Aldine is Largest Texas District to Pay Starting Teachers $50,000 Per Year

District seeks to recruit and retain top teachers with competitive pay and professional supports

First-year teachers in the Aldine Independent School District will earn a $50,000 base pay starting this fall as part of the district’s strategic plan to attract and retain strong teachers for all students.

The Aldine ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved the new starting pay rate, which represents an 8.2 percent increase from the previous starting pay of $46,200, on Tuesday.

The move makes Aldine the largest district in Texas to offer new teachers a $50,000 base salary. In addition, board-approved salary stipends for Aldine teachers in high-demand fields are among the largest in the region — $4,500 for bilingual teachers and $3,000 for secondary math and science teachers.

“We recognize that teachers have the greatest impact on student achievement, and to attract the best and brightest, we must offer them a competitive starting salary,” said Superintendent Dr. Wanda Bamberg. “We thank the Board for taking this bold move and we believe it will be a useful tool in our recruiting efforts.”

Aldine anticipates needing to fill roughly 700 teacher vacancies for the upcoming school year, and district recruiters are busy attending job fairs at colleges and universities throughout the nation. Nearly 250 student teachers have worked in Aldine classrooms this school year while completing their college degrees.

The Aldine administration will bring forward a pay raise proposal for all teachers in June.

Aldine has a well deserved reputation for not just recruiting and retaining great teachers, but also for giving them excellent opportunities to grow professionally. More than 92 percent of Aldine’s campus principals and more than 94 percent of Aldine’s assistant principals once taught in Aldine classrooms.

Raise made possible by strong fiscal management

The district estimates the cost of the starting pay increase to be about $1.5 million. Aldine is able to fund the increase despite having lowered the property tax rate last year, thanks to strong fiscal management. Aldine recently earned an impressive 4-star rating from the State Comptroller’s 2013 Financial Allocation Study for Texas, which evaluates districts’ academic achievement compared to overall spending.

In addition to raising teachers’ base pay, Aldine is working with researchers and teachers to develop a new teacher appraisal and professional development system focused on driving student achievement upward. The system will eventually include a performance pay component that rewards teachers whose students show the strongest academic gains from year to year.

Aldine is already accepting applications from teaching candidates. To apply online, visit TeachInAldine.com or call the Human Resources Department at 281-985-6306.