Michael Karlis
Congressional candidate Jessica Cisneros spoke to teachers and community members during a rally outside San Antonio ISD headquarters Monday.
The San Antonio Alliance union descended on the district's headquarters Monday afternoon for a rally ahead of the trustees' meeting. With the summer heat beating down, members chanted "Sí, se puede" and held signs advocating for a 5% wage increase.
"We're here because our students, our parents, our school workers, our teachers and our community deserve investment that matters," Democratic congressional candidate Jessica Cisneros told those in attendance. "We know we have talent here — it's a matter of investing and believing in it and cultivating it."
SAISD trustees were slated to vote on a 2% pay raise during the Monday's meeting. District superintendent Jaime Aquino, who was hired just last month, recommended that district-wide pay raises be capped at that rate, citing concerns about impending budget shortfalls.
SAISD faces a $58.1 million budget deficit over the next fiscal year, according to Texas Public Radio. Last year, the district received a $28 million federal grant as part of the COVID-19 related CARES Act. However, that funding is expected to run out soon.
The budget is also hampered by ongoing attendance and enrollment issues, both of which determine the amount of state funding a district receives. As reported by the Express-News, SAISD anticipates a 90% attendance rate for the upcoming school year, even though attendance held steady at 87% the prior one.
Despite those financial struggles, San Antonio Alliance President Alejandra Lopez and union membership stuck to their calls for a 5% pay raise, citing the ever-increasing cost of living and an ongoing teacher shortage.
Nayeli Aleman, a high school student at the district's test-in Young Women's Leadership Academy, also favored the 5% increase.
"I've seen how hard [teachers] have worked these last few years of unease and instability," Aleman said during the meeting's public comment period. "Students like me deserve teachers that want to stay and feel like all the work they put in, day in and day out, is worth something. So, from a student that values your teachers, I encourage [the board] to better support and focus your attention on rightfully compensating your employees."
However, after debate stretched into the night, trustees only agreed to raise salaries by 3%. Campus administrators, including principals and assistant principals, received a 2% raise, while campus staff already earning over six figures received got a boost of 1%.
Although full-time employees won modest raises, the substitute teachers that the district relied on heavily over the past year will receive a pay cut. Their daily rates will start at $110 for the 2022-2023 school year.
"My sense is unless we take bold action this budget, that if the morale of our employees — that first frontline of faces that our families see — [doesn't make them] excited to return next school year, that the decline [in teachers] will continue," SAISD trustee Ed Garza said during the board meeting.
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