Implementing Mid-Year Pay Increases
Some districts planned for pay increases that would occur after the start of the 2024-2025 school year contingent on the availability of funding — either from student enrollment increases or from passage of a voter-approval tax rate election (VATRE).
If approved, these pay increases might not hit employee paychecks until November or December, so districts are concerned with how to make sure the increase is allowable. To remain compliant, any pay increase should have been approved by the board of trustees before the start of the school year as part of the compensation plan.
Process Considerations
TASB Model Contracts in the HR Services Resource Library (member login required) include language at 6.1 that communicates the educator will be paid “according to the compensation plan adopted by the board each school year.” No changes are required to contract language to accommodate a pay increase after the school year begins if the compensation plan provides for an increase.
When adopting a compensation plan that included the possibility of a mid-year increase, the language should have included specifics about the contingency (e.g., “two percent pay increase contingent on passage of the district’s November VATRE”) and clarification of the pay increase effective date (e.g., “two percent pay increase first reflected in the November paycheck, with catch-up for pay already distributed for the 2024–2025 school year”). This also makes the delayed payments more likely to be considered creditable compensation for Teacher Retirement System (TRS) purposes.
A district that incorporated a pay increase that was contingent on other factors should have worked with local counsel to ensure the language was defensible. If your district missed any of these steps, consult local counsel to determine appropriate next steps.
Resources
Practical guidance regarding mid-year pay increases is available to HR Services members in the HR Services Resource Library topic One-Time Payments to District Employees and the eSource document Mid-Year Pay Increases of School District Employees (member login required).
As always, districts can email TASB HR Services at hrservices@tasb.org. TASB Legal Services can be reached at 800-580-5345.
Salary Survey Reminder
If your district is considering mid-year pay increases, such as a pay increase contingent on the passage of a VATRE, please submit your TASB District Personnel Survey as usual. This ensures the data is available in TASB HRDataSource™ and is accurate in case pay increases are not approved. If your board approves an increase later this year, please email us at the address below once you have implemented it in your system and we will provide a file to enter updates for the survey.
The 2024-2025 deadline to submit surveys has passed, but if you need more time, contact us at salary.survey@tasb.org or 800-580-7782 to discuss your situation.

Keith McLemore
Keith McLemore joined HR Services in 2015 and assists districts with compensation planning and development. He has 17 years of experience traveling the state supporting public education employees.
McLemore received a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern University and a master’s degree from Texas Tech University, both with a focus on research analysis and design. He is a SHRM-CP.
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