Houston ISD teacher salaries in 2018-19 would be frozen at the same level as last year under the district administration’s compensation proposal, which is scheduled for a vote next week, HISD officials said Monday.

Teachers would not see any salary increases, even if they gained an extra year of experience, after HISD trustees did not include any additional teacher salary spending in the district’s 2018-19 budget. Trustees voted in late June to approve a $2 billion budget that cut $83 million in spending and pulled up to $17 million from reserves to cover a projected shortfall.

HISD officials project hundreds of teaching positions will be cut in 2018-19 under the approved budget, though it’s expected the vast majority of those positions will be eliminated through attrition.

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Teachers received pay raises in 2017-18 ranging from 2 percent to 4 percent, depending on their experience levels, under an approved budget that used $106 million from the district’s rainy-day fund. Their salaries were frozen at prior-year levels in 2016-17.

The proposed 2018-19 salary freeze has frustrated some teachers who were expecting a pay increase based on the district’s “step” plan, which is based on years of experience. For example, the 2017-18 salary schedule calls for most teachers with five years of experience to receive about $53,000, while a teacher with six years of experience receives about $54,600. A teacher entering his or her sixth year in 2018-19 might have assumed a salary increase of about $1,600.

That assumption, however, would be incorrect because HISD approves a new teacher compensation schedule each year. Under the proposed 2018-19 schedule, a teacher entering his or her sixth year in 2018-19 would earn about $53,000 -- the same as the year before.

“That was never the expectation that the ‘17-‘18 salary schedule was going to turn into the ‘18-‘19 salary schedule,” HISD Chief Financial Officer Rene Barajas said.

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Zeph Capo, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, said he was hopeful district leaders would recommend maintaining the current salary schedule, rather than freezing salaries. HISD officials said it would cost $6 million to provide “step” increases to teachers next year.

“We were flabbergasted they couldn’t find the few dollars it takes to balance out the ‘step’ system,” Capo said. “That says something about the value they place on the teaching staff.”

Capo also expressed frustration that teachers weren’t notified earlier about the proposed freeze, potentially giving them more time to seek higher-paying jobs elsewhere. Some trustees agreed Monday that the schedule should have been approved earlier, adding that the district should give teachers a more clear explanation of the annual compensation schedule.

“These are just things we need to be communicating better,” Trustee Anne Sung said.

Trustee Jolanda Jones, who last year unsuccessfully sought a 5 percent pay raise for teachers, said state officials have not adequately funded public education, leading to potentially frozen salaries in 2018-19.

“This is not an HISD issue,” Jones said. “This is a state legislative issue. We’re going to have less money, we’re going to have more students, we’re going to have less resources.”

Several trustees and HISD administrators noted the district spent an additional $10 million this year on employee health care, which ensured that teachers’ health insurance premiums did not rise. Trustees are scheduled to vote Aug. 9 on teacher compensation.

jacob.carpenter@chron.com

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