Humble ISD is giving employees a pay bump and beefing up special-education staffing, all while keeping its books balanced. Trustees on Tuesday approved the district’s fiscal 2026-27 budget, a plan that lifts starting teacher pay to $68,000, funds more than 20 new special-education positions, and layers in targeted incentives from bus-driver bonuses to higher custodian and principal pay. District leaders say the package responds to a recent audit and is designed to keep Humble competitive with neighboring school systems, all without tipping the budget into the red.
According to Humble ISD budget documents, the proposed general fund includes roughly $559.4 million in expenditures and about $560.1 million in revenue, leaving an estimated surplus of about $660,000. The single-page proposed budget outlines major program areas and shows the slim positive balance that staff say is enough to keep recurring operations fully funded, if not exactly flush with cash.
Special-education additions
The new budget directs about $755,000 toward special-education initiatives, with roughly $582,000 set aside for additional staffing. That money will fund nine full-time teachers, eight paraprofessionals, two speech-language pathologists, one diagnostician, one school psychologist and four occupational therapists, according to Community Impact. The plan also includes about $50,000 for state-mandated dyslexia training.
CFO Billy Beattie told trustees the expansion followed a recent audit, which “gave us a lot of good information and directive” that staff used to align resources with the report’s recommendations.
Pay raises and targeted incentives
On the compensation side, trustees signed off on a districtwide average 3% pay increase and a $2,000 raise to the starting teacher salary, moving new-hire pay from $66,000 to $68,000, according to Humble ISD. The package also raises starting hourly rates for several support positions, gives bus drivers the chance to earn up to $1,600 a year in incentives, and applies targeted percentage bumps for custodians and high school principals.
“We know that great schools start with great people,” Superintendent Dr. Roger Brown said in a district statement, framing the raises as a way to recruit and keep staff in a tight labor market.
Tax estimate and what’s next
The budget is built around a proposed tax rate of $1.1052 per $100 valuation, which would keep the rate flat. With small increases in average home values, however, the typical tax bill is projected to rise by roughly $28, according to Community Impact. District officials noted that while the board has adopted the spending plan, trustees will not set the official tax rate until public hearings this fall, giving residents time to study the numbers and speak up.
For employees, salary-verification notices will roll out in stages on Munis Self Service: July 10 for those on 226-day calendars, Aug. 13 for staff on 209-day calendars and Sept. 11 for most teachers, the district notes. Board materials and the proposed budget are posted online for anyone who wants to dig into the details ahead of the tax-rate vote; residents can review the full line-item breakdown in the district’s budget PDF.
