Teachers and school staff urge trustees to reject pay cuts, warn of morale and staffing impact

Dozens of employees and principals took the public comment period to press the board to maintain teacher pay and staffing levels as administration presents budget reduction options.

Speakers included classroom teachers, campus principals and department leaders who described how proposed reductions (shortening contract days, cutting stipends, or reducing assistant principals) would affect household budgets, hiring and campus operations. Several speakers asked the board to preserve stipends or create targeted retention incentives for bilingual and special education staff, and to delay any pay‑reducing action until a full compensation workshop can be held in July. Multiple campus principals warned that removing assistant principals would weaken campus safety and response capacity; counselors and mental‑health support were described as mission‑critical for vulnerable students.

Speakers identified themselves on the record: Marilyn McKinney (public commenter); John Ramirez (Rolling Meadows Elementary teacher and AFT representative) raised legal and contractual questions about reducing contract days under TEC; Amber Gonzales (principal) and multiple other principals described the personal and professional impact of a proposed 6‑day reduction and requested more time and involvement in budgeting decisions. Parents and advocates urged the board to protect LSSP (licensed specialists in school psychology) services and to increase contractor capacity where district staff cannot be filled.

Ending Board members said they will not implement pay reductions until the district and TEA interpretations of recently signed state legislation are clarified and until the July compensation workshop, and several trustees emphasized the goal of minimizing direct cuts to instructional staff.