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Texas lawmakers ended this year鈥檚 regular legislative session without giving public schools any money for employee raises 鈥� so school districts are finding ways to give their workers modest raises, even if it means digging into their savings accounts.

鈥淲e鈥檝e taken the position that in the absence of state leadership, we鈥檙e going to take care of our staff, even if it means that we have a deficit budget,鈥� said Bobby Ott, superintendent of the Temple Independent School District.

Ott and his district鈥檚 school board are in the process of approving their budgets for the next school year. And for Temple ISD to give its teachers and other staff members a modest 3% raise, it will most likely have to adopt a deficit budget, meaning that its expenditures will outweigh its revenue. The decision would put the district in a $2.2 million hole, even after Ott asked his department heads to make cuts to their spending budgets.

鈥淧assing a deficit budget is not sustainable,鈥� Ott said. 鈥淏oard policy stipulates that school districts keep a certain amount of fund balance or savings account.鈥�

Still, school districts are digging into their savings to make their teachers feel valued as the state struggles to keep educators in the classroom.

While the average teacher salary has increased over the last decade, it has not kept up with the rate of inflation. Low pay, working overtime, health worries during the pandemic and being caught in the crossfire of Texas鈥� culture wars have led more As a result, classroom sizes have gotten bigger, and in some cases, schools are finding themselves struggling to find teachers.

In North Texas, Fort Worth ISD a budget last month with a $45 million deficit, with raises accounting for more than half of that amount. Frisco ISD also a $24 million deficit to pay for modest staff raises.

In Central Texas, Austin ISD a budget with a $52 million deficit to give employees a 7% raise. San Antonio ISD is giving its teachers raises between 3% and 9%, and it鈥檚 paying for them by slashing . In the much smaller Smithville ISD, about 45 miles east of Austin, board members approved a 4% raise that will leave the district with a deficit of more than half a million.

The raise 鈥渋s important because that may be the most we can comfortably do right now, but it shows our teachers we鈥檙e trying to fight for them,鈥� said Josh Magden, a Smithville ISD board member.

Many other school districts across the state find themselves in the same situation thanks to rising inflation, financial disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic and insufficient state funding. Even districts that are deemed property wealthy are contemplating and cutting extracurricular activities to save money. Some, like Fort Davis ISD, have closed their cafeterias.

Lawmakers didn鈥檛 approve extra money this year to help schools balance their budgets or pay for raises, despite having an unprecedented $32 billion surplus in their hands 鈥� and even after Gov. last year to improve teacher pay and retention.

The political fight over school vouchers the only school funding bill that had a chance of passing.

That proposal, House Bill 100, authored by Ken King, R-Canadian, would have given teachers modest raises 鈥� an of an extra $100 per month 鈥� and helped ease schools鈥� financial strains by raising the base amount of money schools get per student, retooling the state鈥檚 school funding formula and giving extra money to smaller school districts.

Districts across the state were hopeful the bill would pass and even delayed drafting their budgets or approving any raises until the legislative session had ended.

They were sorely disappointed. The bill died after Senate Republicans a voucher-like program into their version of the legislation, a measure that the House vehemently opposed.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e sitting on $30 billion at the state level, there鈥檚 no reason public schools would not think that they鈥檇 get a dime,鈥� Ott said.

But some hope still remains for them. Abbott has kept lawmakers in Austin for two special legislative sessions . Last week, Senate Republicans added an to their property tax bill that would give teachers in urban school districts a one-time bonus of $2,000 and those in rural districts $6,000 through the next two school years.

A similar proposal was brought up during the regular session in the form of Senate Bill 9, authored by Sen. , R-Conroe. At the time, teachers and unions criticized the use of a district鈥檚 size to decide which educators get the bigger bonus, saying it鈥檚 a scattershot way to determine who needs the money the most.

Abbott is expected to call another special session this year to push for school vouchers once more. The governor made vouchers one of his top legislative priorities this year, and his recent alignment with House Speaker on how to cut property taxes .

Phelan formed a committee to focus on identifying 鈥渆ducational opportunities鈥� while also providing schools with more financial support. Committee members will meet publicly for the first time Tuesday.

Rep. , a New Boston Republican who is in the committee, said a special session on public education would allow lawmakers to focus on finding a compromise. He said he’d prefer to discuss teacher raises in the committee than tacking them in any property tax legislation.

A Texas Tribune analysis shows that teachers in major suburban school districts get paid an average of about $61,432 a year and those in major urban school districts get paid an average of about $59,446 a year 鈥� almost $10,000 more than those teaching in rural areas. But costs of living are usually higher in larger metropolitan areas.

House Democrats Thursday that would increase the base allotment schools get per student, which would allow them to pay for teacher raises. But it鈥檚 unclear if the proposal will go through in the Republican-dominated Legislature.

The Texas American Federation of Teachers, a group that represents about 66,000 teachers, support staff and higher education employees in the state, is urging lawmakers to pass the teacher pay proposals.

鈥淚 am grateful to see this issue addressed in a special session on property taxes as there should be no tension between property tax relief for homeowners and renters and adequate funding for their community schools,鈥� Texas AFT President Zeph Capo said. 鈥淭his state has enough money in the bank to do both. It merely lacks the political will.鈥�

Some school districts have been able to pass raises and keep balanced budgets without dipping into their savings. Del Valle ISD approved a 6% raise for its employees for the upcoming school year, along with other perks like a $1,000 professional development stipend and discounted child care for teachers.

Annette Tielle, superintendent of Del Valle ISD, said the district did not have to rely on state lawmakers for funding because of the so-called Chapter 313 program, a business incentive plan that allowed school districts to give tax breaks to corporations that move into their areas. In return, schools get some of the company revenue.

Del Valle ISD has a partnership with electric automaker Tesla, which has a factory in the district鈥檚 bounds. The district received a sizable payment after the company鈥檚 property values were assessed higher than predicted.

Critics of the program said that while it has been great for some districts鈥� finances, it leads to unequal school funding as only districts lucky enough to attract corporations to their areas benefit.

The Chapter 313 program was allowed to expire last year, and lawmakers a new version during the regular session. The program requires a 10-year commitment but will phase out for participating school districts and corporations when that time is up.

While districts that have benefited from the Chapter 313 program will head into the year without financial headaches, others haven鈥檛 been able to afford teacher raises for quite some time.

In Fort Davis ISD, about 150 miles southwest of Odessa, Superintendent Graydon Hicks has not given a pay raise to his teachers since 2019, the last time the Legislature set aside money for it.

The small district of less than 200 students and about 20 teachers has been passing deficit budgets for the last nine years. This school year, it will be about $500,000 in the hole.

Already, the district has been running on the minimum requirements needed to operate. It doesn鈥檛 have a cafeteria, or art or tech programs. Hicks said there is nothing left to cut.

Hicks predicts the district will be out of money by next year. If that happens, Fort Davis ISD might end up being absorbed by a larger district.

鈥淚鈥檓 just frustrated. I鈥檓 angry,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a shame that we have politicians fighting for election talking points instead of fighting for the kids.鈥�

Disclosure: Texas AFT has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune鈥檚 journalism. Find a complete .

This article originally appeared in a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

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