Sharyland approves ‘monumental’ compensation plan
The Sharyland Board of Trustees amended a previously approved compensation plan in favor of a more robust option that Superintendent Dr. Elaine Howard said was “monumental.”
For the 2025-26 school year, Sharyland ISD employees will get the originally approved 2% pay increase along with the state funds from House Bill 2. And, depending on the position, staff will receive additional tiered pay, equity adjustments and pay restructures. The new plan also includes stipend adjustments in line with the market value.
“I’ve never seen it in 19 years to go in and, comprehensively, not just give the increase but then also do the work and equitize and reclassify all at once,” the superintendent said.
Under SISD’s originally approved compensation plan, teachers and employees in the same pay matrix (nurses and librarians) receive a 2% pay raise. Auxiliary staff, paraprofessionals and administrative professionals get a 2% midpoint pay grade increase. All that will still happen under the new plan, but it includes more.
With the $8.5 million in state funds from HB2, teachers will receive an additional state-funded pay increase — an extra $2,500 for teachers with three to four years of experience and an extra $5,000 for teachers of five or more years. The state did not budget funds for teachers with zero to two years of experience, but the district will provide an additional $333 for this group with the new compensation plan. Employees under the same pay matrix will also receive additional district pay based on their time served, similar to how the state will pay teachers. For example, the district will add $3,832 to the salary for a librarian with more than five years of experience, in addition to the 2% raise, bringing them up to an additional $5,000 total.
Other employee groups get additional perks with the new compensation plan, too. Auxiliary staff gets the 2% midpoint increase plus the difference of $1.00, which equals an extra $1 per hour. Para instructional employees get an additional equity adjustment based on a 4% midpoint pay grade increase and position reclassification. Administration also restructured the pay band for the para instructional group, updating the midpoint and maximum pay rate to match the market value of neighboring districts.
“We reclassified all those positions based on the intensity of the position and the skill set required,” Chief of Human Resources Azucena “Suzie” Garza explained. “Then we went a step further…and we equitized their salaries. So some of our para instructional support staff will be receiving anywhere between a 4% raise all the way close to 10% of a raise, depending on where they’re at. So the work that we did here is the start to the work that’s going to be done for all of our other employees.”
In the new compensation plan, para clerical staff also get an equity adjustment based on calendar changes because they’ll work fewer days in the 25-26 school year but still receive the same salary. Administrative professionals are the only employees receiving just the 2% midpoint increase that the SISD trustees originally approved May 19.
For stipends, the district adjusted amounts for specific positions to bring them up to market value, which aligns with Sharyland ISD’s new staffing and compensation model. The finance team said they will continue working to increase stipends for other positions into the next year.
“[This] presents an opportunity for us where we can begin the work on restructuring pay bands and building a compensation model that, in the long run, is competitive and sustainable,” the chief of human resources said.
The district always intended to revisit the compensation plan after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the $8.5 million public education bill into law, which he did on June 4; it goes into effect Sept. 1. With the additional state funding confirmed, SISD administration presented two more compensation plan options to the school board at the June 23 meeting. Administration recommended the option with a greater fiscal impact — $4.49 million.
“It is a rare occasion that we [are] able to do this work in one year,” Garza said.
The board members expressed their excitement and praised administration for providing the upgraded compensation plan, specifically the equitization of teaching support staff. However, the chief of human resources assured that they will continue to phase in more compensation progress over the next two to four years.
“This is not a one and done,” Garza said. “This is just the beginning of the work.”
The school board also approved a $126.9 million budget for the 2025-26 academic year, which includes the general, child nutrition and debt service funds.
This administration has been blatantly dishonest with its staff regarding these raises. The intent behind HB2 is clear: to retain experienced teachers, especially after Governor Abbott’s own study revealed a significant burnout rate within the first three years of teaching. This funding was meant to support those who have stayed committed to the profession.
Sharyland had the opportunity to make a powerful statement by standing with its veteran teachers. Instead, the administration chose to only reward teachers with the state-allocated funds—$2,500 and $5,000. Instead they took the previous announced 2% raise any used that to reward paraprofessionals and brand-new hires. Sharyland ISD is giving veteran teachers $0. These are all state funds are they redirected money to paraprofessionals and new hires. While support staff deserve recognition, this move fundamentally ignores the spirit of HB2 and the needs of the teachers who have dedicated years to serving students.
It’s disheartening to see the district once again neglect those who have stayed the course. Rather than standing with the educators who have built the foundation of this school system, the administration has opted to do the bare minimum. Teachers should take this as a clear message: veteran educators are not a priority for this leadership. It’s time more of us recognize that and demand better.
HB2 explicitly states $5,000 in teacher raises (5+yrs)
So for the district to say they’re giving us teachers a 2% raise is dishonest and insulting.
The $5,000 is coming DIRECTLY from the state and ZERO from the district. They can Enron the numbers however they want but at the end of the day – Sharyland ISD gave nothing to teachers with 5+ years experience; HB2 did.