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Teachers get pay bump at Harmony Public Schools

Posted at 1:01 PM, Jun 17, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-17 14:23:49-04

WACO, TX — Teachers working for Harmony Public Schools are getting some big news this week. The public charter school system announced a salary increase of between 7 percent and 17.5 percent for teachers across its 57 campuses, starting next school year.

One of those locations is in Waco.

"We are very happy to continue to reward our staff for their dedication to excellence," said Faith Ay, CEO of Harmony Public Schools.

On top of a base salary increase of between $3,500 and $5,000, teachers with between five and nine years of experience in the classroom will be eligible for an extra stipend of $1,000. Those who have 10 years of experience or more will receive a stipend of $2,000. STEM teachers will receive an additional $3,000.

"We see this as an investment not only in our teachers, but in our schools as well," Ay said.

This salary increase follows Governor Greg Abbott signing off on the $11.6 billion school finance reform package on June 11. Abbott, sworn into his second term in January, said the school reform package was simply following up on a campaign promise.

"I said we must reward teachers in school districts that achieve results, we've done that. I said we must prioritize spending in the classroom, we've done that," Abbott said.