Hallsville ISD board approves teacher pay raises for 2025-26 school year

Published 5:40 am Friday, August 1, 2025

Educators in Hallsville ISD will receive pay raises for the 2025-26 school year, and teachers will receive additional stipends.

The Texas Legislature allocated money for teacher raises statewide during the spring legislative session. Hallsville ISD will receive $1.7 million from the state.

On Monday, the district’s board of trustees approved the 2025-26 compensation package, which will grant teachers with a year or less of experience a $1,000 raise, teachers with two-to-three years of experience a $2,500 raise, teachers with four years or more of experience a $5,000 raise and a 3% raise to all other employees, including administrators.

“I’m always proud of my board, but when it comes to budget time, we take care of our employees,” Board President Jay Nelson said after approving the compensation plan. “That is what this board is for — to make sure we have a seamless operation going.”

The board also approved seasonal stipends for teachers and added sign-on bonuses to incentivize recruitment and reward experienced teachers.

In the fall, a stipend for teachers will be based on the years of experience they have had as a teacher. Teachers with three or fewer years of experience will receive $800, while teachers with four to 25 years of experience will receive $1,300.

The stipend criteria for the spring shifts to the number of years a teacher has been in Hallsville ISD:

• 0-4 years: $2,000
• 5-9 years: $2,500
• 10-14 years: $2,750
• 15-19 years: $3,000
• 20-25 years: $3,250

Trustees also adopted one-time sign-on bonuses to recruit younger teachers. Bonuses range from $1,000 to $2,500.

“We do know that, if we can get young teachers in the district in two-to-three years or so, the relationships they’re going to build will keep them here,” Superintendent John Martin said.

Trustees also learned that the taxable value of all property in the district for the upcoming year is $3.316 billion, which is slightly less than last year’s taxable value of $3.377 billion. School officials attributed the decline to new property tax relief approved by state lawmakers.

Trustees are considering adopting a property tax rate of 77.72 cents per $100 of property valuation, down slightly from the current rate of 77.82 cents per $100 of property valuation. The board will adopt a tax rate in August.