GUEST COMMENTARY
When we moved to Boerne two years ago, my family felt like we were finally home.
There is no place like Boerne, and no district as hard-working and determined as Boerne ISD.
It’s inspiring to know that when things are unpredictable during legislative sessions, our community will pull together and show up to do whatever it takes to give our students the very best education possible.
I am grateful to all of the voters who participated in November’s election. The district was extremely conservative in how it presented information to our community out of profound respect for our voters. A district’s job is to educate, not to try to persuade.
Boerne ISD is the largest employer in Kendall County, and due to state funding, struggled to remain competitive with teacher pay. Even after cutting nearly $1.5 million from central office budgets and salaries over the last year, we still couldn’t afford to make the significant changes needed to retain our people.
You probably have neighbors, members of your church and friends who work for the district. They can share stories with you about how, year after year, well-trained and talented coworkers left for neighboring districts because our pay has been too low, we couldn’t afford to pay stipends for the most specialized roles
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and we weren’t investing in our more tenured staff members in a meaningful way.
Within the past few days, our staff received the happy result of the voters’ support of the tax ratification election. Employees received back pay from the start of their contract date to the December pay date. They also saw increases in their salary reflected in their December paycheck, as well as an increase in healthcare contributions.
Boerne ISD’s tax ratification election yields $3 million in local funding every year. It’s unique because it also requires the state of Texas to kick in 60 cents for every local dollar.
The $4.8 million total in new revenue was budgeted in June 2025, but was not budgeted to be spent until the results of the election were in.
Over 80% of that $4.8 million has been earmarked to increase staff salaries, including: * Restructuring the pay of teachers, nurses, instructional coaches and counselors so that they all have more impactful increases year-over-year and see those dollars in their bottom line.
* Raising the minimum wage of auxiliary workers to $15 per hour and paraprofessional staff to $16 per hour, then restructuring the pay of all other employees in those categories.
* Raising the minimum teacher starting pay from $55,142 to $60,000.
* Creating special education stipends to retain special education teachers.
* $ 500,000 additional contributions to employee healthcare premiums after premiums increased by 24% since 2023.
More than 97% of the funds designated for staff salaries go to the people who work directly with students on a daily basis.
The remaining 20% of the VATRE dollars are budgeted to support program growth and facility needs.
This is just the first step for the district as we find new and innovative ways to keep the very best staff in Boerne ISD.
In this season of renewed hope, faith and gratitude, please know how honored I am to be part of this community and to lead such a spectacular school district. By believing in this community, we’ve been able to do something historic for Boerne ISD.
From everyone at Boerne ISD, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Dr. Kristin Craft is Superintendent of Schools for the Boerne Independent School District.
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