ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees has approved the 2022-2023 budget, which includes significant investments in staff pay increases and targets funding for high-need schools.
The Board voted to approve the $518 million budget at its June 16 Regular Board Meeting, despite two trustees walking out and leaving them without quorum. During the meeting one board member was attending the meeting virtually as she was quarantining for COVID-19, so adjustments were made for her to attend in order for the board to pass the budget.
The budget directs $18.3 million toward increasing teacher and librarian pay by 5 percent, a minimum of a $2,800 annual increase, and other staff members by at least 3 percent, with some employees receiving a market pay adjustment on top of their general pay increase, says the district.
The budget also includes increasing the minimum salary to $15 an hour. The salary increases were approved earlier this spring.
The budget also includes half a million dollars dedicated to supporting strategic staffing at seven campuses — five elementary and two middle schools — to provide additional staff to support student needs. The campuses will also receive financial support for additional professional development and resources, says the district.
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Considerations for the budget included an estimated $72.6 million in recapture, a $57.7 million increase from last year’s adopted budget.
The district says it will be operating on a balanced budget achieved through strategic financial management and $4.8 million in cost-savings strategies. The budget is structured to allow for reallocation of funds to support critical needs.
The Board will vote on a tax rate in September, with the projected rate decreasing by 6.54 cents from $1.1339 in 2021-2022 to $1.0685 in 2022-2023 per $100 valuation.