Waxahachie teachers, board debate denied TIA designations after state data validation

Dozens of Waxahachie ISD teachers who were named for Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) designations told the Board of Trustees they will not receive the stipends they expected after the state's data validation process rejected the district's submissions.

At an open‑forum public comment period, teacher Gretchen Gray said she and other educators received high local evaluations and student growth scores but were informed shortly before spring break that an appeal to the state had been denied and no teachers would receive the allotment. "Extra hard work was supposed to equal extra pay. Wrong," Gray said.

The denial stems from Texas Education Agency (TEA) data validation that used a value‑added measure (VAM) published by the state in September for the first time, district staff and trustees said. District assessment staffer Miss Mott told trustees that Waxahachie submitted its initial TIA application in April 2023 and provided the first year of data in October. When TEA returned validation results in February, the district appealed in March and was denied.

Why it mattered: TIA payments rely on both classroom observation ratings (the district's T‑TESS/T‑TET…