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San Antonio Independent School District trustees are expected to adopt a 2009-10 spending plan today that includes pay raises for the first time in three years, stipends for the hardest-to-find teachers and money for technology upgrades.

The $397.5 million operating budget also includes a small surplus, with the district expecting to take in about $1.5 million more than it plans to spend.

But chief financial officer Steven Bassett cautioned that the good budget news doesn’t mean the district can halt streamlining efforts.

“We have to maintain a sense of urgency,” he said. “Why? We still have an anticipated enrollment decline. We are still going to have to deal with health insurance inflation, and we are still so far behind on teacher compensation.”

The district is projecting a bump in enrollment for the first time in years, putting the student count at 55,674. But, Bassett said the increase is an exception. SAISD will receive additional students under the federal Head Start program, a portion of which the district will begin administering this year.

SAISD has seen a decades-long decline in enrollment, and, as a result, a “right-sizing” effort is under way, with three school closure proposals on the table. The board could vote on a plan by late next month.

The new fiscal year begins Tuesday.

In an effort to improve math and science instruction, areas in which students struggle, the district has budgeted $650,000 to give stipends to educators who teach those subjects. Math and science stipends are a first for SAISD, Trustee Carlos Villarreal said.

“We realize that we lose more people in math and science because there isn’t a carrot to dangle,” he said.

The spending plan includes $293,000 to increase stipends for coaches and fine arts teachers, such as band directors, to remain competitive with local districts. The increases range from $300 for assistant coaches to $3,600 for some fine arts positions. The last time the district adjusted stipends was eight years ago.