Texas A&M Employees Not Getting Merit Pay Raises To Start The New Academic Year

Screen shot of e-mail sent to Texas A&M employees August 27, 2020.
Captura de pantalla del correo electrónico enviado a los empleados de Texas A&M el 27 de Agosto de 2020.

Texas A&M president Michael Young’s proposed merit pay increase for the 2020-21 academic year was turned down by the A&M system board of regents.

Young presented the proposal during his budget presentation to the regents on August 4. No regents made any comments to the president during or after that presentation.

Click below for comments from Michael Young during the August 4, 2020 board of regents budget presentation:

 

The only comments when the regents approved university and system budgets on August 20 came from finance committee chairman Bob Albritton. He complemented the CEO’s of system universities and agencies for doing “an outstanding job” of developing FY 2021 budgets.

Click below for comments from Bob Albritton during the August 20, 2020 Texas A&M system board of regents meeting:

 

On August 27, A&M employees were sent an e-mail co-signed by Young, provost Carol Fierke, and chief financial officer Jerry Strawser announcing money for merit raises was moved by the regents into reserves.

According to Young’s budget presentation, more than $14 million dollars was going to be spent on a base merit raise pool of 1.25 percent and a one time merit raise pool of 0.75 percent.

Some pay raises began September 1. Those apply to faculty who received promotions, staff who were reclassified, and equity and retention adjustments.

According to the e-mail from Young, Fierke, and Strawser, employees were told merit pay might be revisited after reviewing costs from the pandemic, fall enrollment, and the economic outlook of the upcoming legislative session.

Screen shot from Texas A&M president Michael Young's budget presentation to the A&M system board of regents, August 4 2020.
Screen shot from Texas A&M president Michael Young’s budget presentation to the A&M system board of regents, August 4 2020.