Alice ISD committee recommends stipend shifts, modest staffing adjustments to save costs

Trustees reviewed committee recommendations on staffing allocations and stipends at the July 24 Alice ISD budget workshop and discussed trade-offs between targeted stipends for high-need courses and district-wide affordability.

A committee representative told trustees the only substantial staffing changes were minimal and mostly grant-driven. The committee recommended reducing certain math stipends previously set at $4,000 to $3,500 and extending a $3,500 stipend to all English teachers at Alice High School (English I and related sections) "if approved," the presenter said.

Presenter remarks listed projected savings by line item: library-aide reductions at Alice High School ($23,003.97) and a technology-supervisor saving ($31,003.47). The presenter also said one English teacher position was cut due to enrollment changes. Board members noted neighboring districts typically pay $3,000–$3,500 for math and science stipends and asked staff to analyze the budgetary impact of stipend changes before final action.

Board members raised concerns about retention: one trustee asked whether lowering math and science stipends would lead to losing teachers; another trustee said expanding stipends to English teachers was important because of additional bilingual/ESL certification requirements for that subject. The board asked staff to re-run stipend scenarios for the Aug. 7 workshop and to clarify net budget impacts before any adoption vote.

Next steps: staff will provide model-specific stipend cost analyses and explain the budget trade-offs at the Aug. 7 workshop; no final stipend changes were adopted at the July 24 meeting.