2 Central Texas school districts boost pay for teachers, educational assistants

CENTRAL TEXAS (KXAN) -- Two Central Texas school districts made new efforts Thursday night to keep staff members around.

Pflugerville Independent School District's Board of Trustees increased pay for all staff and teachers by 3% during its regular meeting. The district increased the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the motion passed unanimously. The increases cost the district about $6 million, with teachers and librarian raises totaling $3.3 million.

PfISD pay rises to $60,500 for teachers with 20 years of experience.

According to a PfISD salary comparison from the 2021-22 school year, the district pays first-year teachers $51,900 a year, which is higher than Round Rock, Leander or Austin ISDs.

Round Rock ISD will increase pay for educational assistants to $2 more an hour for the 2022-23 school year. Starting pay for an Educational Assistant II will go up from $13.15 to $15.50. Those who work at Title I schools will get starting pay increases from $15.92 per hour to $17.94 per hour. The top end for the job at Title I schools goes up to $25.30.

The increase will cost the district under $500,000 for the 2021-22 school year. It will use the money saved from unfilled positions.