What happened: The Midland ISD Board of Trustees met on June 10.

Why it matters: Trustees adopted salary increases and stipends to support teacher recruitment and retention while advancing a strategy to reduce the district’s financial shortfall through staffing and expense cuts.

Key points:

  • Deficit reduction: Chief Financial Officer Tucker Durham reported that the district has eliminated 279.5 full-time equivalent positions since January, an 8.12% reduction, resulting in $22.6 million in payroll savings and $12.6 million in non-payroll General Fund savings. Durham said the projected deficit for the end of the current fiscal year is $29.9 million, down from the $31 million estimate shared in May.

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MISD expects enrollment of 30,103 students next year, with average daily attendance (ADA) of 27,103. Revenue per ADA is projected to rise from $10,000 to $10,488 due to changes in House Bill 2.

  • Compensation plan: The board unanimously approved a salary schedule that includes:

    • $2,500 pay raise for teachers with 3–4 years of experience

    • $5,000 raise for teachers with 5+ years of experience

    • New starting salary of $61,500

    • Stipends of $1,500 for content-aligned master’s degrees and $1,000 for general master’s degrees

A recent salary study showed that MISD is competitive in special education and bilingual education roles. The district also participates in the Teacher Incentive Allotment, which awarded $2.07 million to 274 teachers last year. Some educators earned six-figure salaries under the program.