JISD employees set to get raise

Employees of Jacksonville ISD will be getting the highest pay raise in the district’s history for the 2019/2020 fiscal year.

At the regular monthly meeting of the JISD Board of Trustees, Lindy Finley, Associate Superintendent of Business & Finance, outlined the newly adopted budget for 2019-2020. Within that budget, teachers with more than five years of teaching experience will receive a $7,500 pay raise starting in September while teachers with less than 5 years will see a $7,000 increase averaging 16.76 percent pay increase per teacher. All JISD auxiliary and para-professional staff will enjoy a 10 percent raise of the midpoint of their pay grade, and administrators a 7 percent increase of the mid-point of their pay grade.

School leaders say without HB 3, these raises would not be possible.

According to Ms. Finley, "We were looking at a very different scenario before HB3 passed. I can honestly say that this has been the most fun I've had when setting the budget as I'm usually looking for things to cut and not things to add!"

The compensation package will be 240 percent more than the state requirement. School leaders and Board Trustees say it was important to make sure all staff members, not just teachers, got this pay raise.

“We value each and every employee, and the jobs they do to keep JISD a successful district. We see so many staff members giving above and beyond what their job description may outline. To say we have a dedicated staff is an understatement”, says Superintendent Dr. Chad Kelly.

“We now are able to offer a $44,000 starting salary to a first year teacher, and that puts JISD in a much better light for recruiting great teachers to Jacksonville. This is a game-changer for us,” claims Brad Stewart, Associate Superintendent of Personnel.
“We are now above or in the range of most districts for a starting salary, therefore a viable option for those first year teachers. We are thrilled about the pay increase for the valuable employees we already have, as well as thrilled to be able to go legitimately recruit new employees in a more competitive climate.”