Arlington ISD: New starting teacher salary - $62,500

Arlington, Texas - In a significant development last Thursday evening, the Arlington Independent School District's Board of Trustees gave the green light for pay hikes benefiting all eligible personnel within the district. The move was adopted during the board's regular monthly meeting.

“One of our most important priorities as a board is ensuring that we recruit and retain the most talented people to our district,” said Melody Fowler, board president. “By prioritizing teacher and staff compensation, we can do just that.”

Under the new remuneration policy, a sweeping array of district employees including teachers, librarians, and others classified under the teacher salary scale, will see their earnings boosted by 4% for the academic term of 2023-24. This marks an unbroken quartet of years in which the board has sanctioned a similar raise for these employees.

The $2,600 pay hike translates into an annual augmentation pegged at the market median. Consequently, the introductory remuneration for neophyte teachers has been bumped up to $62,500, a leap from the previous $60,400.

In addition, enhanced incentives are now available for athletic coaches, bilingual education specialists, special education instructors, among others. The substitute teacher bracket will also benefit, with the starting pay now set at a minimum of $120 per day. An added fillip is the potential for certified, degree-holding retired teachers to earn up to $175 per day, provided they meet certain incentive criteria.

The board's benevolence also extended to non-teaching staff. Beginning salaries for bus drivers and chief food service workers were elevated from $20.26 to $24.06, coupled with enhancements for teacher's assistants, bus attendants, security staff, and several other auxiliary roles.

In addition, employees whose salaries are determined by scales other than that of teachers will also enjoy a 4% uptick in their 2023-24 pay grade midpoint. In instances where the market dynamics necessitate, targeted adjustments will be made to further bolster competitiveness and to shepherd staff members nearer to the mid-point of their respective pay grades.

“Once again, our board has continued to show its commitment to the employees in the Arlington ISD,” said Dr. Marcelo Cavazos, superintendent.

“To include a 4% raise for all of our employees for a fourth consecutive year is further testament to that. We know these are challenging times in the educational field, but we believe we have the best and brightest people dedicated to education and they deserve fair compensation.”