by Nicole Bradford
The Pearland ISD school board last week approved 2 percent across-the-board raises for all employees, plus “pay range” adjustments for some staff.
Equity adjustments, as they are known, are done every few years to better match similar positions in the private sector.
“Compensation, retention, recruitment is paramount for us,” Superintendent Larry Berger said. “We have had difficulty getting paraprofessionals.”
Trustee Kristofer Schoeffler said he would prefer more than a 2 percent raise, “but I think we’re kind of hamstrung,” he said, referring to the state legislature’s inaction last session on public school funding.
“We had a $33 billion excess in the state of Texas, we had multiple special sessions at the state level that focused on education, and we haven’t had an increase in our allocation in five years,” Schoeffler said. “It feels like public school funding has been held hostage to an extent.
Schoeffler said he did not like seeing people get raises less than the inflation rate.
“I don’t want people to think we aren’t aware of that,” he said.
The district swore in its newest trustee, Jenny Francis, on May 14, along with reelected trustee Crystal Carbone. Trustee Sean Murphy was absent.
In the May 4 board election, Francis defeated opponent Terrence Campbell for the Position No. 6 seat.
