PSJA ISD presents 2024 TAPR; district reports 72% of teachers eligible for Teacher Incentive Allotment with ~$29M projected award

PHARR‑SAN JUAN‑ALAMO ISD — District officials on Feb. 17 presented the PHARR‑SAN JUAN‑ALAMO ISD (PSJA ISD) 2024 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) and a detailed update on the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), including preliminary validation results and projected award totals.

Alfredo Carrillo, executive officer for human resources, opened the TAPR presentation with demographic and staffing highlights, noting the district’s student population is 98.9% Hispanic and that 93.8% of students are economically disadvantaged. Carrillo also reviewed PSJA class size and staffing measures reported in the TAPR.

Dr. Rebecca Garza, who led the district’s TIA update, told the board the district received validation correspondence from Texas Tech and the Texas Education Agency confirming that the district‑level data submitted for 2024 has passed the preliminary validation checks. “This is the data that was submitted in October. This is the data that has been validated and has been approved,” she said during the presentation.

Garza said PSJA submitted designations for 971 teachers in October and that, after Texas Tech’s validation checks and accounting for teachers who are carried forward from prior years, the district expects approximately 1,469 teachers to carry a TIA designation across three levels: master, exemplary and recognized. Using district average award estimates, Garza presented preliminary award calculations of about $24,873,792 for master designations, $3,200,460 for exemplary designations and about $66,000 for recognized—totaling approximately $29,140,256. She repeatedly cautioned those totals are estimated and that final designations and allotments will be confirmed by TEA in April 2025.

Garza and staff explained the district’s selection process and data validation approach: PSJA’s plan uses two required components (teacher evaluations and student growth measures), campus calibration and external validation by Texas Tech. Garza said TEA approves district designation systems and validates the district’s submitted data but “TEA does not approve or reject individual teacher designation.” She emphasized that the district’s submissions will be processed in April, when TEA confirms and notifies individual teachers of awards.

Board members asked several clarifying questions about how teachers are selected for submission, which assessments serve as student‑growth measures for non‑tested grades and subjects, and how the allotment funds are distributed. Dr. Garza and the HR team said PSJA allows all teachers an opportunity to be eligible and that designations use both campus‑entered student growth measures and state assessment inputs where applicable. She reiterated that 10% of the district’s allotment is retained by law for administrative purposes and that the remaining 90% is distributed to teachers, subject to required tax withholdings and retirement system deductions.

Trustees and executive officers also discussed the broader TAPR results presented by instructional leaders: among highlights, PSJA said it ranked fourth among 16 regional districts on certain student achievement measures and reported gains in fourth‑grade reading and math. Presenters credited new curriculum adoptions in math (Eureka) and science (Savvas) and targeted campus support, and noted benchmarks and interim assessments showed encouraging trends despite statewide shifts in some areas.

District staff requested no board action at the hearing; the TAPR presentation was informational. Officials said final TIA designations and allotments will be confirmed by TEA in April and that teachers should expect direct notification from the commissioner at that time.