Taylor Independent School District officials announced the purchase of more than 50 acres for future expansion and rolled out pay raises for non-teaching staff at the monthly board meeting Monday.
Superintendent Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen revealed the district recently closed on 55.8 acres southeast of Taylor High School.
“This is very exciting,” Garcia-Edwardsen said during the July 21 session.
Bought with funds allocated from the district’s 2022 bond, Garcia-Edwardsen said the acquisition aligns with Taylor ISD’s goal to ensure strategic long-term asset and facility planning.
The superintendent said the district has not decided how to use the property, but there are many possibilities.
“The high school is at (enrollment) capacity and we know we’ll need a new middle school in 10 years or less. Looking at our elementary schools, we know we’ll reach capacity in the next decade as well,” Garcia-Edwardsen said.
The district will take steps to determine how the acreage will be used and what needs come first.
“This could also be used for high school expansion,” Garcia-Edwardsen said.
The extension of the high school parking lot was one suggestion, but that wouldn’t require full use of the land.
“We’ll also be running some tests and monitoring enrollment numbers to see what type of campus we can put on that property,” Garcia-Edwardsen said.
Meanwhile, in phase two of Taylor ISD’s salary increases, trustees approved a 3 percent pay hike for clerical, auxiliary and professional staff.
The Thrall Independent School District recently OK’d the same rate, while the Hutto school system provided a 1 percent increase for staff.
Taylor ISD officials said the pay hikes are the right move.
“We wanted to make sure that all our employees knew that they were valued,” said Jennifer Patschke, assistant superintendent of human resources.
In phase one, under the recently approved state House Bill 2, Taylor trustees June 23 authorized a $4,000 salary increases for teachers with three and four years of experience and $8,000 for those with five or more years.
Trustees also approved raises for educators with up to two years of experience, a measure not mandated by HB 2. Starting teacher salaries rose by $1,500, which means the new base salary for fresh hires is $53,500.
Educators with one to two years under their belts got a $1,750 raise.
The next board meeting is 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug.14 at 3101 N. Main St.
