San Marcos CISD Board Increases Pay for Employees

The money to cover the pay increase for employees comes from state and federal revenue as well as local taxes from the city, according to Griffith. 

by Undria Wilson  

The San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a pay raise for hourly employees at a meeting on June 19. School bus drivers, crossing guards, and clerical professionals are considered hourly employees in the district.  

Hourly employees who are in a higher pay range received a $1 per hour raise. The district has 301 hourly employees making less than $15 per hour, district officials said.  

The new minimum wage for hourly manual trade professionals, including custodians and bus drivers, is $10.60 per hour. The new minimum wage for clerical professionals, including instructional assistants and registrars, is $10.80 per hour.  

According to Assistant Superintendent of Business and Support Services Karen Griffith, the pay raise for employees was needed because of cost of living and expenses.  

The district’s current plan calls for the minimum wage for hourly workers to increase to $12 per hour within the next three fiscal years. 

According to the current budget projections, the district is anticipating a $1 million surplus, but that projection does not factor in recent budget amendments, which total $2 million.  

Before the board adopted the pay increases for hourly workers, Trustee Anne Hasley motioned for the board to approve a $15 per hour wage for all hourly employees, and proposed the district no longer administer the STAAR tests until the state begins giving SMCISD more money to address the rising cost of educating students.  

The money to cover the pay increase for employees comes from state and federal revenue as well as local taxes from the city, according to Griffith. 

The potential changes in school funding make budget projections difficult, she said. Legislators are proposing changes to the state’s school funding system on almost a weekly basis, and Griffith said she assumes the district will get the same amount of money it received last year from the state. 

“From what we understand there will be no cuts to education, but we don’t know if there will be funding additions,” Griffith said.  

The district is hopeful that a special legislative session, which Governor Greg Abbott requested in early June, may provide more money for public schools.