AISD preps for upcoming school year

ANAHUAC— With the new school year around the corner, Anahuac Independent School District is making strides to improve employee pay and athletic facilities.

AISD held its monthly meeting on Monday, June 30, with Erin Kolecki of the Texas Association of School Boards presenting a current salary study and offering suggestions for the future.

Teacher pay was compared with school districts in the surrounding areas, and director-level pay was compared with similarly sized districts around Texas.

Comparing the median teacher pay of 19 surrounding districts to AISD in five-year increments, the district is “a hair below market” at zero, five and 10 years and falls further below market at 15 and 20 years, according to Kolecki.

Kolecki said the district is within 3% of the market within all survey years.

As for stipends, all teaching areas are at or above market, and special education high needs stipend is the second highest of all compared districts, according to Kolecki.

Teacher demographics such as average experience and new hires align closely with the state average.

For other positions, such as administration, technology staff and support staff, most are a bit below market except for central administration, which are director-level positions.

Kolecki said they are paid 6% above market compared to similarly sized districts across Texas, but AISD is closer to Houston than compared districts, likely resulting in the number.

Kolecki also noted that clerical and technical staff, such as administrative assistants and technicians, make 11% below market, and auxiliary positions, such as custodians, on average make 16% below market.

On the other hand, bus drivers make 1% above market.

Recommendations included adjusting the pay structure to improve starting salaries, providing adjustments to address market differences, simplifying pay practices for non-teacher positions, and conducting annual reviews of the compensation plan.

Additionally, it was suggested to provide a teacher retention allotment based on House Bill 2 and to adopt a general pay increase, which was presented with two models based on current staffing levels.

Including all suggestions, the first model would cost a total of about $1.1 million, including $763,995 from HB 2, in addition to the regular budgeted staff pay. The second model would cost $29,169 more than the first model.

Interim Superintendent Cody Abshier said the district would review the budget to determine what suggestions could be implemented.

During discussions, Business Manager Tammy Duhon noted that when a teacher transitions to an administrative role, such as vice principal or principal, they incur a daily pay cut because their years as a teacher aren’t factored in.

Kolecki said procedural discussions could help with the issue.

Anahuac High School will have newly resurfaced tennis courts around the beginning of the new school year, as the board has approved Pro Tech Track and Tennis, Inc. to work on the courts. The courts will include tennis and pickleball court lines.

“We got this nice football field, nice baseball field and then we got the tennis courts,” President John Redman said.

In line with improving sports facilities, the football, softball, and baseball fields will have a new sound system from Texas SoundCom for a total of $108,000.

The board collectively agreed that the sound system at the football field is deteriorating, with Duhon stating that sound can only be heard under the press box.

Duhon said the district is in a financial position where it can repair neglected facilities without causing hardship.

The Anahuac Middle School gym floor was mentioned, but Duhon explained it would be too costly at this time.

The board approved quite a few hires, all with one-year contracts.

Hires include AHS Assistant Principal Philip Salazar, AMS counselor Billie Jo Garcia, AHS counselor Malloy Daigle, Director of Technology Charles Justus Cook, Instructional Technologist Gilbert Speights, Director of Maintenance Kenneth Flowers and Speech Language Pathologist Brooke Brist.

The board also amended Abshier’s contract from part-time to full-term.

Additional personnel positions were approved for the upcoming school year, including an AMS teacher/coach, AMS educational aide and a primary/elementary school educational aide.