The Midway Independent School District Board of Trustees gave all staff a 2% general pay increase on their pay range midpoint at its regular board meeting on April 16 as part of its unanimous approval of the 2024-25 Compensation Plan.
“I certainly think this is an investment we have to make for our students and our teachers,” Trustee Jonathan Green said during the discussion.
“I wish we could do more, but without knowing what the legislature is going to do, we don’t know what room we have,” Board President Pete Rusek said. “I’d hate to have to roll something back later, so we will start here.”
The plan will cost an estimated $2.2 million, which includes the general pay increase of 2% on the midpoint, provides adjustments to address market differences and maintain equity, reviews stipends, and continues contributions to health insurance.
“We are in a unique and ever-changing hiring climate making recruitment and retention efforts vital to serving our students,” Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dr. Ashley Canuteson said. “We are the only district giving a stipend to teachers who receive national board certification…and we are one of only a few districts giving stipends for doctorate degrees to classroom teachers.”
Midway ISD partnered with the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) to conduct a Pay Systems Review to ensure pay scales are competitive with surrounding districts and similar markets. The district-defined goals coupled with the Pay Systems Review helped shape the recommended Compensation Plan for 2024-2025.
Dr. Canuteson explained the district is focused on maintaining pay scales close to or above market to remain competitive, and that includes bringing up the auxiliary staff minimum pay.
“The adjustments we are making at this point we are doing without undermining the services we provide to our students.” Superintendent Dr. Chris Allen said. “We are trying to take it all into account and do something that impacts everyone.”
Since 2019, the board has worked to enhance compensation across different employee groups:
- 2023 - 2024: Maintained the tiered GPI structure on paygrade midpoints, with adjustments as follows:
- 2% for Administrators/Professionals
- 3% for Teachers
- 4% for Auxiliary/Paraprofessionals
- 2022 - 2023: Introduced a 2.5% GPI on paygrade midpoints, ensuring equitable adjustments across different pay scales.
- 2021 - 2022: Implemented a 2% GPI on salary for all staff members.
- 2020 - 2021: Continued the tiered GPI approach on salary, with adjustments as follows:
- 1.5% for Teachers with 5+ years of experience
- 1% for all other staff members
- 2019 - 2020: Introduced a tiered General Pay Increase (GPI) structure on salary, with adjustments tailored to different employee categories:some text
- 2.5% for Administrators/Professionals and Teachers with 0-5 years of experience
- 3% for Teachers with 6-10 years of experience
- 3.5% for Teachers with 11-20+ years of experience
- 4% for Auxiliary/Paraprofessionals
View Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dr. Ashley Canuteson's presentation on compensation from the April board meeting below:
