By Brittany Anderson
HAYS COUNTY – Hays CISD is preparing for the new school year by releasing allocations and stipends early to be included in the 2022-2023 compensation plan.
During the Hays CISD board of trustees meeting on May 23, the trustees approved in a 6-0 vote the various new positions, reclassifications and stipends under the Curriculum & Instruction allocation, as well as two security monitors under the Maintenance & Operations allocation. Trustee Will McManus was not present for the meeting.
Included in the Curriculum & Instruction allocation were the addition of three color guard teaching positions, which garnered considerable public support during the public forum portion of the board meeting. Currently, there are no permanent, full-time color guard director positions at any of the district’s three high schools (Hays, Johnson and Lehman) that offer the program.
Ali Martinez has served as the Hays High School guard director for the past three years, and also works as a paraprofessional in the district on top of directing the guard. According to Lesley Allen, a guard parent who also served as the Band Booster President from 2018 to 2021, Martinez’s salary comes from Band Boosters fundraising.
Allen said that using Band Boosters to pay her salary takes away significant funds needed for the guard and band program as a whole. If the district were to pay her salary, the funds could be spent on other necessary things, like marching technicians, equipment, props, private lessons or financial help for enrollment fees for students who cannot afford to be in the program.
According to the approved allocation, the guard teachers will teach classes at the high schools and one guard class at each feeder middle school. The positions will each have a $5,000 stipend that will allow for after school and weekend rehearsals and performances. The overall impact to the budget will be $197,412.
“A permanent guard director at these three schools would keep these programs alive and help them flourish,” Allen added.
What is evident, more than anything, is the impact Martinez has had on her students. Several students from the program who have worked under her also spoke during the meeting in support of not only Martinez being hired as a full-time director at Hays HS, but for Johnson and Lehman to have a director, too.
Soleil Johnson, a graduating Hays High School senior and outgoing color guard colonel, spoke about how when she first joined guard as a freshman she felt nervous about moving forward and didn’t know if she had a place on the team, but Martinez changed her perspective.
“She transformed the program into a fun place to challenge myself and show my true colors and pride. She pushed all of us to our limits and sought out the uniqueness in every performer,” Johnson said. “When she saw someone struggling, she refused to leave them behind. She never asked for perfection, only our best. And when push came to shove, she reminded us of who we are: strong young women and men who could take every critique and setback as a dare to do better, be better … I wouldn’t be the confident young woman I am today without her fervent guidance.”
The other positions under the approved Curriculum & Instruction allocation include two GT instructional coaches for $128,111, six middle school assistant principals for $460,533 and three instructional aides (CTE) for $90,000.
The addition of two AU04 security monitors under the Maintenance & Operations allocation, one for $34,834 and one for $3,933, was also approved as part of the vote.
Trustee Esperanza Orosco pushed for positions under the other allocations — Human Resources, Technology and remaining Maintenance & Operations positions — to be tabled until after the June 2 budget meeting, as the total impact to the budget by all of the allocations is $1.4 million.
The consequences of not approving the recommendations could potentially impact the operations of schools and departments, as well as the ability to effectively recruit and retain new staff members during peak hiring season. If there is a delay in releasing the allocations, positions will not be posted until late June to early July, and the district risks having to hire substitutes for vacant positions in August.
However, Orosco said that some of the position descriptions were unclear and that she didn’t want to approve such a dollar amount before the budget meeting.
“We’re not saying we’re killing these positions … bring them back next week during budget time,” Orosco said. “We’re not going to not do some of these things. We’ll probably vote yes on everything, except there needs to be clarity. We are responsible to the taxpayers and our community … it’s very hard to make a $1.4 million decision right now when we do not have the complete view of the budget.”
The trustees will meet on June 2 for the budget meeting and receive an update on the remaining Human Resources, Maintenance & Operations and Technology positions to be released in the summer.
