26 Texas School Districts will generate nearly $40 million dollars in additional funding

AUSTIN, Texas — August 25, 2020 — The Texas Education Agency (TEA) today announced the first 26 districts approved for a Local Designation System as part of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA). 

Made possible by the historic passage of House Bill 3 during the 86th Legislative Session, the Teacher Incentive Allotment provides a pathway for the most effective teachers to earn six figure salaries while enabling districts in rural and high-needs areas to improve educator recruitment and retention. Through their approved Local Designation System, these 26 districts will be able to implement a system that rewards quality educators and helps foster success and equity in the classroom. 

Beginning in the spring of this year, interested districts were subject to an intensive multi-step application process that included review of their development of educator evaluation plans, student progress measurements, and robust stakeholder engagement. This first cohort of approved districts will designate approximately 3,650 teachers and generate nearly $40 million dollars in additional funding. 

“This is a gamechanger for us as a rural community. While a long process, it has been incredibly rewarding to see our teachers receive this recognition,” said La Pryor ISD Superintendent Matthew McHazlett. “For our teachers to potentially get an additional $30,000 dollars per year that they didn’t expect over the next five years is potentially life-changing. It is huge for our kids to be in a classroom where the State of Texas has recognized a master teacher. It makes everyone have more pride in themselves and it makes people feel good about our community.”

“We are excited because the Teacher Incentive Allotment will be a recruiting tool for us to utilize as a small, rural, high poverty district,” said Fruitvale ISD Superintendent Rebecca Bain. “Where teacher salaries are concerned, it can be difficult for a small district to compete with larger districts in regard to salary, even though our district is a wonderful place to work. The TIA gives us an opportunity to reward our successful teachers who are already doing great work increasing student success through growth in their classrooms. This will not only be a benefit for our current teachers but will help us acquire great teachers to work with our students in the future because of this opportunity the state is providing.”

Below is the full list of districts approved for a Local Designation System during this inaugural year of the Teacher Incentive Allotment:

For more information on the Teacher Incentive Allotment, please visit: tiatexas.org.

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