Taytum Buford(Period 6)-DISD is Going to Bump Pay

Summary: Left behind by the district’s new pay system, some of Dallas ISD’s best teachers are poised to receive a $1,000 stipend at the start of the next school year, thanks to a proposal that is expected to be approved by trustees during their regular board meeting Thursday. While nearly 71 percent of returning teachers received a raise under DISD’s new evaluation system – the Teacher Excellence Initiative (TEI) – the district found 148 high-performing teachers were ineligible for raises under the new plan because they made more than the given salary range for their performance level. An additional 20 high-performing teachers received less than a $1,000 bump. The new recommendation will award qualifying teachers a one-time retention stipend up to $1,000, if they’ve accepted a contract for the 2016-17 school year and are in a teaching position as of Sept. 15. DISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa attempted to redress the problem in November, proposing a similar one-time stipend.  But DISD general counsel Jack Elrod told the board that awarding such payment was prohibited by the state constitution, considered a gift of public funds since teachers wouldn’t be tasked with additional duties. The current proposal – essentially a signing bonus – sidesteps such concerns. “We don’t want our best teachers mad, whether they go or not,” Hinojosa said when he met with The Dallas Morning News editorial board in January. The average raise for DISD teachers under the new system was $2,700. Other notable items on the board’s consent agenda deal with the district’s former and future construction plans. District administration is recommending the board accept $150,000 from the non-profit Jubilee Park and Community Center for six lots on Gurley and Philip Avenues, northwest of O.M. Roberts Elementary School, between I-30 and Fair Park.
Analysis: I think that this is amazing. I know so many teachers at Booker T. that definitely deserve this bump. This can relate back to all the acts passed during the New Deal that had to do with raising pays and reducing taxes. I really hope that this gets passed so a lot of amazing teachers will finally get what they deserve.
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