Senate committee considers school finance, teacher salaries

After weeks of deliberation, the Senate K-16 Committee convened to debate HB 2, the session's flagship school finance bill. The bill passed the House a month ago, but sat without a Senate hearing until today (May 15). House and Senate leaders conferred prior to the hearing to hash out differences on how the chambers approached school finance this session and the 255-page committee substitute for the bill was released early this morning. 

The overall price tag on the bill is slightly less than the version the House passed, but there are several key differences that change how that money would be allocated. Chief among them is the method by which teacher pay raises would be distributed. 

The House proposed increasing the basic allotment to $6,500, an increase of $340 from current levels, plus a $55 increase through the golden penny yield. Current law requires that a certain portion of new funding from an increase in the basic allotment must be spent on compensation increases for teachers, librarians, counselors and nurses, as well as for other non-administrative employees. Therefore, HB 2 would result in increased salaries, but the mechanism leaves a great deal of discretion to school districts as to how to allocate those funds and it is nearly impossible to provide estimates of the amount of the raise.  

Early in the session, the Senate proposed a more direct approach to pay raises, basing them only on the student population in the district and the teacher's years of experience. The Senate proposal removed any requirement for a portion of basic allotment increases to be directed to salaries. Additionally, its direct pay raise is only for teachers, not librarians, counselors, or nurses. The Senate's approach includes a $55 basic allotment increase through the golden penny yield, which would net approximately $800 million in flexible spending for school districts.

The current proposal is the Senate's direct raise approach. While TCTA generally favors a direct approach to pay raises, we are working to ensure librarians, counselors, and nurses are also included, and that adequate funding is available to districts to increase salaries for paraprofessionals and other non-administrative personnel.

Much of the discussion between the senators involved the teacher pay raises. Committee chairman Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) frequently reiterated throughout the hearing that the pay raises are permanent, not just a two-year commitment like many stipends or bonuses in the past. 

Public testimony on the bill was mostly positive or neutral. Many praised the significant teacher pay raises, but a number of school superintendents asked for a larger increase to the basic allotment to allow for more flexible spending. The committee substitute for HB 2 also removed the fine arts allotment included by the House, and fine arts teachers from across the state testified to ask for its inclusion. Special education funding also received a significant increase in the bill, and advocates thanked the committee for those provisions.

The committee expects to make a number of amendments to the bill either before the bill is voted out of committee or when it is heard on the Senate floor, in response to stakeholder feedback. TCTA is engaged with senators to provide amendments to improve the bill before its final passage. 

As the session's end approaches, stakeholders from across the education landscape are vying to have their needs met in this bill since it could be many sessions before a bill of this magnitude is considered again. TCTA will continue advocating for educators' needs in HB 2 and will keep you updated on the latest.