Conroe ISD Teachers Get Pay Raise with Texas’ $4B School Employee Funding

Teachers in Conroe ISD will receive a long-awaited pay bump this fall thanks to a major funding boost from Texas lawmakers, who allocated more than $4 billion for school employee raises during the 89th Texas Legislative session. The increases come as part of the district’s preliminary 2026 budget, which was presented to the Conroe ISD board of trustees last week.

The proposed budget for 2026 stands at $761.05 million, up from the current year’s $711.97 million, and reflects improvements in the district’s financial outlook after recent budget shortfalls. Conroe ISD Chief Financial Officer Karen Garza said the district has climbed out of a projected $4 million deficit and is now on solid financial footing.

“We are in a much better position than some districts, so we are fortunate for that,” Garza said.

The proposed starting salary for teachers will rise from $60,000 to $64,000. Legislators also approved new allotments for teacher hiring incentives and retention bonuses of up to $8,000, depending on experience and enrollment. Funding for support staff retention will also increase, reflecting the state’s focus on strengthening staffing across school campuses.

The state budget allocated an additional $2.6 billion to address funding gaps in critical areas, such as special education and school safety, as well as an extra $1.7 billion for targeted programs, including Career and Technical Education, teacher preparation, and early learning. The state’s per-student allocation will increase from $6,160 to $6,215, with Conroe ISD’s enrollment projected at around 73,500 students for 2026.

Board President Misty Odenweller stressed the importance of prioritizing pay increases for career teachers to help retain veteran educators. “I don’t want to lose those veteran teachers. They make all the difference on the campuses,” she said.

The district will continue its budget process later this month.

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