BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD DISCUSSES PAY RAISE OPTIONS IN BUDGET WORKSHOP

  

The Brenham School Board walked through possible payroll increase scenarios during a budget workshop on Monday.

While no action was taken, the workshop illustrated the amount of funding available for Brenham ISD to put toward teacher and staff pay raises, both through normal budget assumptions and with what could be obtained in a Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE). 

Chief Financial Officer Darrell St. Clair said the district’s current expectation is to have $1,041,843 in new state funding to use for upgrading pay, made up of $506,892 from the allotment for basic cost, $357,256 from the basic allotment, and $177,695 from the support staff retention allotment.

Preliminary projections for using that $1,041,843 would put $173,571 of it toward teacher step raises and associated benefits, which vary individually depending on what step the teacher is on.  Approximately $33,900 would go toward $1,000 raises and benefits for teachers on the lowest three steps on the step scale. 

While the state will fund the gross pay for the mandated $4,000 and $8,000 teacher pay raises through the teacher retention allotment, the district will be on the hook for the benefits associated with those raises, and those benefits are expected to come out to $308,880.  

Lastly, $518,215 would go toward a 2.75 percent raise for all non-teaching staff.  St. Clair said the district was initially attempting to go for 3 percent, but had to drop that number in order to accommodate the $1,000 teacher raises.

Depending on the tax rate proposed – and approved – in a VATRE, the district could receive between $817,039 and $2,451,117 in additional revenue beyond the new state funding.  Chief Communications and Engagement Officer Brooke Trahan said the board will propose the new tax rate at its next meeting once it gets certified values, but should the strategic planning committee formally recommend going forward with the VATRE, the election would be trigged once the board adopts a rate that sits above the voter approval rate.

Trahan said if the election passed in November, staff members would receive a lump sum with their November paycheck, retroactively paying them the new raise they were owed for the first few months of the school year.  They would receive the added pay normally on their future paychecks.

Superintendent Clay Gillentine said a priority when considering a VATRE is not just improving pay, but also finding ways to bring back teacher positions that were absorbed through prior cuts, helping to reduce class sizes. 

Board Vice President Bonnie Brinkmeyer said whatever the board decides, it needs to ensure the community understands and is involved in that decision, adding, “We want to do what’s best in everybody’s situation right now.”  Trustee Archer Archer said the public will vote against a tax increase “every day of the week and on Sundays” if Brenham ISD does not properly communicate the important details, and that the district will be “in really bad shape” if it cannot do something substantial for its people. 

In other business on Monday, the board heard from Washington County Crime Stoppers Chairman and President, Carey Counsil, about the organization’s plans to re-enter the school district.  Counsil, along with Crime Stoppers board member and Brenham ISD Safety Coordinator Joseph Merkley, said the partnership will give the organization greater insight into the community and will not cost the district. 

Crime Stoppers will offer financial rewards to students who report illegal activity or a violation of school rules.  The rewards will come from Crime Stoppers’ fund balance.  Additionally, the tips will be used as a way to report possible mental health issues.  As with Crime Stoppers’ operations outside of school, tippers will keep their anonymity. 

Trustees were supportive of the initiative, with Board President Jared Krenek saying he was glad to see the organization coming back into the schools and looking out for kids.  Archer said it will be great to get students involved in safety and discipline processes.  Board Secretary Kelvin Raven called the partnership “huge”, adding that Crime Stoppers was “a tremendous resource” when he worked as a school resource officer for Brenham ISD.

During the superintendent’s monthly report, Gillentine said work continues on campuses that were affected by hail and heavy rainfall in May.  He said the district met with representatives from Parsons Roofing last week, and they have expressed confidence that the campuses are on schedule to be ready for the start of school.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the board approved the hire of Sarah Montes as Brenham ISD’s bilingual/ESL coordinator.  Montes, a Brenham High School graduate, previously served as a teacher and bilingual/dyslexia specialist at Krause Elementary School.  She was most recently the bilingual assistant principal at Hempstead Elementary School.