Dallas ISD’s board of trustees voted to give Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde a raise despite the district’s underwhelming student achievement outcomes.
Elizalde’s base salary increased by $37,000, boosting her pre-bonus compensation to $375,000 annually. Her contract was also extended through 2028, according to The Dallas Morning News.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Elizalde can also receive $20,000 each time Dallas ISD meets a mutually agreed-upon student outcome goal. Select trustees and Elizalde negotiated the goals.
The move to give Elizalde a raise was made at a school board briefing on Thursday, but not everyone voted in favor. Trustee Joyce Foreman voiced her disapproval of the process and was not present on the dais when the raise was voted on.
“My statements are not going to be negative toward the superintendent, but negative toward a process,” Foreman said, per WFAA. “I think this was a rushed process. I think this is something that is [of] high public interest, and the nerve of this board to vote on it on a board briefing day, not allowing the public to have an opportunity to weigh in is, I believe, disrespectful.”
Other trustees, however, defended the raise, praising the superintendent.
“This is the easiest decision I’ve made since I’ve been on the board,” said board vice president Dan Micciche, DMN reported. “She is one of those leaders who takes responsibility for anything that goes wrong and gives away credit to everyone else when things go right.”
Board president Justin Henry claimed delaying an extension to Elizalde’s contract would have created too much “uncertainty.”
“Really wanted to make it as inclusive of a process as possible but recognizing that I think this should have already been done,” he said, according to WFAA.
A state lawmaker subsequently took to social media and lambasted the amount of taxpayer money being spent on Elizalde’s salary.
“Indefensible. Complete insanity. This is (way) more than the Secretary of Defense is paid and over twice what the Governor is paid,” wrote Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Texans are being taxed out of their homes to pay these outrageous salaries. I filed a bill to limit bureaucrat salaries, and will again.”
He also posted a graphic purportedly showing Dallas ISD’s low math proficiency metrics.
“Dallas ISD proficiency numbers for mathematics. Of course the superintendent deserves this raise,” Harrison quipped.
Dallas ISD underperformed across several metrics during the 2021-2022 school year, according to the district’s latest Texas Education Agency accountability report. Only 41% of students scored at grade level on their STAAR exams despite the hard work of the district’s dedicated teachers, and almost 20% of Dallas ISD’s graduating Class of 2022 did not earn a diploma in four years.