Election results in this story were updated at 9:35 a.m. Nov. 3, 2021 to reflect the unofficial final cumulative results. The original story cited data as of 9 p.m. Nov. 2 when the below story was first posted.
HPISD teachers and staff will receive a compensation increase for each of the next three years, thanks to the overwhelming approval (approx. 77%-22%, unofficial final cumulative results) of the Golden Penny Election held Nov.2. Voters who live within HPISD approved the election authorizing the school district to access 4 “golden pennies,” which are not subject to Recapture by the State of Texas, to supplement the school district’s budget to address staff compensation. Even with approval of the golden pennies, property tax rates for homeowners who live within HPISD will decrease to a five-year low.
“Thank you to the entire HPISD community for your unwavering support of our schools,” said HPISD Board President Tom Sharpe. “The outcome of this election is a direct statement to HPISD staff that the work they do every day with every student is valued.”
“Attracting and retaining high quality staff is absolutely critical to maintaining our tradition of excellence in HPISD,” said Superintendent Dr. Tom Trigg. “Our staff members have always known that the community is behind them and the outcome of this election makes a powerful statement. Thank you to HPISD voters for supporting our dedicated staff members. While this won’t solve all of our compensation challenges, this is a significant step in the right direction.”
Currently, HPISD’s average teacher salary is 24th out of 25 comparison districts in North Texas.
As a result of the election, the tax rate for property owners in HPISD will decrease this school year 2.1 cents over last year, from $1.1519 to $1.1309. All of the additional revenue generated by the golden pennies will be directed toward staff compensation during each of the next three years. Staff members will receive a 3% salary increase (tied to the midpoint of their position) beginning in their December paycheck. In addition, they will each receive a one-time payment during the month of January, depending on their position and years of service in education. Additional salary increases will be made during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
“In addition to voters, thanks go to both our Board of Trustees and district Finance Committee for their work in studying the impact of how the additional golden pennies could be authorized to support our staff,” said Trigg. “We also need to thank both State Rep. Morgan Meyer and State Sen. Nathan Johnson for ensuring that there was a provision contained in HB 3, the landmark education funding bill passed in 2019, that allowed HPISD to seek additional revenue to compensate our staff. And, obviously, we cannot say thank you enough to our staff members throughout the school district for staying strong while serving HPISD students, especially during these last two school years. Thank you for your dedication, resilience, creativity and hard work during this extraordinary time.”