Arlington ISD trustees are turning to two state programs to bring experienced teachers to the most struggling schools and to improve students’ math skills.
Trustees voted 6-1 Thursday to seek the state’s pay-for-performance program that could bump pay for teachers raises certain campuses in 2028. However, they were more divided on adopting the math portion of the state’s Bluebonnet Learning materials, which they did in a 4-3 vote following almost three hours of discussion.
Arlington school leaders have mulled the Teacher Incentive Allotment program for over a year, discussing the pros and cons in October 2024 and October 2025. The trustees approved sending an application March 12, though some of the details of that application will be ironed out in April.
Typically, teachers in the incentive program can earn more money if their students show high academic growth and they score well on teacher observations. If Arlington’s application is approved, the district will join Fort Worth, Crowley, Hurst-Euless-Bedford and other Tarrant County school districts in participating in the program.
The Texas program was established in 2019 with the hope that it could identify the most talented teachers and bring them to high-need schools by rewarding improved academics.
The pay raises are given to teachers based on a state designation assigned under the program, which generally is based on how well their students do on state tests and classroom observation conducted by administrators.
Dolloress Johnson, Arlington’s executive director of human resources, told trustees that the max payout in the district could reach $28,000, on top of their salary.
The proposal shown to trustees identified 24 campuses where teachers could be elected by the district for the state designations.
Johnson said 15 of those schools currently have plans to improve student academic performance and that 50% of teachers at those campuses could be eligible to receive a designation.
Some trustees and teachers have raised concerns about the incentive’s effect on the culture of the district and the funding of the program’s stability.
In 2025, trustee Sarah McMurrough said she was worried about the attainability of certain metrics the program uses and the negative effects it could have on teachers.
Trustees specifically pointed to the use of STAAR and other testing data to determine designations as a factor teachers could come to resent.
McMurrough was the sole vote against submitting an application.
During the meeting, she said she and other trustees never wanted to leave money for teachers “on the table.” However, she worries the use of data measures that aren’t in teachers’ control could have adverse effects.
“As a trustee, my concern is still the implications that this may have on culture,” McMurrough said.
Bluebonnet math
The Bluebonnet Learning was approved by the State Board of Education in 2024 and became available to school districts in this school year.
Bluebonnet’s reading materials received pushback because they included Bible-infused teachings. The math portion does not include religious text or imagery.
AISD’s Chief Academic Officer Steven Wurtz told the board that the structured materials included with the lessons allowed teachers to focus on understanding what they are teaching to students.
Wurtz said the district adopted a similarly structured style of lessons for reading and literacy classes in the past.
“Our results in primary grades this year have moved in ways we haven’t seen in prior years, specifically in some of the skill sets we were looking for,” Wurtz said, attributing those gains in part to the structured lessons.
Tiffany LeGrand, the K-12 mathematics coordinator for the district, said the structure and resources in Bluebonnet will provide teachers with a clear understanding of how the material should be taught in order for students to understand mathematical concepts.
“Bluebonnet math benefits teachers because it doesn’t just outline what students should learn,” LeGrand said. “It describes and grounds teachers in what strong mathematic instruction looks like in practice.”
Trustees opposing Bluebonnet’s adoption had many concerns, notably the rigidity of the instruction and the lack of data on whether the program truly teaches students what they need.
Trustees Larry Mike, Melody Fowler and McMurrough voted against bringing the curriculum to Arlington ISD.
Fowler said she worries that the state already had to correct Bluebonnet Learning materials within its first year of use. In February, the state board added over 4,000 corrections to fix copyright issues and typos.
Before Thursday’s vote, Fowler said Bluebonnet had not been in use for long enough.
“I don’t think there’s enough research,” Fowler said. “I need to see more data that it’s as good as people think that it might be.”
McMurrough said she’s heard from teachers and leaders in districts using Bluebonnet math who felt the system was too rigid.
“This is all hearsay, but this matters to me because it matters that we listen to the educators that are closest to the children and that is the teachers,” McMurrough said.
Board president Justin Chapa, who supported Bluebonnet’s adoption, said the vote called into question the role of trustees.
He said board members are taught that there are two types of decisions in a school district — governance decisions made by trustees and curricular decisions, which are handled by Superintendent Matt Smith’s staff.
Chapa said his decision was rooted in the fact that the experts, Smith’s staff, researched the topic and came forward with the recommendation.
“If this passes, we will be monitoring this implementation,” Chapa said before the vote.
Trustee David Wilbanks agreed, adding that he wished the board had more data on Bluebonnet’s effectiveness. However, the structured materials help free up educators from writing their own instruction plans.
“For that reason alone, I’ve gone from slightly negative on this to giving you guys the benefit of the doubt,” Wilbanks told AISD administrators. “I’m concerned enough to know that we, as a board, need to have you on a short leash to make sure that this is going to move the needle.”
Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org.
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