Hutto ISD employees who recruit new teachers can earn up to $500 per successful referral in the 2024-25 school year, with new hires who graduated from HISD also eligible for the same as a hiring bonus, after the district's board of trustees approved an incentive plan for the upcoming school year.

What you need to know

Also included in the plan are state-funded incentives for teachers designated by the Texas Education Agency as recognized, exemplary and master teachers. Earlier in the February, HISD Superintendent Raúl Peña shared that the district would bring back an amount for a general staff incentive later on in the budget process. Trustees approved the plan Feb. 8.

About the program

Per the district's incentive plan, new employees eligible for the Welcome Home bonus will:
  • Be graduates of Hutto High School
  • Be employed after March 1, 2024, and before Aug. 31, 2024
  • Not be employed by the district on or after Aug. 1, 2022
For an existing teacher to receive a referral bonus, new hires must:
  • Fill a full-time in-classroom position
  • Not be a rehired Teacher Retirement System-eligible retiree
  • Be employed after March 1, 2024, and before Aug. 31, 2024
  • Not be employed by the district on or after Aug. 1, 2022
  • Remain employed through December 2024
Referred employees cannot be a member of the district's human resources department, and each existing employee cannot receive a bonus for more than three successful referrals, per a presentation from the district.


Teacher apprentices referred by existing employees can also be eligible for a referral bonus under the following conditions:
  • Fill a full-time in-classroom position
  • Not be a rehired Teacher Retirement System-eligible retiree
  • Be employed after March 1, 2024, and before Aug. 31, 2024
  • Not be employed by the district on or after Aug. 1, 2022
  • Remain employed through December 2024
  • Confirm the source of their referral at the time they are hired
District documents show incentives will also be offered for hard-to-fill positions in special education and Spanish-speaking educators. More details about the incentive plan are available here.