McAllen ISD Board Votes Down 2% Teacher Pay Raise Proposal After Extended Discussion, Approves $1,000 Increase For Teachers
McAllen ISD, Board of Trustees, Compensation Plan, Teacher Pay, Budget, McAllen TX
Staff Report
Arnoldo Mata
McAllen TX - The McAllen Independent School District Board of Trustees rejected a proposal Tuesday night to increase teacher salaries by 2% before ultimately approving the administration’s recommended 1.5% raise, equivalent to $1,000 for all teachers, after an extended debate that stretched through closed session and into the night.
The exchange produced the meeting’s most spirited discussion and revealed a board divided between its desire to do more for employees and its concerns about long-term fiscal sustainability.
The Proposal
Trustee Erica de la Garza-Lopez opened the debate by delivering a lengthy prepared statement calling for a higher investment in district employees, moving to approve a 2% salary increase for teachers, a 3% increase for support staff, and a 1% increase for administrators, at a total cost of approximately $5.8 million, $1.6 million more than the administration’s recommended $4.2 million compensation plan.
“Our McAllen ISD employees are the backbone of this district,” Garza-Lopez said. “Every achievement we celebrate, every student success story, every academic gain, every championship, every scholarship, and every graduation that we all celebrated this month begins with the dedicated work of the people serving our students every day.”
She acknowledged the district’s structural deficit but argued the board has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to manage through budget amendments and address financial realities as they arise. “If we have ways to cover expenditures beyond our adopted budget in recent years, then I have faith that we can find a way to invest an additional 1.6 million in the people who directly impact our student success every day.”
The trustee also pointed to the district’s recent $335 million bond approval as evidence of community confidence. “Our community sent a clear message when they approved this bond. They believe in McAllen ISD. They believe in investing in our future. And now we have an opportunity to invest in the people who make that future possible every single day,” she said.
Garza-Lopez closed the statement with an appeal to the board. “Our buildings don’t educate our children. Our people do. And our community just approved $335 million to invest in our facilities. Tonight, I ask that we make a stronger investment in the teachers and the staff who bring those facilities to life.”
Trustee Sophia Pena seconded the motion.
The Concern
Trustee Roberto A. Haddad expressed support for higher pay in principle but immediately raised fiscal concerns. “I couldn’t agree more with everything you said and I believe our teachers deserve a 35% raise,” Haddad said. “But I do have concerns because a $1.6 million is not a one-year hit. It’s a pay raise. It’s a structural deficit and we’re already at a $2.9 million structural deficit.”
Haddad asked Deputy Superintendent Lorena Garcia to confirm the impact of several compounding financial obligations heading into the next fiscal year, including the loss of maintenance tax note interest earnings used to cover a $2 million payment this year and a $2 million health plan reserve. “So we’re looking at five, six, seven, eight, nine million potential structural deficit without any changes going into next year,” Haddad said.
Procedural Question and Tabling
Deputy Superintendent Garcia raised a procedural concern, noting the district had already completed required budget postings and a public hearing. She suggested that if the board wanted to increase teacher pay beyond the recommended amount, the cleaner approach would be to adopt the budget as presented and bring the increase back as an amendment in August, when teachers would not yet have seen the pay reflected in their checks regardless.
Superintendent Dr. Rene Gutierrez added, “The teachers will not see this raise until their September check,” Garcia noted.
Gutierrez then asked legal counsel whether the discussion could be taken to closed session for guidance from legal counsel. The board agreed, and Garza-Lopez rescinded the motion before the board voted to table items 7C4 and 7C5 and enter closed session.
Post-Closed Session Vote
When the board returned to open session, Garza-Lopez renewed the motion. “Madam Chair, I move that we approve a 2% salary increase for teachers, a 3% salary increase for support staff, and a 1% salary increase for administrators at a total cost of approximately $5.8 million. The difference between the recommendation and this proposal is approximately $1.6 million.”
Trustee Pena seconded the motion again.
Trustee Robert J. Carreon expressed admiration for the proposal but said it could not yet support it without a concrete plan showing how the additional cost would be sustained. “I have reservations about increasing the fund balance access for an additional increase without clarity for how we will make that sustainable in the long term,” Carreon said. “I can get to that place if I could see, over the course of the next month, the next six weeks, the next eight weeks, some plan that would show how through a reduction through attrition, we may be able to make up the difference of that additional cost in a way that does not encumber the district for the long term.”
Carreon then praised Garza-Lopez’s approach. “I love the idea. I love the thinking that you put into this. I love the way that you have sparked this conversation among us as a way of showing to our staff and our team our appreciation. I’m just trying to balance that with the fiduciary responsibility of tight budgets in public school districts.”
Haddad echoed that position, asking whether the 2% raise would automatically trigger increases to the equity pay adjustments for counselors and librarians previously discussed. After administration confirmed it would, Board President Lucia Regalado said she could revisit the question with a concrete plan in hand. “I would like to see a concrete plan with measurables so that we can know that when we make these decisions, we’re doing so responsibly,”
Trustee Pena said. “I think that we also need to make known that trying to get there and give more might mean that we have to tighten our belts come Christmas time, come the future, maybe no raises next year.”
Garza-Lopez then pointed to the dramatic rise in inflation that is affecting all staff. “There’s been what we have right now 4% as of April inflation rate, half of that half a percent of that was just since May. We’ve seen the increase in gasoline and energy cost, and that half percent makes makes a difference for families. It’s not like it’s a one-time retention payment that we do in Christmas. Maybe that’s something that we reconsider and we don’t do that, but I think that our teachers and our staff need relief now, They need it consistently in their paychecks, not just $500 at Christmas.”
Trustee Aaron D. Rivera expressed full support for the 2% proposal. “Right now it may seem tough because you’re trimming, trimming, trimming, but hey, you’ve done it before and we trust you,” he said.
The vote on the amended 2% motion failed 3-4.
Carreon then moved to approve the compensation plan as originally presented by administration, including the $1,000 raise for all teachers, 3% for hourly employees, and 1% for administrators. The motion passed 7-0.