At its regular Nov. 8 meeting, the Highland Park ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved the recommendation to allocate additional revenue to staff compensation for a one-time payment that employees will receive in December. The one-time payment comes on the heels of a 5 percent pay raise for the 2022-23 school year, the second significant pay increase for district staff since the passage of the Voter Approved Tax Ratification (VATRE Golden Penny) election one year ago today.
The additional boost to staff members’ December paychecks is a direct result of funds generated through the Golden Penny election. The one-time payments will be calculated based on employment status and years of experience and will range from $500 to $1,500 with the exception of prorated payments for part-time staff, new hires or resignations received between Nov. 9-30.
HPISD has remained committed to spending 100 percent of the generated Golden Penny proceeds on improving staff compensation. Since the passage of the VATRE in November 2021, HPISD teacher and staff salaries have increased a total of 8 percent. The district originally estimated that the salary increase during the first two years would be approximately 5 percent. The actual compensation increase has exceeded the original estimates by 3 percent, primarily due to VATRE funding generating higher revenues than expected, but it is also attributed to a $500,000 increase in financial support from the Highland Park Education Foundation.
The district is grateful for the support of the community and the Highland Park Education Foundation. “The Foundation continues to send a very strong statement to our teachers and staff through their support and financial contributions to the district,” Board President Tom Sharpe said. “Our ability to increase staff compensation this year at the rate we did is thanks to the Foundation’s commitment to increase its annual gift from $1.2 million to $1.7 million, which accounts for 1 percent of the 5 percent salary increase HPISD staff received.”
“The support for our teachers and staff that the HPISD community demonstrated last November has been a defining moment in our district’s history,” Superintendent Dr. Tom Trigg said. “Proceeds from the Golden Penny election have been significant to our retention and recruitment efforts.”
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