Clint ISD teachers set to get tenth raise in 10 years; already the highest paid in El Paso

Clint ISD teachers are set to get their 10th raise in 10 years. To the envy of teachers in other districts, Clint teachers are already the highest paid in the county.

More money most definitely translates to higher morale. Superintendent Juan Martinez says happy teachers makes happy classrooms. But he adds, his teachers may have a tougher job.

“Their job is not as simple as get in the classroom and teach,” Martinez said. “There’s a lot more to it.”

Clint ISD teachers are more than willing to do it. On average, Clint will get 40-60 applications for one job, with little to no turnover. Many of those applications are coming from teachers who work in neighboring school districts, which means Clint has its choice of the county’s most qualified educators.

“We are losing a lot of teachers, administrators, councilors to the neighboring school districts who’s pay is better,” said El Paso ISD Federation of Teachers President Ross Moore.

In 2014, the average Clint teacher was paid the most, a full $1,500 more than the next highest paid district, Ysleta.
– Clint: $51,926
– Ysleta: $50,332
– Canutillo: $50,274
– Socorro: 50,088
– El Paso: $49,366

But EPISD also has the lowest tax rate in the county, Clint the third highest:

– Canutillo: $1.42
– Ysleta: $1.36
– Clint: $1.33
– Socorro: $1.27
– El Paso: $1.23

“We have a high tax rate, but we don’t have a lot of industry like other school districts do,” Martinez said. “The average house for our district is $70,000, which compared to other school districts may be $120,000-$130,000. Ours is lower. However, we have a goal of being fiscally responsible. We have learned to balance our budget, where to spend it and we believe spending in our personnel is a good investment.”

Most superintendents would agree, well-taken care of teachers will go the extra mile for their classrooms. But how can you measure that? One way is a quick look at last year’s STAAR scores for reading. The state standard is 87 percent.
– State standard: 87 percent
– Socorro: 82 percent
– Canutillo: 78 percent
– El Paso: 75 percent
– Clint: 67 percent

“We are constantly challenged with our academic performance, its not just money that affects the classroom,” Martinez said. “There’s social economics of the family, there’s many areas that contribute to student success, not simply how high the teacher is paid.”

Clint deals with many students for whom English is a second language. Martinez said this impacts how effective a teacher can be. With so many variables at work, one can’t generalize that higher tax-rates and higher-paid teachers mean higher test scores.