The Lubbock Independent School District announced Thursday board trustees approved a raise for their faculty and staff for the next school year.
Teachers can expect a five percent raise and, for teachers with five or more years of experience, a raise of six percent. The raise will also affect nurses, librarians and administrators.
President of the school board, Zach Brady, made the announcement at the district central office.
“The board of trustees today adopted a budget which will give our classroom educators a significant and much deserved raise,” Brady said.
Lauren Smith, a second grade teacher and president of the Lubbock Educators Association, said the raise is important for education.
“It’s truly monumental and is really gonna make a difference for people in this district,” Smith said.
Additionally, Smith played a role in getting the raise for the district.
“We’ve been working with Dr. Rollo on and off. We’ve met with her several times just to share our thoughts and also speak the voice of our members,” Smith said.
According to a law recently signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, 30 percent of the school’s budget must go to raises, meaning Lubbock ISD is required to pay $3.1 million for raises. Lubbock ISD, however, is planning to allocate $5.7 million for teachers raises–almost double the required amount, according to the district.
Smith said the raise is unheard of in the district’s history, usually only increasing by one or two percent.
“They’re investing in us so that we can invest in our students,” Smith said.
