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Raising the Bar
Message from Board President Patsy Mendoza - May 26
Posted on 05/26/2023
This is the image for the news article titled Message from Board President Patsy Mendoza - May 26Dear Canutillo Familia,

The Canutillo ISD Board of Trustees this week had a productive monthly meeting where we discussed important issues impacting our students and our employees. I want to give you a quick review of the decisions we made.

First off, I am happy to report that the Board approved a compensation package for the 2023-24 school year that includes a 5 percent salary increase for teachers, librarians and nurses, as well as a 3 percent increase for everyone else. I know I speak on behalf of the entire Board when I say that we are happy to be able to provide this raise and wish we could do more. Our employees deserve it!

Here are some more details on this pay raise, which goes into effect in July. Starting salary in the District for a teacher with zero experience is now $60,000. Of course, this means that more experienced teachers will have their salary adjusted based on their years of experience. We know that the District needs to do more to attract and retain top quality teachers and we are working hard to make it happen. On top of the salary increase we are adjusting our midpoints to match the El Paso market so that we remain competitive with districts in our region.

Additionally, as part of the compensation package, the District will raise the minimum salary for much-needed bus drivers to $22 an hour. Also, our minimum wage in the District is now going to be $15 an hour. We will continue to work to take care of our hourly employees as we know they are key to making us the best District in the region.

The Board and the District eagerly await any decision regarding teacher salaries from the Texas Legislature. We hope they make a smart decision and help us offset the cost of this pay increase.

To pay for these raises, the District will have to make some sacrifices as we face a difficult budget season. And while we know these sacrifices are worth it given the benefit to our employees, we also know that things would look much differently if we would have passed the bond election in November. Unfortunately, the defeat of the bond has forced us to use our local funds (the same funds we use for salaries) to pay for things the bond could have paid for. We will move forward and make ends meet.

Lastly, I want to thank the Board of Trustees for supporting the resolution in support of public education. The resolution supports decisions on issues impacting school districts such as vouchers, school funding, bond election ballot language, testing and other mandates without funding. We have to take a stand in favor of our public schools and I am proud to serve with a board that understands that.

Have a wonderful weekend, Canutillo. Thank you for a wonderful school year. And see you guys at the Canutillo High School graduation on May 31!

¡Un fuerte abrazo!

Patricia Mendoza
President
Canutillo ISD Board of Trustees