Laredo ISD trustees approve $1,100 one-time payment for employees; board amends motion to include 20 three-hour workers

Laredo ISD trustees voted Monday to approve a one-time supplemental payment for district employees for the 2023–24 school year and adopted a budget amendment to fund the payments.

Doctor Rios introduced the proposal as a one-time payment contingent on eligibility and completion of required modules, with an estimated cost of roughly $4.44 million. The board’s initial motion approved a standard $1,100 payment to TRS-eligible employees. The board later amended that motion to include 20 three-hour employees — such as crossing guards — who had previously been slated to receive a smaller amount.

Trustee Monica Garcia, who said she would support the recommendation, warned the board to avoid language that could limit future options for raises. "This $1,100 that we're giving employees…it's like an $800 check that you're gonna get," Garcia said, urging the board to protect flexibility for future salary decisions.

Gilberto Martinez, who described an earlier tiered proposal that would have boosted teachers slightly more, urged the board to prioritize classroom staff. "A school isn't the building. It's the faculty," Martinez said, arguing front-line staff often pay out of pocket for students and that the district should do more when possible.

Trustees debated whether to use a flat payment or a differentiated plan. Staff clarified that the three-hour positions number 20; the board accepted an amendment to include those positions in the flat $1,100 payment.

On the funding side, Doctor Rios presented budget amendment 2ABA number 2324-37 to appropriate $4,441,932 in the general operating fund to cover the one-time payments, described as resulting from unfilled positions in the current year. Trustees approved the amended budget motion and instructed staff that if adding the 20 employees materially changes the funding need the item will return to the board; otherwise staff may find funds within the same function.

Trustees repeatedly noted the district’s constrained revenue picture and the broader state funding situation. One trustee summarized the dilemma: the state allotment to schools has not been increased since 2019 and inflation has significantly eroded purchasing power, leaving districts to use federal ESSER funds and other measures as temporary patches while awaiting state action.

The board approved the supplemental payment and the budget amendment by voice vote. The meeting was then adjourned and recessed for 10 minutes.

The board packet did not list a roll-call vote tally in the transcript; the motions were recorded as passed by voice vote. Details about exact per-employee net checks after taxes were not specified in the transcript.