Reporter: Ellie Mahan
July 27, 2023
The Whitney Independent School District Board of Trustees held a special meeting at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 18 to approve the teacher pay scale, stipends and administrator pay scale for the 2023-24 school year.
Superintendent John McCullough advised that the raises that were proposed during the June board meeting for teachers, counselors, librarians and nurses were modified to add 1% to each step of the pay scale, on top of the 3-5% raises that were discussed during the previous board meeting. McCullough said, “We had a three to five percent raise, and now it is going to be four to six, depending on what step they’re on.”
The board approved the proposed raises for teachers, counselors, librarians and nurses for the 2023-2024 school year. The board has the ability to address the pay scale again, after the legislature makes decisions in special sessions in the fall. The district’s policy allows for a mid-year adjustment, which can be pursued once it is clear what extra funding will be received from the state.
Stipends for the school year were also approved, with stipends for student council and lead librarian being added to the list.
The board considered the new administrator pay scale for the year. McCullough said, “We have not adjusted the administrator pay scale since 2019 when we had the big house bill. I would like to add some to each step, just adding $500 to each step right now, and again hopefully being able to do more after the legislature meets again.” The board voted in favor of the updated administrator pay scale.
Another item on the board agenda was the procurement of design professional services for the Whitney High School weight room project. Daniel Dain, a representative of Huckabee Architects, attended the meeting and was available for questions from the board regarding design professional services. Dain said that Huckabee Architects has produced a wide variety of projects, ranging widely in size.
If the board chooses to pursue Huckabee Architects for design services, the first step will be meeting to discuss the scope of the project. The scope of the project would determine the price range and allow the negotiation process to begin.
The design fees would be percentage based and would depend on the total construction cost of the project. Dain estimated that for new construction, Huckabee Architects are typically compensated 6% of the cost of the project.
Dain said, “We’re in it for the relationship with the district and the community, whether it is a small project or a big project, it really doesn’t matter to us, because again, it is percentage based. It is really not about the fee. It is about the relationship and working with y’all to get you what you need, whether that is a million dollar project or a 100 million dollar project.”
The board voted to further consider the procurement of the design services for the weight room project and tabled the agenda item.
Assistant Superintendent Amy Leech gave an overview of the recent changes in the student handbook. The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) mandated that students
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