Corpus Christi ISD board postpones vote on employee stipends
Vicky CamarilloThe Corpus Christi ISD board of trustees on Monday voted to postpone approving stipends for all employees after some members pushed to increase the amount of pay for teachers.
Administrators recommended giving one-time stipends of 2% of the midpoint of pay scales for all employees; the minimum amount would have been $500 for the lowest-earning workers, including custodians, food service staff, transportation workers and paraprofessionals, who otherwise would have received about $300.
When the board adopted the district’s 2020-21 budget, officials recommended waiting until rollover funds from the 2019-20 school year were calculated before determining how much to give in stipends.
The district is expecting about $4.6 million in excess after paying $9 million for past board-approved expenditures that were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed 2% stipends totaled $4.2 million.
In a discussion that spanned an hour and a half, at-large trustee Marty Bell and board Assistant Secretary Alice Upshaw Hawkins said teachers deserved bigger stipends than other workers because they’re juggling in-person, online, synchronous and asynchronous instruction and frequently take their work home when the school day is over.
They suggested 3% stipends for teachers and 1% stipends for administrators and other employees.
“The lion’s share of what we do as a district falls at the feet of our teachers,” Hawkins said, adding that teachers are at the greatest risk of being potentially exposed to COVID-19.
Other board members said other workers, including food service staff who served meals to children after schools closed in the spring, were equally deserving.
And with revenue shortages caused by the pandemic, “these are the stipends we can afford,” board Secretary Catherine Susser said.
The district had projected revenues of more than $323 million for 2020-21. But it’s about 4.6% under that projection, and the average daily attendance rate is 89%, said Karen Griffith, the district’s deputy superintendent for business support service.
The district is expecting an additional shortage of about $4 million.
“With that said, I don’t think we’re as bad as we thought we were going to be,” Griffith said. “We’re still in a little bit of a crunch, but we’re not as bad as some other districts.”
The Texas Education Agency extended a “hold harmless” rule for school districts for the first two six-week attendance reporting periods of the school year. That means districts will continue to receive the funding they normally would if their enrollment and attendance numbers had not dropped amid the pandemic.
But, Superintendent Roland Hernandez said, it’s unclear how long that grace period will last, and the state is expecting a $4 billion deficit ahead of the 2021 legislative session.
Because of that uncertainty, “the 2% is where we feel comfortable on what we can do,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez reminded the trustees that when they adopted the 2020-21 budget, it included $300 step increases for teachers, nurses and librarians.
Hawkins made a motion to postpone the item to the next meeting, which Marty Bell seconded. The motion passed 4-3; Hawkins, Marty Bell, District 3 trustee Tony Diaz and board Vice President Jaime Arredondo voted in favor, and board President Janie Bell, Susser and District 1 trustee John Longoria voted against.
The board will take up the action in its next meeting on Nov. 9. If the stipends had been approved during Monday’s meeting, they would have been paid to employees in November. If the board passes the item at its next meeting, the stipends will be paid in December.
Vicky Camarillo covers education, immigration and other issues in South Texas. See our subscription options and special offers at Caller.com/subscribe.