MFISD approves three-percent midpoint salary increase for all employees

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Marble Falls Independent School District will give all staff a three-percent midpoint general pay increase (MGPI) beginning in 2017-18 after the Board of Trustees voted to do so Monday night.

During a special called meeting, Marble Falls ISD trustees approved a plan to include the salary increase for teachers, nurses, librarians, administrative, administrative/professional, clerical/paraprofessional and auxiliary staff.

Also included was a $25 per month additional contribution to employees' health insurance benefits, which gives employees an extra $300 per year in their paychecks to cover the cost of their health insurance premiums.

“We are trying to be responsive to the feedback we have received from our staff and are working hard to take care of our employees,” said MFISD superintendent Dr. Chris Allen. “I think our staff will especially find meaningful the additional $25 they will receive to their health benefits.

“We have seen in the past how pay increases get absorbed by increases in health insurance rates, so we have increased salary by three percent plus put money into their benefits so we are able to keep pace with market demands — not just the employment market, but also the costs of goods and services.

“Nothing is getting cheaper,” he added. “The prices of everything are getting more expensive, so this actually helps our staff to be able to focus more on taking care of our kids and less on how they are going to make ends meet.”

Allen said the pay increase and the additional contribution towards health insurance indicate how seriously Marble Falls ISD takes its vision statement, painted on the wall behind the dais in the board room: “Marble Falls ISD has an unyielding commitment to love every child and inspire them to achieve their fullest potential.”

“Our vision that we want our staff to have for the children in our school district is the same as we should have for our staff, to love and inspire them,” Allen said. “One way is to make sure we stay competitive and bringing those values to the way provide a compensation package for our employees.”

Allen noted the pay increase will not come through any additional money the district has received. Instead, administration made it a priority to fund a pay increase this year and asked campuses and departments to help them reallocate resources to make it happen. There are no projected or expected tax rate increases built into the proposed budget for 2017-18, Allen said.

“The (Burnet Central) Appraisal District has given us the preliminary values we have been working with and they are saying we will see a 2.75 percent increase in property values,” Allen said. “I do suspect by time the certified values come in (on July 25), that may be a little higher.

“We have had to make some very deep cuts to departmental budgets across the board to prioritze compensation for our employees. If the values come back in higher, we may be able to restore some of those cuts but not all of them. We think we could cobble together a way that will make it work that would be in the best interest of our students.

“I am excited we were able to give this salary increase since there is no new money in the (educational funding) system coming from the state. However, everything comes at a cost. I have grave concerns for how we will continue to be able to offer quality educational programming if the state does not begin to honor their obligation to provide the equitable diffusion of knowledge to the students of this state. I fear for the future otherwise,” Allen said.

In other action, the board approved a memorandum of understanding between Marble Falls ISD and the newly created Marble Falls Education Foundation, which was established to accept, manage and disburse charitable donations to Marble Falls ISD.

The board also approved a contract with Willis Environmental Engineering Inc. as engineers for the relocation and expansion of the district's current transportation facility at a base fee of 10 percent of the cost of construction.