KUT
Boone Elementary School students look at their computers behind protective screens and while wearing masks on Oct. 9, 2020. Michael Minasi/KUT News
When the week started, Sal Srinivasan was in the middle of a frustrating search.
“We are researching into setting her up in some online public schools that are available in Texas. Or doing actual home schooling. So we are looking into options, she said early Monday afternoon.
Srinivasan didn’t want to send her fourth grade daughter back to in-person classes at her elementary school in the Austin district. Her daughter is too young to get a vaccine; Srinivasan worried that if she were to get sick with COVID-19, she could pass it along to family members who are immunocompromised. That fear ramped up last week when Travis County went back into Stage 4 of Austin Public Health s risk assessment guidelines amid a new surge in cases and hospital admissions.
Austin school district officials are proposing spending $7 million toward 1% employee raises as part of next year s budget.
The $1.57 billion budget, which does not include the latest federal pandemic relief money allotted to the district, would spend $39.3 million from the district s reserves.
The Austin school board is scheduled to continue discussing the spending plan this month and adopt it in late June.
Under the plan, all employees would see a 1% raise based on the midpoint salary for their positions.
That means employees in the same position would see the same raises, despite differences in experience.
Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde said the raises would come after district adjustments to salaries to address large pay differences. An additional $1.5 million in the proposal is slotted for these adjustments, including $100,000 for starting teacher salaries.
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