The Whitesboro Independent School District announced last week that it will be increasing staff salaries for all WISD employees in the 2025-2026 school year.
The new pay scale will apply to all teachers, counselors, library media specialists, RN’s, ESL, dyslexia, math and reading specialists and SPED personnel that are based off the teacher pay scale.
The new pay scale is as follows based on years of service (for any district in Texas):
0 years of teaching experience: $50,000 annual salary (up $5,000 from last school year)
3 years of teaching experience: $54,500 annual salary (up $7,250 from last school year)
5 years of teaching experience: $60,250 annual salary (up $11,500 from last school year)
10 years of teaching experience: $64,000 annual salary (up $11,500 from last school year)
20 years of teaching experience: $71,500 annual salary (up $11,500 from last school year)
30 years of teaching experience: $76,500 annual salary (up $11,500 from last school year)
Also, anyone with a Master’s degree will receive an additional $1,000.
According to WISD Superintendent Ryan Harper, for the past couple of years, the district has been able to add a substantial amount of money to its construction and general fund balances due to years of sound fiscal management and the fact that the school district boundary is growing in property values an average of $100,000,000 per year.
Whitesboro’s current fund balance has an operating reserve of 200+ days and is only required by law to carry around 75 days.
During the 2024/2025 school year, the district intended to give all teachers a $5,000 raise but ultimately decided to wait and award that amount in December as a retention stipend for all staff members of the district.
This past legislative session, the state of Texas initiated a Teacher Raise of $8,000 per teacher per year for teachers that had five or more years of experience. Teachers with three to five years of experience received a smaller bump (reflected in the new scale), but teachers with zero to two years of experience received no increase from the state.
After reviewing the stipulations placed in the bill regarding who receives the raise, it was determined that WISD has around 35 employees whose pay is based off the teacher scale, however they did not qualify as a teacher per Texas Education Agency (TEA) due to the way their position is coded.
“We as a district did not want to simply keep those 35 people from getting the additional raise simply because of a code, especially since those individuals are highly valued people that work with our students all day, every day,” Harper said. “Obviously, the management of the district is charged with presenting a balanced budget, following laws and regulations and deciphering how new bills and laws will impact our students and staff. But it is the desire of district administrators and the school board of trustees to take care of our educators as much as we possibly can with the resources we are provided.”
In August, WISD kindergarten teacher Lindsay Rand will begin her 21st year of teaching and her 10th in Whitesboro.
“WISD feels like home to me. I see myself here for years to come,” she said. “The pay raises are literally just a blessing. I feel like everyone is going to benefit from them. For many, it’s life changing. The cost of everything keeps going up, so this is perfect timing. The pay increase just reassures us how much the district cares about its employees.”
For Harper, the feeling is mutual.
“WISD is extremely honored, blessed and grateful to be able to do this for our classroom educators,” Harper said. “With today’s economy being what it is, hopefully this significant raise will make life a little bit easier for our folks, or at a minimum, provide them with some much-needed breathing room.”
Whitesboro teachers return to school for classroom preparation on Aug. 6. Classes begin on Aug. 13.
Source: Freepik.com