House Bill 2 changes complicate pay strategy; board adopts FY26 proposed budget amid open questions about sustainability

Arlington ISD staff and board members on June 17 discussed the Legislature’s recent changes to school funding and adopted the district’s proposed fiscal 2025–26 budget while warning that new allotments and program strings create uncertainty for long-term compensation planning.

Holly Stambaugh, presenting the legislative update on compensation and health care, summarized the major elements of House Bill 2: a modest increase in the basic allotment, an additional teacher retention allotment that provides eligible classroom teachers with $2,500 (for teachers with three to four years’ experience) or $5,000 (for teachers with five or more years), and a separate $45-per-ADA allotment for support staff. Stambaugh said the teacher allotment will be added to base pay for eligible classroom teachers and will require the district to create a separate, teacher-specific pay scale for those employees. She said roughly 4,700 employees coded…