Houston ISD proposes teacher salary increase

Houston ISD plans to increase the salaries of most teachers working at campuses not included in its New Education System .

Why it matters: HISD, which is being overhauled by state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles, aims to make its salaries among the most competitive in the state to attract and retain teachers.

Driving the news: The change comes after the district added more days of class to the school year, so teachers will work 194 days next year compared with 187 days this year.

Follow the money: HISD released its proposed compensation plan for the 2024-25 school year this week.

• It expects to spend about $114.2 million more on staff salaries for the next year, Jessica Neyman, HISD's chief human resources officer, told the Houston Chronicle .
• The board of managers will consider the new compensation scale when it votes on the budget in June.

Of note: Next year, there will be 130 NES schools , which are part of Miles' district reform initiative. Miles' NES plan dismantled some school libraries, emphasized student discipline and a standardized curriculum, and required some teachers to reapply for their jobs.

By the numbers: If the increase were approved, non-NES HISD teachers' base salaries would start at $64,000, up from $61,500.

• Teachers at NES schools make about $10,000 to $20,000 more per year than their colleagues, and their salaries will largely remain the same. NES teacher salaries vary by subject and grade, but the average NES high school teacher salary with up to two years of experience is $82,780.
• Plus: All hourly staff will now make at least $15 per hour.

Zoom out: The average salary for teachers across Texas is about $59,000, with a starting salary of about $45,000, per the National Education Association .

The intrigue: The district has hired at least 830 uncertified teachers to fill vacant roles this school year, per the Houston Chronicle .

• Plus: About 600 teachers have left the district so far this year, double the number of teachers who left in the same time frame last year, per ABC13 .

The bottom line: HISD highlighted its "high-performance culture" in the announcement about its proposed compensation manual, but teacher vacancies persist.

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