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Boerne ISD To Raise Teacher, Staff Salaries Next School Year

The Boerne ISD administration building.
Boerne ISD
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The Boerne ISD administration building.

Teachers, nurses and librarians in the Boerne Independent School District are getting a 3 percent raise next school year.

District officials say they can afford to give staff raises because enrollment is increasing.

Trustees voted on the salary increase Monday night at a board meeting.

In addition to boosting teacher pay, the board approved a 2 percent raise for other staff and added to its contribution to insurance premiums.

The raises set starting teacher pay at $47,000 and ensure that all current teachers will make at least $1,500 more next school year.

Elaine Howard, Boerne’s head of human resources, said that will make the district more competitive. Northside, North East and San Antonio ISD all pay teachers at least $51,000.

“Boerne ISD is unique in the sense that we are still a fast growth district, and so we do anticipate that we are going to be receiving additional monies this year to address the salary increase for the district,” Howard said. “But it’s also partnered with wise fiscal decisions and good stewardship of the budget.”

Howard says Boerne expects enrollment to grow 25 percent over the next five years to 10,000 students — a stark contrast to several other districts in the area that are facing budget shortfalls caused by declining enrollment.

San Antonio ISD is letting 163 employees go to help offset a $31 million shortfall, and North East ISD is cutting 97 teacher positions and dipping into its fund balance to address a $17 million deficit.

North East spokeswoman Aubrey Chancellor said the district expects to hire 300 teachers for next school year, instead of its usual 400.

Both North East and SAISD point to competition with charter schools as a major cause of their enrollment loss.

According to amap from the Texas Education Agency, there’s only one charter school in Boerne.

Camille Phillips can be reached at camille@tpr.org or on Twitter@cmpcamille

Camille Phillips can be reached at camille@tpr.org or on Instagram at camille.m.phillips. TPR was founded by and is supported by our community. If you value our commitment to the highest standards of responsible journalism and are able to do so, please consider making your gift of support today.