We repeat: You will have to fight locally for pay raises. Here’s why.
Let’s clear up something right away: You should ignore any reference to an average $4,000 compensation increase for teachers that you will see in the media.
If you do the overall math — napkin style — you can see where authors of the new school finance bill (HB 3) got that figure. With more than $6 billion in new money flowing to districts, they took an average net gain to districts, took the percentage supposedly dedicated to pay raises (along with possibly including some future state contributions to the TRS pension fund) and then they rounded way up.
While HB 3 invests a significant amount of new money in our schools and forms a building block for future funding, it doesn’t offer any magic fix to substandard educator pay. At this stage, numerous questions remain, particularly for districts waiting on accurate estimates of just how much state money they will get for the year. (Not to mention that we’re still waiting on Gov. Greg Abbott to sign HB 3 into law, so we’re still going to refer to it as a “bill” here.)
Here’s the formula in the bill for a required pay raises in HB 3:
Required District Pay Raise Money = New Money Per Pupil (Average Daily Attendance) x 30%
Of that 30%, here’s how the bill requires that it be spent:
75% on teachers, librarians, counselors and nurses with “prioritizing differentiated compensation for classroom teachers with more than five years of experience.”
25% at total district discretion in compensation to full-time employees other than administrators
If you’re wondering what “prioritizing differentiated compensation” means, join the crowd, as it’s not clearly defined. But it would seem to mean as long as a district pays teachers with more than five year’s experience some additional money, the districts will meet the spirit of the bill. Additionally, the final bill took away language of “salary” and instead used “compensation.” (See the Houston Chronicle’s take on this.) The end result is that districts will have wide latitude to construct pay raises, almost any way they see fit, although following the general rules above. And unfortunately, raise amounts will vary dramatically from district to district.
A lot of folks already have started doing their own napkin math for possible raises by looking at the district “runs” from HB 3 to see how much new money is expected (far right column here) and the average daily attendance (Current LAW ADA, fifth column from left here) — to plug in the formula above.
But here are the problems with that math:
1) That dollar amount in the far right column (new money to districts) will change. It’s just an estimate, and final figures may not be in for weeks.
2) With the ambiguity of “compensation” instead of “salary,” other benefit increases (like contributions to health-care premiums) could be included toward what’s required.
3) Nothing is guaranteed for any staff positions. While the bill specifically marks a percentage of new revenue for raises for teachers/librarians/counselors and nurses, districts still have discretion in how those figures are determined, and a low amount of new revenue could leave some positions without increases.
4) Some districts may get significantly less new money in year two of the biennium, leaving it uncertain how to continue to pay for raises.
Seeing all that’s up in the air, you’re probably wondering why you just didn’t get a $5,000 raise like all the headlines screamed early this year. Before you go praising that proposal from the state Senate, please realize that much of this was a political ploy that included numerous questions about how the raise would be funded in the future, not to mention that it only covered teachers and librarians. Also remember that politically important forces were against a standard raise for all teachers, as highlighted by this Dallas Morning News editorial lamenting that the Legislature didn’t just do it all based on pay for test scores. The editorial notes:
The worst….was a plan to give teachers an across-the-board $5,000 pay raise….Fortunately, the final bill erased that idea. Teachers will not get across-the-board raises. But districts will get millions more in funding to distribute to teachers, librarians and staff in ways that will be tied to measurable improvement.
What are the next steps?
Here are some tips to ensure you make the most out of the new law for school finance. First, if you have a local Texas AFT union, contact it to see how it is communicating with the district on pay raises. The pay raise issue highlights the importance of a strong, organized union membership that has the technical savvy to examine budgets and revenue projections, along with the advocacy tools to make sure all school employees get raises.
If not, you might:
1) Ask your district for specific information. Ideally, form a team of your peers and send correspondence from the team to your district officials (and/or make a phone call) asking for specific information on plans for pay raises (who/how much) without any new state money.
2) Then ask your district for specific information on plans for pay raises (who/how much) with the new state money.
3) As noted above, your district probably won’t have an accurate figure yet for their state funding, so then ask what the process will be for deciding on raises with new money, what the timeline likely is for that process, how will it be communicated to district employees, and what input mechanisms are available for employees. Even with the unknowns, the time to bring this up with districts is now.
One last concern to consider was articulated in a recent Statesman article with a Round Rock ISD spokesperson lauding the school finance bill.
“We’re still analyzing, but we are very pleased with this bill,” said Round Rock district spokeswoman Jenny LaCoste-Caputo….”The Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees approved a salary increase for staff of 3.5 percent at their meeting on May 6, and we believe that increase will meet the bill’s pay raise requirements.”
In other words, if your district is getting additional funding, it should be devoted to pay increases above and beyond anything already planned with existing money. The quote above indicates districts aren’t necessarily going to be thinking in those terms.
Texas AFT continued to push for a pay raise for all school employees with a state guarantee. The end result is concerning in its ambiguity. However, we have maintained all along that almost all pay raise battles have been and will be local. HB 3 provides a significant opportunity, but it will need local watchdogs to ensure that it isn’t wasted and that pay raises are comprehensive and fair.
by Rob D’Amico, Texas AFT Communications Director
(Follow on Twitter @damicoaustin and @TexasAFT)
