Houston ISD board raises employee minimum wage, cuts $17 million from budget

HOUSTON — Members of the Houston Independent School District board of trustees spent hours debating ways to give all staff members raises and avoid layoffs while meeting demands to boost minimum wage.

With a vote of 5-1, HISD’s board raised the district's minimum wage from $12 an hour to $14 an hour in passing the budget for the 2019-2020 school year.

Trustees proposed and adopted an amendment that included $17 million in department cuts but any staff reductions as a result would be offset by utilizing fund balance.

The spending plan mandates that district employees will see no increase in health insurance premiums.

Read more: https://www.khou.com/article/news/education/houston-isd-board-raises-employee-minimum-wage-cuts-17-million-from-budget/285-69b2e14b-a0cb-48ec-b1bd-c1c8a3c666f2