3% raises and a balanced budget at La Joya ISD
The La Joya ISD Board of Managers approved a 3% midpoint raise and a balanced $258.9 million budget for 2026-27.
With the approval of the 3% raise, La Joya ISD boasts a 7% salary increase for all its employees over the last two years. This is also the second year in a row the district presented a balanced budget after the Texas Education Agency appointed its own superintendent.
Like other districts in the state, La Joya has experienced a decline in enrollment and funding, workforce shortages and rising costs, forcing the administration to make tough decisions to keep LJISD in the black.
In the last two years, La Joya has closed six elementary and middle schools and consolidated its specialty high schools from four to one. And the administration continues to downsize and restructure staff as needed.
Superintendent Dr. Marcey Sorensen stated that she and the board had to make the hard decisions for the betterment of the district, especially given the lack of additional state funding.
“We know, especially post COVID, the cost of everything has increased. And so I’m saying this out loud because we all feel it in our houses. We all feel it as we live every single day, and so do school districts,” Sorensen said at the May 20 board meeting. “We buy toilet paper, we put gas in our buses, we have to pay the light bill, we have to pay the water bill, supplies, food; everything that we experience in our own homes, school districts are carrying those costs as well. So as these costs rise for districts and the state does not respond with additional funding, it puts that burden on the school district to then not only continue to maintain the level of service and the level of quality that they are providing in these areas, but also, again, absorb the rising costs.”
But La Joya ISD’s sacrifices allowed the administration to provide raises that keep the district competitive in employee compensation, increase starting teacher pay to $58,300 and absorb the $6 million pre-kindergarten program from Hidalgo County.
Additionally, LJISD does not intend to increase the tax rate for 2026-27. However, the administration cannot finalize the tax rate figures until September.
Administration worked shoulder-to-shoulder with La Joya American Federation of Teachers (AFT) when building its compensation package for the 2026-27 school year. Union president Brenda Lee Salinas expressed gratitude at the June 17 meeting before the board approved the compensation package and budget.
“We appreciate having a seat at the table and the opportunity to advocate for the employees we represent,” the teacher union president said. “While there were decisions along the way where we did not always agree, I appreciate that Dr. Sorensen and her team have remained willing to listen and engage in meaningful dialogue and keep employees at the center of the conversation.”
Salinas stated that the district has made meaningful progress over the last two years and looks forward to continued conversations.
Superintendent Sorensen said she was proud to present the budget after the year of work it took to achieve balanced status.
“What we believe, who we value and what we lift up and put funds behind is exactly what the community asked us to do as we went out for our strategic plan,” she said. “There’s nothing in this budget that isn’t tightly aligned with our strategic plan. And at the center of our strategic plan is our students. So I am proud of this budget … It is an investment in our employees because we know that without them we could not make it happen.”
