District’s 2023-2024 budget includes salary increases for staff
The Dallas ISD Board of Trustees has approved the 2023-2024 school year budget that includes a 2% raise for exempt campus and central team members, a 3% raise for support staff, increases in select tiers for the Teacher and Assistant Principal Excellence Initiatives, and an increase to $16 an hour for the district’s minimum wage.
These increases amount to $47.4 million in the 2023-2024 budget and focus on the district’s compensation priorities: market competitive salaries, advancing equity, strategic compensation and high priority and retention stipends.
Trustees also approved setting the minimum teacher salary at $61,000 and adjusting the new hire schedule for teachers to match market rates.
“We are grateful that the Board of Trustees supports our recruitment and retention efforts through this approved budget,” said Chief of Human Capital Management Robert Abel. “These salary increases and incentives have been crucial in attracting and retaining teachers to the district. In fact, this May alone, we have had a total of more than 6,000 teacher applications, more than any May in the past five years, allowing us to provide our principals with a high quality candidate pipeline to fill their classrooms.”
Proposed 2023-2024 TEI Compensation Levels
Returning teachers will receive a projected average teacher salary increase of approximately $2,200 or 3.3%, based on the greater of three increases:
- Change to effectiveness level
- Change to compensation level value
- Board approved differentiated salary increase
Proposed 2023-2024 TEI Compensation Levels
High priority campus stipends
The board also approved $4.1 million to fund an expansion of eligibility for high priority campuses as well as an increase in stipend amounts for other levels. Teachers in the Proficient I effectiveness level will now be able to receive a $4,000 stipend for working in a high priority campus. Proficient II or TIA Recognized teachers will see a $2,000 increase in the stipend they receive for working at an HPC.
Increases for Excellence Initiatives
The budget also includes increases for other employees who are evaluated through an excellence initiative—assistant principals, principals, executive directors.
Minimum wage and other central increases
The approved budget increases to $16 per hour the minimum wage, which places Dallas ISD as a regional leader in minimum wage among area school districts and primarily impacts support and operations team members.
Non-Excellence Initiative employees will see the greater of two increases:
- Minimum wage adjustment to $16 per hour
- 3% of the midpoint for support (non-exempt) employees and 2% of midpoint for professional (exempt) employees
Non-excellence-initiative campus and central team members will see their compensation increase starting in September if they were hired before Dec. 31, 2022.
Retention incentive
The district has established another round of retention incentives for the 2023-2024 school year using $63 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. Employees who are not on an excellence initiative or who have no level in an excellence initiative will receive a $2,500 incentive to come back next year while those in excellence initiatives will receive amounts depending on their level ranging from $2,500-$4,000. To be able to receive the incentive, employees should have been working in Dallas ISD no later than May 1, 2023. All eligible employees with at least five years of service with Dallas ISD as of Sept. 1, 2023, will get an additional $1,000. For more details on the 2023-2024 retention incentive, click on the link.
