PORT NECHES — Employees in Port Neches-Groves Independent School District expect to see a history-making raise in the future.

Trustees on Monday approved a 7.5% raise for employees, thanks in part to the school finance overhaul approved by the state more than a month ago.

PNGISD Board President Dr. Scott Bartlett said the state and Texas Education Agency’s calculations came back since the last board meeting and the figures were even more advantageous for the district — so much so that they increased the raise from the proposed 6.5% to 7.5%.

Bringing in and retaining good teachers is a phrase that’s been around for some time in the education field and is certainly important, school leaders said.

“We definitely want to reward our teachers and absolutely hope to continue to be the best district,” Bartlett said. “When we have an opening come up we would love to be able to compete with districts who are able to pay more than us.”

Bartlett said the raise would bring PNGISD well above the state-based pay.

“The goal of the board and the legislature is coming to fruition,” he said.

PNGISD Business Manager Sheri Drawhorn said the total cost of the raise is $2.5 million. TEA’s portion of the raise is about $1.86 million and the district’s portion is around $638,209.

The district is currently working on its 2019-2020 fiscal budget. Preliminary figures show the total revenue is about $50 million and, with the estimated 7.5% raises, the proposed expenditures are $48.3 million.