Sunday, May 19, 2024
Gatesville Independent School District employees will earn more for 2023-24, after the GISD Board of Trustees approved a new salary schedule during the June 19 school board meeting.
The GISD administration recommended raising the teacher pay scale by $1,000 for all levels.
"In addition, in order to address the disparity in the lower half of the teacher scale in comparison to similar districts, GISD management also recommends adding $100 to Step 14, increasing $100/step through Step 0 (no experience)," stated a memo issued to board members. "As a result, Step 0 would increase by a total of $2,500, pushing the district's minimum teacher pay past the $40,000 mark."
The district's auxiliary pay scales were also increased by 4% for Step 0, with the only exception being for bus drivers. Starting pay for bus drivers was raised to $17.75 per hour "to more closely align driver pay to market," the memo stated.
The cost for salary increase for district personnel will be $900,000, with pay scale adjustments being responsible for 60% of that amount, and normal step increases accounting for the additional increase.
"We're making some progress (in pay rates) for the early years — getting more competitive," said Darrell Frazier, the district's chief financial officer. "I hope you're pleased with the result of where this places us in relation to other districts."
School Board President Charles Ament thanked the financial office for its efforts to raise compensation for GISD employees.
"It sounds like you've done the best you can with what you have," Ament said.
Pollard added his appreciation, saying that salaries for those with 20-30 years experience looked good, but rates were lower for those with less experience.
"I think (school district employees) here in Gatesville want to be here in Gatesville and we want to treat them right and pay them as much as we can," Frazier said. "Especially at the upper levels, they're not going to make that much more by leaving Gatesville."
An added bonus for GISD employees is that the district pays an additional $417 per month to help pay for health insurance premiums.
The lowest monthly insurance premium for GISD employees is $399, so the GISD contribution would completely cover that cost.
The district pays a total of $2.4 million to help employees with insurance premiums.
"The district could save $74,000 by lowering the (district contribution) to $399, but I recommend we stay at $417," Frazier said. "That's very generous. We do pay more (to help employees) on insurance than almost any district."
"I was surprised Gatesville paid that much when I came over from Belton (ISD)," said Superintendent Barrett Pollard.
Frazier noted that the state only requires districts to pay $225 toward employee insurance premiums, so GISD's contribution is $192 per month more than the state minimum.
After the new salary schedule was approved, new teachers with no experience will earn $41,160 while those with 30 years experience will earn $65,540.
Paraprofessional rates range from $11.27 to $20.28 for campus aides. Campus and department secretary rates range from $13.42 to $25.02 per hour.
Pay rates for GISD police range from $34.92 to $37.52 per hour.
The complete salary schedule will be posted on the GISD website.
