Bryan ISD board approves 2026-27 compensation package while weighing a voter tax option
June 01, 2026 | BRYAN ISD, School Districts, Texas
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Trustees of the Bryan Independent School District on Tuesday approved a 2026-27 compensation plan that district finance staff said balances short-term recognition of employees with the district's longer-term fiscal limits.
Chief Financial Officer Norma Friddle told the board the package, built into the proposed 2026-27 budget scenario, carries an approximate $2.2 million price tag. The plan includes a one-time $500 stipend for all full-time employees, reinstatement of a $50-per-week bus-driver perfect-attendance incentive, implementation of a teacher step schedule to reward experience, and a $1,000 increase to the starting teacher salary.
"A budget is not something that you set and walk away from," Friddle said during her presentation, emphasizing ongoing forecasting and year-end audit activity that make final numbers provisional. On the stipend, she added, "Stipends are more of a one-time benefit," distinguishing the payment from a permanent raise.
Board members and staff also discussed a potential voter-approval tax-rate election (VATRE) that finance staff said could raise about $5.5 million in recurring revenue if the board chose to call it. Friddle said the VATRE option (described in the presentations as adding the district's two available "golden pennies") would not be subject to recapture and that the deadline to call such an election is Aug. 17, with a likely election date of Nov. 3.
Trustees noted the trade-off between offering one-time stipends now and seeking recurring revenue that would allow permanent salary increases. Friddle said that if the board called and the community approved a VATRE, any later recurring compensation plan could replace the current stipend approach and be made retroactive to employees' contract start dates.
The vote to approve the compensation package was made by motion and carried by voice vote.
What's next: The approved compensation items are included in the 2026-27 budget as presented; district staff will continue forecasting through year end and will present the formal proposed 2026-27 budget for adoption at a later meeting. The board may choose to place a VATRE on the ballot by the Aug. 17 deadline if trustees decide to seek recurring funding.
Chief Financial Officer Norma Friddle told the board the package, built into the proposed 2026-27 budget scenario, carries an approximate $2.2 million price tag. The plan includes a one-time $500 stipend for all full-time employees, reinstatement of a $50-per-week bus-driver perfect-attendance incentive, implementation of a teacher step schedule to reward experience, and a $1,000 increase to the starting teacher salary.
"A budget is not something that you set and walk away from," Friddle said during her presentation, emphasizing ongoing forecasting and year-end audit activity that make final numbers provisional. On the stipend, she added, "Stipends are more of a one-time benefit," distinguishing the payment from a permanent raise.
Board members and staff also discussed a potential voter-approval tax-rate election (VATRE) that finance staff said could raise about $5.5 million in recurring revenue if the board chose to call it. Friddle said the VATRE option (described in the presentations as adding the district's two available "golden pennies") would not be subject to recapture and that the deadline to call such an election is Aug. 17, with a likely election date of Nov. 3.
Trustees noted the trade-off between offering one-time stipends now and seeking recurring revenue that would allow permanent salary increases. Friddle said that if the board called and the community approved a VATRE, any later recurring compensation plan could replace the current stipend approach and be made retroactive to employees' contract start dates.
The vote to approve the compensation package was made by motion and carried by voice vote.
What's next: The approved compensation items are included in the 2026-27 budget as presented; district staff will continue forecasting through year end and will present the formal proposed 2026-27 budget for adoption at a later meeting. The board may choose to place a VATRE on the ballot by the Aug. 17 deadline if trustees decide to seek recurring funding.
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