Educators say they could lose money
HUTTO — Tears and fears took center stage at the Hutto Independent School District board meeting as teachers made emotional pleas asking trustees to reconsider a recently announced pay redistribution plan.
In other business during last week’s school board meeting, members also considered tax rates.
Meanwhile, the outcry from educators at the Aug. 27 meeting had its genesis during a July session in which trustees approved a statewide program called the Teacher Incentive Allotment, which redistributes educator salary budget funds based on performance.
Under the plan, certified teachers start at a competitive base pay of $62,500. From there, the district would forego across-the-board raises. Pay increases would be based on a teacher performance scorecard that measures student growth as 70% of the score. Non-performing teachers could see drops in pay.
“What hurts one hurts all,” teacher Francesca Mejia told the board during the Thursday session. “Taking money away from one teacher to give to another teacher will cripple the unity and community that Hutto so lovingly represents.”
The TIA was not on the agenda, but the Aug. 27 meeting was the first opportunity teachers had to address the board with their concerns. Because the TIA was not a listed item, trustees could not comment.
Jo Ann Champion, an educator of 20 years, expressed dismay because, in her view, the July presentation seemed to show older teachers in a negative light.
“Excellence comes in many forms. We teacher elders are the backbone of our communities,” Champion said.
Educators said seasoned teachers become mentors to younger educators and are often the ones called on to head departments and volunteer.
Champion said unless she earns an Exemplary or Master’s status on the TIA scoring, she will take a pay cut. She said the loss could trim as much as $13,600 off her annual salary.
Fatima Johnson, a teacher at Farley Middle School, said the program does not provide equity between differing types of classes, with students taking some lessons more seriously than others.
Other teachers noted standardized written tests in fine arts classes are not valid interpretations of what pupils are meant to learn in those sessions. Those who teach classes where fewer students speak English could see negative impacts due to poor testing results.
“We feel like the house is on fire,” said Britagne Sullivan, a 10-year teacher at Farley Middle.
She pointed out what she considers a major flaw in the system: Many students did not take all of the beginning-of-year tests in every teacher’s class, so those pupils’ endof- year test scores will not count toward the teachers’ scores.
Sullivan said omission of these data points is “effectively rigging the game against the teacher.”
The plan could also see “devastating” financial fallout for teachers, who may not be able to rely on steady pay rates year to year. Potential loan denials and lower pension pay for retiring teachers were some of the other concerns.
Meghan Day, a sixthgrade science teacher at Gus Almquist Middle School, said she left her teaching job in the Dallas Independent School District because trustees adopted a comparable incentive plan.
“That individual incentive pay turns colleagues into competitors, where teachers no longer help each other. Teaching is supposed to run on collaboration, not competition,” Day said.
According to a TIA website, “TIA was established with the goal of providing outstanding teachers an accessible pathway to a six-figure salary. … Through approved local designation systems, districts can identify and designate outstanding teachers based on student growth and classroom observation.”
As part of financially rewarding “top performing teachers,” educators can earn one of three levels of designation: recognized, exemplary, or master.
Hutto ISD adopts tax rate
Trustees voted to approve a school district tax rate of nearly $1.19 per $100 valuation, a slight decrease from last year’s $1.20. The district held a public hearing in June, and the Aug. 27 vote was to adopt the rate.
“This is another year that we continue to drop that total rate down. We know it’s a burden for the people, too, and the Hutto ISD board really thinks about these items,” said trustee Felix Chavez.
Temple College proposes tax rate Glen Graham, chief financial officer of Temple College, presented the proposed Branch Campus Maintenance Tax to trustees.
The school district will vote on the rate at its Sept. 24 meeting.
The tax — which is paid by several entities including Hutto ISD — helps support the East Williamson County Higher Education Center.
Graham said the Fiscal Year 2027 budget is higher than the 2026 budget because the college decided it wanted to increase the amount of money in its reserve fund.
The FY 2027 budget is $4.45 million, versus $4.32 million last year.
The proposed rate is the Voter Approval Rate of nearly 46 cents per $100 valuation. Last year the rate was about 40 cents.
Graham said this will result in the equivalent of a $10 increase to the “average taxable value home.”
