HPISD Staff Recommends Potential 4% Salary Increase
District staff has recommended that HPISD’s board of trustees consider a 2% salary increase for employees in 2024-25, with an additional 2% increase to be paid retroactively if the district passes a bond that frees up additional funds for compensation.
Making teacher salaries more competitive has been a focus for HPISD’s board of trustees, as well as for its bond Community Advisory Committee.
The committee, which met six times between February and April, has recommended a $130 to $140 million bond to address pressing maintenance and operations needs, raise teacher pay, acquire property, and make other targeted improvements.
The bond’s passage would not cause a tax rate increase, assistant superintendent for business services Scott Drillette told the board during its May 14 meeting. The board has until Aug. 19 to call for a bond that would appear on the ballot in November.
About 85% of the district’s payroll is devoted to salaries and the district, which faces declining enrollment, is working to staff more efficiently, Drillette said.
Also during the meeting, board members heard an update on the district’s literature selection process.
Earlier this school year, the board of trustees approved a requirement that the district notify the parents of fifth through eighth graders of possible reading selections in the next school year by June 1. Parents of ninth through 12th graders have long had access to a list of the upcoming year’s possible reading materials.
The lists for the next school year are now available on the district’s website. Parents of fifth through 12th graders can visit the literary works catalog to view their student’s potential reading selections, assistant superintendent for education services Jennifer Collins told the board. Parents may request alternative assignments for any works they do not want their child to read.
“We hope that this will be something that is really helpful for our parents and for our community as they make choices about what they would have their students read moving forward,” she said.
The board also recognized the achievements of members of the HPHS indoor drumline and gymnastics teams.
