CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi Independent School District's Board of Trustees announced pay raises for teachers at Monday's meeting.
The District said they hope to sweeten the district-wide teacher pay raises, which total 4.5-percent, with three stipends spread out over the course of the school year.
The local teachers union is not happy with the raise.
Nancy Vera, President of the Corpus Christi chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, said the District continues to undervalue its teachers and does not give them enough respect.
"They turn around and give us a measly sum, while other school districts are giving, for example, Houston ISD is giving an 11-percent raise across the board," Vera said. "So even though CCISD is going to supplement that raise with two or three stipends over the period of a year, that's not enough."
Despite the more than 11-percent raise in Houston, CCISD's Financial Director Karen Griffith said the District is not offering the lowest pay raise in the state.
"It's a little over 4.5-percent that they're getting, so I think that's kind of average of what school districts are doing across the state," Griffith said. "1.3-percent of that is permanent. The rest will be as a one-time stipend. I know that several teachers have already said they're real excited about that."
Vera blames what she calls the inadequate raises on the District overspending on new construction.
"They're building these Taj Mahal schools with hallways that lead to nowhere," Vera said. "With maintenance, if you look at Veterans High School for example, it's already deteriorating."
Griffith said the cost overruns on new buildings in the district reflect pandemic inflation and supply chain issues. She believes the teachers appreciate what the District was able to propose for salary hikes.
"The first one, they'll get a welcome back stipend of $500 when they come back. The second one will be at Christmas time, in December, and they'll get 2-percent of their mid-point salary range," Griffith said. "They'll get a 2-percent that helps at Christmas time, and then a retention stipend at the end of the year. Right now, the minimum is at 1-percent. We're hoping to make that 2- or 3-percent."
Vera said she'll continue to fight for more money for teachers.
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