San Angelo ISD Approves $3,055,000 in Pay Raises, Health Insurance Benefits

SAN ANGELO, TX — The San Angelo ISD Board of Trustees approved significant pay raises for teachers Monday evening. Acting on a recommendation from district CFO Jeff Bright, returning teachers will receive an annual $1,500 general pay increase.

The starting salary for teachers will remain unchanged at $40,000. The $1,500 annual pay raise for returning teachers will cost he district $1.49 million annually.

In addition to the teachers’ pay raise, eligible district employees in the Administrative/Professional, Head Start/Early Head Start,Information Technology, Clerical/Paraprofessional, and Manual Trades job categories will receive a pay range adjustment, at a 2 percent minimum increase. In addition, these employees will receive a 3 percent general pay increase based upon the mid-point of each pay category that will be offered to all returning employees next year.

The 3 percent mid-point pay raises will cost the district $965,000 annually. Bright estimates the total cost of all the pay increases, including what he calls “soft costs” of the adjustments, will increase the district payroll $2.69 million annually.

In addition to the pay increases, the district will continue to provide a “no-cost” health insurance option by increasing the district’s contribution to the Teacher Retirement System, or TRS ActiveCare program. In Texas, school district employee health benefits are managed by TRS. The cost to the district per employee for providing the no-cost option individual coverage increases from $355 per insured per month to $370 per insured per month based upon a May announcement from the TRS.

For families, the district will continue to supplement health care insurance costs by $500 per month per employee at a one-time cost of $1,040,000.

The district will also increase certain stipends for Temporary, Seasonal and Extra Duty Positions. For example, the head tennis coach at either high school will receive a stipend of $5,900 for the 2018-2019 school year, up from $5,200 last year. Likewise, the director of the high school mariachi band will see his or her stipend increase from $4,000 per year to $4,500 per year. Stipends compensate teachers above their normal salaries for managing extracurricular activities outside of the regular school hours and man days. 

How much will all pay raises and health benefits cost the district’s taxpayers? Bright pegged the number at $3,055,000, which includes the one-time health insurance payment of $1,040,000.