18-04-2025
Eanes ISD applying to program to increase teacher pay
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Eanes Independent School District is looking into ways to reward teachers who are going above and beyond in the classroom through the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Teacher Incentive Allotment program.
'It does help reward teachers for the very hard work that we know they do every day in our classroom,' said Eanes ISD Superintendent Jeff Arnett.
Jarrell ISD teachers awarded thousands for top performance
This week the district applied for the program.
If approved, districts can identify and designate outstanding teachers based on student growth and classroom observation.
In March, top performing educators were awarded for their phenomenal work with nearly $170,000 divided up and given to 15 teachers at Jarrell Independent School District campuses, according to the district. It was all possible through the TIA program.
There are three designations which deciphers how much a teacher can make, the designations include 'Recognized', 'Exemplary' and 'Master'.
'Each of those three levels comes with an additional amount of compensation, in our case it would be $3,000 for the earlier level, up to $12,000 for the highest level,' Arnett said.
He said Eanes ISD looked at applying five years ago, but they decided not to after discussion with teachers.
'It does not apply to every teacher in our school district, [every teacher] would not be eligible for that money unfortunately,' Arnett said. 'You have to designate the teachers and the subject area.'
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Teachers eligible to receive extra funding would be English and language arts, as well as math teachers in grades fourth through eighth grade.
'Most recently there are very strong signals coming from the legislature that any future funding for teacher compensation may be contingent on a district being a member of the Teacher Incentive Allotment program.'
TIA funding was built into Texas state law as part of House Bill 3 during the 86th Texas Legislature. That bill provided more money for Texas classrooms and increased teacher compensation.
'Some feel like it introduces competition among teachers,' Arnett said. 'We feel like the real motivation for us to be a part of it is we can no longer afford to leave money on the table when it comes to how we compensate our staff.'
Districts must spend at least 90% of the allotment on teacher compensation on the campus of the designated teacher, while up to 10% can be used to support the local designation system according to the TIA website.
Erica Pauda contributed to this report.
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