Raises are in store for Taylor ISD personnel.
On April 18, the Taylor ISD school board approved raises and compensation changes for the 2022-23 school year. Salaries of teachers, nurses, and librarians increases by 4%, which brings the starting teacher salary from approximately $47,600 to $50,000.
“This is still slightly below Hutto, Pflugerville and Round Rock, but gets us closer to stay competitive,” said Superintendent Devin Padavil. “We also brought minimum starting wage for full time employees to $15 per hour, which is absolutely necessary now that greater Austin is one of the most expensive cities in America.”
A reduction in district expenses and staff roster led to the district being able to give the raises. School administrators were instructed by the school board to improve compensation to better recruit and retain quality employees.
“We are reducing administrative expenses so we have greater bandwidth to compensate our employees. Although the market value of property appraisals soared to an average of a 56% increase in Williamson County, Taylor ISD’s revenue only increased by 2.6%,” said Padavil. “This is primarily because the state decreases their contribution when local revenue increases because of how school funding works. We are also subject to homestead exemptions that limit our local revenue as well.”
As school districts in general suffer staffing shortages, Padavil pointed to an additional hurdle of a lack of affordable housing for educators in Taylor. To stay competitive, he said the district must continue to make tough decisions to increase compensation in the future.
“The most effective thing we can do to improve the quality of a child’s experience in Taylor ISD,” said Padavil, “is to put high-quality teachers and support staff in our schools.”
