BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES 3 PERCENT PAY RAISE

  

A 3 percent pay raise across the board for Brenham ISD employees was approved on Monday by the Brenham School Board.

The 5-1 vote on the 2026-27 compensation package followed discussion by trustees on the balance to strike between offering raises large enough to offset inflation while still maintaining the ability to put money toward hiring new teachers or replenishing the fund balance.

Chief Financial Officer Darrell St. Clair said current estimates show that with this level of pay raise, the district can still look to put around $1 million back into its fund balance.

Superintendent Clay Gillentine said Brenham ISD wants to build off of the pay increases established last year and not lose the ground gained.  Board President Jared Krenek said this a small thing the district can do to retain teachers and show them they are cared for.  Board Secretary Kelvin Raven said the district has to show its employees they are valued, and he believes employees will be “very satisfied.”

Trustee Kyle Hafner voted against, saying he would rather implement a smaller raise at 2 percent that would allow the district to either put more money back into fund balance or hire more teachers to address student-teacher ratios. 

Trustee Justin Colley said the conversations he has had with campus principals about the number of job applicants have greatly changed from last year, going from struggling to find applicants a year ago to having them coming to the area.  He believes the work the district has done to regain the community’s support is a big factor in that, and passing this raise is important to maintaining that support.  

Trustee Archer Archer agreed with Hafner that the fund balance is extremely important and acknowledged how hard the district has worked to get on the right track with the budget, but he does not want the academic team to lose traction because of lost talent.