Sharyland ISD board approves 2% districtwide pay increase for 2025–26

The Sharyland Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 7–0 to include a 2% salary increase for the 2025–26 school year as part of the district's compensation plan.

Superintendent Dr. Elaine Howard presented three possible salary scenarios and recommended a 1.5% increase as the board's initial option but trustees ultimately voted to adopt Option C, a 2% increase, citing a desire to prioritize staff pay while preserving district reserves. Howard said the 2% option has an approximate fiscal impact of $1.45 million and would raise the district's starting teacher salary to $55,570.

The superintendent described the options as being presented "without additional monies from the state" and said district staff had audited current staffing and compensation to determine what increases the budget could sustain. Howard said the step increase for teachers is included as part of the calculation rather than added on top of it.

Board members discussed trade-offs between a larger raise and preserving district reserves. Trustee comments noted that a 3% increase would likely require state assistance or cuts to instructional initiatives; trustees said a 2% increase is "doable" but tight. Several trustees and district staff emphasized the importance of sustainability if the Legislature does not provide additional funding.

Trustees also asked for clarification about how the district would preserve positions and employees' pay when administrative or role changes occur. Howard said the district will try to preserve employees' positions where possible and will use attrition and unfunded positions to find budget room for increases. She said some positions that change substantially could see pay recalculated under the new compensation structure and that grandfathered extra-duty days tied to a position would be preserved only while the employee remains in the same role.

Trustees discussed paraprofessionals who also serve as coaches. Howard said the district will limit use of paraprofessionals for athletic coverage when that time is federally funded (for example, special education-funded positions) and will bill athletics when paraprofessionals are used outside their funded role. She also said combining hourly coaching pay with paraprofessional pay for overtime purposes has driven unexpected local costs in prior years and will be managed more closely going forward.

The motion to adopt the compensation plan with the 2% salary increase was made by Trustee Julio Serra, seconded by Trustee Hector Rivera, and passed 7'0.

The board directed administration to package the approved compensation plan into the draft budget for final adoption and to revisit midyear incentives (one-time stipends) if state action or fund balances allow.