Arlington ISD teachers at 24 at-need schools could receive merit-based raises of up to $36,000 in the next few years.
District leaders are considering piloting Texas’ Teacher Incentive Allotment program. The program is meant to incentivize teachers to instruct in high-need schools.
However, some trustees are uncertain whether doing so would provide a boost in teaching and salaries or create culture issues.
Last year, trustees discussed the pros and cons of participating in the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment program, which aims to give high-performing educators more money.
Trustee Sarah McMurrough said she has examined how the program works in other districts but questions how incentives are calculated and whether the measures used to determine those incentives are completely within a teacher’s control.
“I just wanted to voice that basing any kind of pay on a controllable (measure) is something that would provide equity and support for all of our hard-working teachers,” McMurrough said during an Oct. 16 board meeting.
Established in 2019, participating districts receive additional state money to give teachers raises based on measures decided by local leaders and the Texas Education Agency, such as results from STAAR tests and parent surveys.
When teachers apply for this funding, they can receive one of three designations that determine how much extra money they will get.
- Recognized — This designation is given if 55% of students meet or exceed academic growth standards and if a teacher receives 74% of possible points during a teacher observation. The pay boost can be between $3,000 and $9,000, depending on the campus’s economic status.
- Exemplary — This designation is given if 60% of students meet or exceed academic growth standards and if a teacher receives 78% of possible points during a teacher observation. The pay boost can be between $6,000 and $18,000, depending on the campus’s economic status.
- Master — This designation is given if 70% of students meet or exceed academic growth standards and if a teacher receives 90% of possible points during a teacher observation. The pay boost can be between $12,000 and $32,000, depending on the campus’s economic status.
The pay boosts are subject to raise by fall 2026. A new designation, Acknowledged, will go into effect during the 2026-27 school year. The category will be given to eligible teachers who get 70% of the possible points during a teacher observation and 50% of their students meet or exceed the academic growth standards.
Districts select specific schools and teachers eligible for the program.
Dolloress Johnson, executive director of human resources, said the identified campuses have the greatest need for the program’s benefits of bringing in and retaining teachers.
The next step is to gauge teacher interest and see if the program is viable for the schools, Johnson said.
Neighboring districts, including Fort Worth, Crowley and Hurst-Euless-Bedford, either have such a program through the state or are joining soon.
Amanda Inay is currently a fourth-grade teacher at Fort Worth ISD who, in the 2022-23 school year, served as a Teacher Incentive Allotment ambassador for her campus.
Inay said that she completely understood the worries that McMurrough brought up about uncontrollable factors in designations.
McMurrough said that teachers could feel frustrated when they miss out on designations due to certain performance goals they feel are out of their control.
Currently, teachers can go through the National Board Certification program. If they receive the certification, they can also receive a Recognized TIA designation.
By using certain incentives, such as the National Board Certification, the issue could be alleviated since that is more in a teacher’s control, she said.
At the end of the day, finding a way to increase teacher pay is important, no matter if it is through the allotment or basic pay, Inay said.
“If (Arlington ISD) is going to go forward with the TIA, they need to make sure that they learn from neighboring districts, like Fort Worth, with some of the mistakes that can be made,” Inay said.
Arlington schools Superintendent Matt Smith said one of administrators’ largest concerns currently is that AISD won’t retain teachers who move to the district and already have a designation.
Teachers keep the designations for five years. The state continues to pay for the bonus if a teacher moves to a different nonparticipating district.
“The concern for us is not just the recruitment piece, because teachers can come here and continue receiving funds, but the concern is the retention piece of some of those great teachers that we might be getting from some other districts,” Smith said.
Trustee Larry Mike said he worried about state lawmakers pulling funds from the program.
But Smith said the state is all in on it. Legislators approved expanding the program so more teachers qualify during an overhaul of school funding signed into law this spring.
“It appears that this is where the chips are going,” Smith said.
If trustees opt in and the Texas Education Agency gives the go-ahead, Arlington ISD would spend a year capturing economic and academic data. Teachers would begin receiving designations the year after.
Trustee David Wilbanks, who threw his support behind the program last year, said the shifting tides of state funding are forcing the district’s hand.
“There’s just too much money at stake,” he said. “And if it’s free money for our teachers. Why would you leave that on the table?”
Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@fortworthreport.org.
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