SAN ANGELO, Texas — San Angelo voters passed the 2024 Proposition A by approximately 58 percent, approving a $6 million package to address teacher and staff pay and armed officers on every San Angelo Independent School District campus.
Proposition A provides new funding in the current fiscal year, and is expected to provide at least as much in the following years, to help recruit and retain high-quality staff, as well as fund placing an armed officer at every campus. The November 2024 election brought more than 45,000 San Angelo voters to the polls.
“We are so thankful and appreciative of our San Angelo ISD community,” SAISD Superintendent, Dr. Chris Moran, said in a release from the district. “The additional funding for all our teachers and staff allows us to recruit and retain high-quality instructors, as well as provide the necessary armed officers at every campus to protect our staff and students. We’re grateful for all the support to our schools, students, and staff. This is a wonderful community that I’m proud to serve.”
In October, the board of trustees unanimously approved an adjusted 2024-2025 compensation plan, contingent on the passage of Proposition A.
Key components of this plan include:
- Increasing the minimum starting teacher pay to $50,000
- A $2,500 pay increase for each employee in the teacher job family
- A market adjustment for all other job families
- All employees not in the teacher job family receive the result of the market adjustment or 4% of the pay grade midpoint (whichever is greater)
The SAISD competes with neighboring districts for teachers and staff. Starting teacher salaries with the SAISD are approximately $4,500 lower than the average of other West Texas districts. San Angelo ISD is the third largest employer in Tom Green County and Prop A will increase the salaries of approximately 1,824 employees in the area.
Texas House Bill 3 requires an armed officer on every campus, but districts say cost and recruitment are the two biggest hurdles stopping them from complying with the new law, the release said. Last year, the state required all districts to have security officers at every campus, but only provided funding to cover about 20% of this cost. Prop A provides additional funding for safety and security officers.
In the release, the SAISD said it has a consistent record of responsible financial practices, having decreased the M&O tax rate each year since 2019, and refinanced the 2008 bond twice, resulting in taxpayer savings of approximately $7 million over the life of the bonds.
