Why We Need a Complete Picture on Turnover Before the May 20th Decision on Teacher Pay
Last night, I was sworn in as an Eanes School Board Trustee, and today I’m preparing for my first regular meeting, scheduled for next Tuesday, May 20th. One of my primary responsibilities as a board member will be to ensure we make fiscally sound decisions that reflect both our community’s values and the realities of our budget. If we say we value our teachers, we must make decisions about compensation that are grounded in a full understanding of both pay and turnover dynamics…not in a vacuum.
At the May 6th board meeting, a presentation on teacher pay highlighted important issues, but several critical data points were missing. Without a more comprehensive view, any action on teacher salaries risks being ill-informed and short-sighted. As someone who ran on a platform to improve teacher salaries and reduce turnover, I believe it’s essential for Trustees to ask for the following key data points before the May 20th vote:
What’s Missing from the May 6th Presentation
Any organization that wants to attract and retain talented staff must provide decision makers with comprehensive data to make fully informed choices. In my experience, addressing turnover in a competitive job market requires a clear understanding of:
The current workforce by experience and/or tenure,
Compensation levels relative to the market,
Turnover rates by tenure and location (in this case, by school campus), and
Insights from exit surveys to identify systemic challenges.
Without this foundational data, it is difficult to craft effective retention strategies that address root causes rather than symptoms.
Given that the upcoming Board Meeting is scheduled less than a week from now, these are the critical pieces of data I hope our district can assemble before the May 20th vote.
1 - Teacher Population by Tenure
Before we can address retention, we need a clear picture of our current teacher workforce, broken down by years of service. This foundational data is critical for understanding the scale of our retention challenge and the potential budget impact of addressing turnover. For example, if a significant portion of our teaching staff is clustered at a particular tenure level, a targeted retention strategy may be more effective than a one-size-fits-all pay increase.
Below is a hypothetical depiction of what that data might look like.
2 - Salary Ranges by Years of Experience/Tenure
Next, we must map out the salary ranges for each tenure group and compare them against other area districts. This helps identify potential pay compression issues and points where our compensation structure may be out of alignment with the market.
The chart below represents my own research from various public sources, including the district’s website, Lake Travis ISD’s website, and previous Board meetings.
Here’s what my initial research shows:
Teacher Pay Comparison: Eanes ISD vs. Lake Travis ISD by Years of Experience
0 Years of Experience:
Eanes: $56,500
Lake Travis: $57,000
Impact: A brand-new teacher in Lake Travis starts at a higher salary than a 5th-year teacher in Eanes, meaning a teacher in Eanes has to work at least 5 years to earn the equivalent of a first-year teacher in Lake Travis.
5 Years of Experience:
Eanes: $57,033
Lake Travis: $58,961
Impact: By their 5th year, a Lake Travis teacher is earning what an 11th-year teacher in Eanes makes ($59,644), reflecting a significant gap in mid-career pay.
10 Years of Experience:
Eanes: $58,476
Lake Travis: $62,171
Impact: At 10 years, a Lake Travis teacher is making nearly $3,700 more annually, which is equivalent to what a 14th-year teacher in Eanes makes ($60,340).
15 Years of Experience:
Eanes: $60,620
Lake Travis: $63,798
Impact: By 15 years, a Lake Travis teacher is still earning about $3,000 more than an Eanes teacher, despite the latter potentially having decades of classroom experience.
20 Years of Experience:
Eanes: $64,136
Lake Travis: $66,857
Impact: At 20 years, a Lake Travis teacher earns the equivalent of a 25-year veteran in Eanes ($66,725).
Why This Matters
These pay disparities at key career milestones mean that Eanes teachers not only start behind but continue to fall further behind over the course of their careers. If we are having difficulty attracting teachers from neighboring districts it would not be surprising, given that a teacher in Lake Travis who has 5 years of experience would need to work until their 11th year to make a commensurate salary at our district. If we want stability in the classrooms, we need to not only attract but also retain teachers from neighboring districts.
3 - Analyze Turnover by Tenure – Both in Real Numbers and as a Percentage
Once we have our baseline headcount and salary data, we need to measure turnover in both absolute numbers and as a percentage of each tenure group. This step is critical for identifying where the real retention challenges lie.
For example:
Are we losing more early-career teachers who might need better onboarding and mentorship?
Or are mid-career educators leaving due to pay compression or lack of professional growth opportunities?
Without this context, we risk applying generic solutions to specific problems. This targeted approach is more financially efficient and effective than applying a one-size-fits-all strategy.
4 - Campus-Level Turnover
Teacher retention challenges can vary significantly by campus. Without campus specific data we risk missing critical insights about where the greatest retention challenges lie. This is where exit survey data is helpful.
For example, higher turnover at a particular campus could indicate that something other than pay levels is at play, such as:
Dissatisfaction with leadership,
Insufficient resources,
Cultural or working environment issues.
5 - Cost of Attrition
We also need to understand the financial and operational costs associated with teacher turnover. Replacing teachers is not just about finding a new hire, it’s about training, onboarding, and supporting them as they acclimate to the culture and expectations of Eanes ISD.
Consider these key data points:
Turnover Rates: Nearly 1 in 5 teachers leave our district each year.
Experience Gaps: 43% of teachers hired as replacements have 0 years of prior teaching experience.
The financial impact of this turnover is significant. Industry estimates suggest that the cost of replacing a single teacher can be 25-30% of their salary, which for many teaching roles could mean $15,000 or more.
To put this in perspective, if Eanes employs 500 teachers and loses 1 in 5 each year, that’s potentially 100 teachers to replace annually. At an average cost of $15,000 per teacher, this equates to a $1.5 million annual turnover cost - a staggering expense that quickly adds up over multiple years.
Of course, the financial impact is only part of the story. The intangible costs include:
The strain on remaining staff,
The loss of institutional knowledge,
The disruption to student learning, and
The erosion of campus culture.
Understanding these costs is essential if we want to develop a retention strategy that not only attracts great teachers but keeps them in the classroom for the long term.
There Are Only a Few Days Before the May 20th Vote
With only a week before the final decision on teacher raises, it’s critical that the Board of Trustees have a full understanding of these dynamics. High teacher turnover disrupts student learning, impacts educational outcomes, and increases recruitment and training costs. Closing the salary gap is not just smart, it’s financially justifiable. Making a decision without this data risks addressing symptoms rather than root causes…and our teachers, students, and community deserve better.
I look forward to diving deeper into this data as a Trustee and will continue advocating for a thoughtful, data-driven approach to teacher compensation.
- Catherine Walker
