Carroll ISD employees will now see attendance incentives and blackout days in the 2026-27 school year after the board of trustees approved the proposals at the April 20 board meeting.
The overview
Blackout days are certain days in the school year when teachers will receive a dock in their day rate when requesting those days off, Executive Director of Human Resources Melanie Kibodeaux said.
Those days include the last workday before a school holiday, the first workday after a school holiday, staff development or early release days, and testing days, which include state assessments and end-of-class or semester exams, according to district documents.
Teachers will not receive a cut in the day rate for family-related events, including funerals, weddings, births, medical emergencies and major family milestones, such as moving a child into college housing, Kibodeaux said.
“We want our teachers to be in the classroom, and that's really what it's about,” Superintendent Jeremy Glenn said.
More details
The district will also reward teachers $110 for any unused local leave days, which are five days that the district provides for time off.
If an absence is necessary, then local days would be used first, followed by the five time-off days provided by the state, Kibodeaux said.
The district will make payments for those days in September based on the staff members returning to the district, she said.
The district is also offering a retirement incentive for staff to receive 50% of their current daily rate for up to 50 unused state days, Kibodeaux said. The state provides five time-off days annually, which can be stacked if a teacher decides not to use them, according to the Texas Education Code.
To qualify for this incentive, an employee will have to spend their final five years with CISD and maintain at least a 98% attendance rate during their last three years, which would come out to no more than three absences per year, Kibodeaux said.
Glenn estimates that the payout could be $10,000 for an average retiring teacher who maximizes the benefit.
“If [employees] meet the retirement incentives outlined by Kibodeaux, then we’d love to give them a big reward at the end of their career with Carroll ISD,” Glenn said.
The retirement incentive will go into effect in June 2028, Kibodeaux said.
