Montgomery ISD board signs off on Teacher Incentive Allotment application and spending plan
Loading...
Summary
Trustees approved the district's Teacher Incentive Allotment application and associated spending plan that will front-load teacher payments (state funds to reimburse later); staff outlined a phased, multi-year eligibility approach tying initial phases to STAR assessments and T-TESS observations.
The Montgomery ISD Board of Trustees approved the district's application for the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) on March 24, endorsing a spending plan that requires the district to front-pay designated teachers before state reimbursement.
Doctor Summers briefed trustees on the TIA program (a state grant administered by the Texas Education Agency) and explained the district's multi-committee process for defining designations and eligibility. He described four TIA designation levels (acknowledge, recognized, exemplary, master), the state's funding bands and how a district's classification (rural, high-SES, Title I prevalence) affects per-teacher dollars.
For Montgomery ISD, staff recommended a phased approach for data capture. Phase 1 will include teachers in tested grades and courses (third grade through English I and third grade through Algebra I, plus special-education inclusion in tested grades) and would represent roughly 32% of eligible teachers. The district will perform T-TESS (teacher observation) evaluations and collect student-growth measures (STAR assessments and pre/post options) in a data-capture year (2026'27), submit data in 2027'28, and distribute designated payments in August 2028 once state reimbursement follows.
Summers emphasized operational implications: the district must perform many more formal observations in a data-capture year, balance principals' workloads and ensure fidelity of evaluation processes. He noted the spending plan is necessary because the district must pay teachers before TEA funds arrive, and the plan includes using a restricted savings or similar mechanism to manage timing. Staff said they will publish a living TIA handbook and continue stakeholder engagement.
Trustees approved the application by motion and voice vote; the transcript records a motion, second and voice "Aye" votes and the chair stating "Motion carries." The transcript does not include a detailed roll-call vote or named tallies.
Next steps: Staff will finalize the application for an April filing, begin the data-capture year in 2026'27 for specified grades and contents, and return to the board with implementation timelines and budget mechanics to manage upfront payments and subsequent state reimbursement.
