HPISD Board Talks Bond, Teacher Salaries

While students enjoy their summer holiday, Highland Park ISD plans to get to work on projects funded by its $137.3 million bond.

The district anticipates two summers of construction in 2025 and 2026. Some work, including improvements to the indoor practice facility, may begin before the end of the school year, assistant superintendent for business services Scott Drillette said during an April 8 board of trustees work session.

Drillette had good news for track stars in the making at McCulloch Intermediate School/Highland Park Middle School. Work on the campus’ field is scheduled to begin later this month, and the district plans to use bond funds to create an improved track that is as close to regulation as possible, though it is limited by streets to the east and west.

“We can basically make it very close, and I think that’s going to be really beneficial,” Drillette said.

Projects in Highlander Stadium are slated to begin in the summer. Improvements will involve removal of the bleachers, but will not interfere with access to the field, with the exception of a 10-to 14-day period when the field will be closed for light replacement.

Some equipment, including most band and orchestra instruments, has already been ordered, and band trailers should be ready for the 2025-26 school year. An LED lighting retrofit at several campuses will improve aesthetics and learning environments, as well as save the district $100,000 to $150,000 annually, Drillette said. He also reviewed some other cost-savings efforts.

Drillette said the district was excited about the purchase of passenger buses. But board members were less enamored with artistic liberties in example graphics not produced by the district, which referred to Highland Park as the “Fightin’ Scots.”

“I’ve never seen that before,” board of trustees member Blythe Koch said to laughter from board members and staff.

In other business, board members reviewed proposed teacher salary schedules for the 2025-26 school year that would increase compensation by 2 or 3%. The proposals did not take into consideration school funding increases being considered by Texas legislators, superintendent Mike Rockwood said.

During public comments, the trustees heard from place 4 board candidate Jon Altschuler, who encouraged the school board to request a $4 million grant from the Highland Park Education Foundation for the calendar year 2025-2026 to increase teacher pay by $10,000 per teacher. 

Altschuler said that the request would signal to educators that they have board support, and that by acting and generating publicity, the board could force legislators to address the issue of teacher pay.

“We can be a leader statewide. We can be a leader nationally on this issue,” he said. “But we can’t do it when we surrender our own agency. We have our own strategic resources that we’re not leveraging, that we should be.”