations) and other permitted expenses. The board’s local plan, which district staff said was selected through teacher vote, will allocate 10% of the 90% TIA campus allocation to support staff at that campus.
Before the vote, a union representative urged the board to give larger raises to counselors, librarians, nurses, paraprofessionals and auxiliary staff, saying many of those employees are “being left out” by state definitions. Patsy Esterline, president of Northeast AFT, said staff outside the state-defined teacher category face larger relative pay losses if the district does not provide additional increases.
Board member Miss Villareal moved adoption of the compensation plan; Miss Thompson seconded. The motion passed 6–0. District staff said the compensation decisions are included in the budget item the board will consider this week and noted the recurring cost implications of raises for future budgets.
