FORT BEND COUNTY – The Fort Bend Independent School District is one of the highest achieving districts, but school officials say the starting pay for teachers is the lowest in the area.
School leaders are hoping voters will help them raise about $35 million through a Voter Approval Tax Election Rate.
On Wednesday, faculty and staff at Hightower High School were able to listen to a special presentation from Deputy Superintendent Steve Bassett about the proposal.
One teacher says the tax rate is much needed so the district can attract and retain teachers.
FBISD said they are hoping to do the following with the VATRE:
· Offer $2,500 teacher raises and create a differentiated teacher step scale to offer up to $7,000 raises for those who have worked 25 years or more.
· Increase bus driver and teacher aide pay by $1.50 per hour.
· Ensure there are security officers at all elementary campuses.
“We’ve fallen behind the districts around us, some of the districts around us have higher tax rates than us,” Deputy Superintendent Steve Bassett said.
Denis Jenner is a Spanish teacher at Hightower High School and says he has considered other employment opportunities because of the salary.
“I have actually, yes. Other places in Texas that pays very well like Dallas for example. I love it here and I would love to stay here. My son goes to this school, so this is where I think would be ideal, but things also need to improve,” Jenner said.
So how much would this cost the average homeowner? For a home valued at about $307,000, the difference on a person’s tax bill would be about $108 per year or $9 per month.
“For the average homeowner, there is a reduction in property taxes because of the action taken by the state is going to be over $1,000 whether this passes or does not pass,” Steve Bassett said.
Earlier this year, voters approved a $1.26 million bond to upgrade facilities but according to law that money could not be used for teacher salaries. The district has cut their budget by more than $40 million over the past two years.
KPRC 2′s Re’Chelle Turner asked the Deputy Superintendent Steve Bassett what would happen if the proposal did not pass and how it would impact students and staff.
“Well starting from the security perspective, we want to have the funds to have an armed guard at every one of our elementary schools. There is a waiver process for that so that won’t happen. We already have over a hundred teaching vacancies, there is a shortage of teachers statewide and also nationally because of the vacancies that we have and if we are behind on teacher pay, we are just going to have that many more vacancies next year,” he said.
Last year, voters failed to pass a Tax Rate Election. The new proposal would also ensure there are security officers at all elementary campuses.
“In this day and age, there is so much that goes on with social media and having access to buildings. You can’t have eyes everywhere although we wish we could, but having a police officer can hopefully deter individuals from making poor decisions especially at our elementary schools so being able to have a police officer at all of our elementary schools is very big,” Principal Andre Roberson said.
Election Day is November 7. To learn more about the VATRE, click here.
RELATED: Fort Bend ISD calls for $35 million tax rate election to increase pay for teachers, staff