The Argyle school board voted unanimously Monday to give teachers a one-time $1,000 payment, as well as a $500 one-time payment for paraprofessionals and auxiliary employees.
Board President Sam Slaton said Argyle ISD is going through the same financial strain that other Texas public schools are experiencing.
While the district doesn’t have much in the way of deep pockets, board members have signaled their support for hiking teacher pay for more than a year. The payment is, in part, a move to keep staffers in the district.
“We had a [voter-approved tax ratification election] last year, and it failed,” Slaton said. “The VATRE was something we did in hopes that we could increase teacher pay.”
To serve Argyle students, Slaton said, the school board serves teachers. District leadership and district families expect excellence from the teaching corps, he said, and elected officials want to reward teachers’ work.
“This is something we’re passionate about on the board,” he said. “We want to show our gratitude to the teachers and the staff here. Because the teachers and the staff are passionate about what they do.”
The one-time payment will appear on Argyle ISD faculty and staff members’ May paychecks. To be eligible for the $1,000 payment, the professional staff must have signed contracts for the 2025-26 school year.
To be eligible for the one-time $500 payment, paraprofessionals and auxiliary staff must have a signed letter of reasonable assurance for the 2025-26 school year. Paraprofessionals work as aides, assisting in classroom instruction and management.
Should a staff member resign from the district before Aug. 12, 2025, the one-time payment will be reimbursed to the district from the staff member’s final paycheck.
Argyle campus staff members have had unique challenges, including growth that has outpaced projections, and diminished resources to operate the district. District officials hoped that the Texas Legislature would increase the basic allotment, the amount of money paid to districts per student each year, but the 88th legislative session ended in 2023 without an increase from 2019. School officials across the state have traveled to Austin since the 89th Legislature went into session this year to continue their pleas for an increase.
Slaton said Argyle board members are shoulder-to-shoulder with school board members across the state in asking for the increase.
“All we’re asking is for the Legislature to do what they are constitutionally obligated to do, which is to provide public education to children in Texas,” he said. “Is there any bill you pay that isn’t more expensive than it was in 2019? All of our costs have gone up, just like everyone else’s.”