To achieve the Next Level of Excellence, we must retain and reward great teachers. I have a vision for the best and most high performing Eanes teachers to make $100,000 or more per year!
Did you know Eanes ISD has lost over 20% of its teachers in each of the past two years? Over the past six years we’ve been dangerously close to the same attrition rate as Austin ISD, who ended 2023 with the loss of 32%, nearly one third, of its teacher workforce. What’s even more concerning, Eanes is hiring uncertified teachers at a rate that has increased sharply from near zero in prior years, and doubled from 9% to 18% in the last two years.
Imagine a business losing one out of every three to five employees and replacing them with less qualified candidates – it’s no wonder Eanes parents spend so much on private tutors!
How can we solve this critical issue to our students' success?
Pay & Reward Great Teachers
As an entrepreneur and lifelong CEO managing hundreds of people over my career, I look at the school district much in the same way I’d look at any business enterprise: a business with people and processes aimed at delivering great products and services to satisfy customers. In the case of Eanes ISD, teachers are the people on the front lines of delivering excellence in education (the product) to our customers (the parents and taxpayers of the district). And just like any other business, employee turnover and attrition is administratively inefficient, financially costly, and puts a severe strain on the quality of the end product.
In business, the usual causes of attrition are sub-market pay, fatigue and a corrosive or dysfunctional company culture. When you hire an employee for a job, that job comes with a clear scope of responsibilities. If more work and responsibility is added to an employee’s plate, the employee rightfully expects to earn more pay. This doesn’t happen at Eanes. Teachers are burdened with more and more responsibilities over many years and then insulted with occasional minuscule pay raises.
Teacher salaries have not only not kept up with the cost of living in Texas, but we are no longer asking teachers to simply be the best educators they can be. Teachers today are asked to also venture into the realm of mental health counselors, standardized test prep instructors (STAAR), political leaders, culture warriors and even security guards charged with life and death decisions for our children.
Leverage the Power of Eanes Education Foundation
For many years Eanes has turned to the great work of the Eanes Education Foundation (EEF) to supplement our ability to fund teachers. The generosity of parents to donate cannot be understated and appreciated. Let’s face the fact that our future depends on the ability of Eanes to self-fund and not depend on the State of Texas recapture system. However, recent $1.9M deficit spending by the EISD board of trustees has confused EEF donors. Are donors funding teachers or funding deficits? We need to regain the confidence of EEF donors by clarifying where the donations are actually being spent and for what purpose. We can help EEF increase their donor base and grow a much needed endowment by guaranteeing donations are being directed toward the best performing teachers and not the general fund that may be used for funding deficits.
Policy Proposals
Introduce private sector compensation principles to ensure that the most highly qualified teachers are rewarded and highly incentivized for outstanding performance when they take their skills to the Next Level of Excellence. Set a EISD goal of paying the top 10% of our teachers $100,000 or more per year.
Minimize non-educational distractions in the classroom that ask teachers to do anything but educate. When we ask more of our teachers – pay them more. Let’s liberate our teachers to focus on what teachers love to do…teach!
Reduce reliance on Eanes Educational Foundation (EEF) funding to exclusively pay teachers’ salaries and shift a portion of their giving toward merit-based rewards and bonuses for our educators that ascend to the Next Level of Excellence.
With your help and your vote on May 4th, I will lead the Eanes Board of Trustees on these issues in order to take Eanes ISD to the Next Level of Excellence.
Aaron M. Silva
Candidate for Place 5
Eanes Board of Trustees
Quick References:
Early Voting: April 22–30;
Election Day: May 4
Click here: Schedule a private meeting with Aaron
Click here: Join the Campaign
Click here: Listen to the Eanes Parents Unite Podcast (available on all major platforms )