Trustees approved the measure in a 6-0 vote, absent Place 2 Trustee Mary Bone, who was not in attendance of the meeting.
District administrators including RRISD Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez and Chief Human Resources Officer Eddie Curran proposed these stipends and incentives to fill vacancies and retain existing employees. Stipends were approved for special education teachers and special education educational assistants, as well as non-teachers and college students completing their practicum in RRISD. The district also approved a stipend for teachers who have completed the reading academy, a professional learning program mandated under HB 3.
These incentives are in addition to the remaining $500 bonuses previously approved by the board in December. Employees who fall into multiple categories described below would receive each specified amount, Curran said. All employees who fall into these categories and have active employment status with the district on the final day of the fall 2022 semester will qualify for the incentives, allowing the district to use them as a recruiting tool.
"We are heavily recruiting right now for next year," Curran said. "The longer we wait on this type of thing, the more challenging it's going to get."
The total cost of the additional compensation is about $9.17 million, but the district's Chief Financial Officer Dennis Covington clarified that approval of the measure represents an appropriation of some of the district's fund balance, and would not create a deficit for its balanced 2022-23 budget. Trustees requested that additional employees also be considered for the incentives, which Curran said would create upwards of an additional $150,000 in expenditures.
"We really feel that is a very important move that we had to do to take care of our staff and our our teachers," Azaiez said. "We still stand by it."
Some trustees expressed concern about employees who did not fall into the proposed categories. Both Azaiez and Curran stated that this proposal includes areas of focus driven by current difficulties of staffing certain positions, but that the district is currently engaged in a compensation study to address those concerns.
Special education teachers
District administrators proposed a $3,000 stipend for special education teachers, to be split into two $1,500 payments for each semester. This is expected to have a $1.35 million cost to the district.
Special education educational assistants
District administrators proposed a $1,000 stipend for special education teachers, to be split into two $500 payments for each semester. This is expected to have a $442,000 cost to the district.
Teacher longevity
District administrators proposed a differentiated retention incentive based on years of service to the district, ranging from $500 to $3,000. This is expected to have a about a $3.83 million cost to the district.
Reading academy completion
District administrators proposed a $1,000 stipend for all teachers who have completed the reading academy, a professional learning program mandated under HB 3 during the 87th legislative session. This is expected to have about a $1.6 million cost to the district.
Student teachers
District administrators proposed a $1,000 stipend for college students who complete their practicum in RRISD, known as student teachers, with an additional $1,000 paid upon being hired within the district. This is expected to have a $68,000 cost to the district.
Non-teacher longevity
District administrators proposed a differentiated retention incentive based on years of service to the district, ranging from $250 to $1,500. This is expected to have about a $1.9 million cost to the district.
