At tonight's regularly scheduled meeting, the Snyder ISD Board of Trustees took a decisive step toward investing in the future of education by approving a significant adjustment to the teacher pay scale. Set to take effect in the 2025‑2026 school year, this initiative increases base pay for teachers and affirms the district’s commitment to a competitive and comprehensive employee benefits package.
“We want to recruit and retain top talent in the area—our kids deserve the best,” said Board President Brad Hinton. “We have been exploring various ways to enhance our benefits package, reviewing staff survey results and considering options like employee daycare and housing.” Hinton emphasized that although those items are not off the table, the teacher pay scale needed attention. “While our starting salary was once competitive, it gradually became less so—and even fell behind—for teachers with more experience.”
Under the new pay scale, the starting salary for teachers will increase from $42,000 to $44,000. In addition, the district has realigned the entire pay structure to ensure salaries remain competitive and more accurately reflect years of experience. For example:
A teacher with 7 years of experience (Step 6) will see their salary rise from $46,100 to $50,640—a $4,540 increase.
A teacher with 16 years of experience (Step 15) will earn $60,790, up nearly $9,000 from the previous $51,900.
“We carefully considered a variety of options,” said Superintendent of Schools Bob Rauch. “With the current legislative session underway, there are possibilities of increased support on the horizon. However, we recognized that the Snyder ISD teacher pay scale needed to be adjusted regardless. Taking this action now positions us to be more competitive recruiting and retaining experienced and certified teachers—now and in the future.” When asked about potential increases for other positions in the district, Rauch said, “We had to start somewhere. Our first area of concern was the teacher pay scale. It is where we are the least competitive and is our most pressing need.”
Rauch added, “I feel strongly that outstanding teachers are the most impactful factor in students experiencing academic success. Providing a more competitive teacher pay scale will help improve the recruitment and retention of certified, experienced teachers leading to more quality instruction and improved academic results.”
Despite increasing financial pressures statewide, Snyder ISD has reduced spending and maintained a strong financial position, having returned over $3 million to its fund balance over the past 2 years. Rauch stated, “We are confident in our ability to support this move—it’s the right thing to do.”
The new Snyder ISD teacher pay scale is available online at www.snyderisd.net/careers.