The Carthage ISD board of trustees approved the budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which includes raises for all employees, at last Monday night’s regular board meeting.
“As the cost of educating our students increases, placing more and more pressure on school district budgets, our board continues to prioritize and emphasize competitive compensation as a way to ensure Carthage ISD continues to be an exceptional place to teach and learn,” said Superintendent Jarrod Bitter.
With the salary increases approved in the 2024-25 budget, $1,600 will be added to each step on the teacher salary scale, which provides every classroom teacher with their pay step increase for years of service plus the additional $1,600 for the 2024-25 fiscal year. This increases the starting classroom teacher salary to $48,400.
Administrators, other professionals and paraprofessionals will receive a $1,000 increase in their salary and all auxiliary employees will receive an increase of $0.50 per hour, amounting to an approximate $1,044 increase annually. The morning/afternoon route bus drivers will see an increase of $500 per year.
In addition to the compensation increases, the Board also chose to fund the increases in TRS health insurance premiums for eligible employees. Those premiums rose from $442 per month to $469 per month. That is an additional $324 per year for eligible employees. For reference, the state minimum for this contribution is $225, which means that eligible employees take home an additional $2,928 in their paychecks every year as compared to districts only providing the state minimum.
These increases are part of a multi-year plan that places an emphasis on providing competitive compensation for all staff, prioritizes teacher salaries, and ensures that the best and brightest continue to choose Carthage ISD as their professional home.
For more information on employment with Carthage ISD, please visit the Carthage ISD Employment webpage.