What you need to know
According to district officials, the school district is unable to provide raises for all teachers or administration for the 2023-24 school year but will be providing one-time retention stipends for teachers and administrators. The district is also giving a stipend to school resource officers while raising the pay grade for certain support staff.
- Teachers, professional employees and school resource officers will receive a $2,500 stipend Aug. 18.
- The same employees will get an additional $1,500 stipend in December.
- Hourly and nonexempt employees will get a $1,500 stipend in August and $1,000 in December.
- Custodians will get a $1 pay raise for the 2023-24 school year.
- Child nutrition employees will receive a $1.32 raise for the 2023-24 school year.
- Bus drivers are the only hourly employees that will not be affected this year.
According to the district, the teacher stipends are being paid through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief dollars, or ESSER funds, that were given to all school districts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees are eligible for the payout if:
- They were hired before Sept. 1.
- They remain employed with the district throughout the 2023-24 school year.
"Teachers and staff, we are doing our best to get you as much as we can," interim Superintendent Tom Crowe said. "[The raises] also affect over 397 employees, and I think that is significant in some of the areas where we have the hardest areas of hiring."
Also on the agenda
The Willis ISD board of trustees also approved a raise in school lunch prices for the 2023-24 school year during the Aug. 9 meeting.
- Adult breakfast will increase by 25 cents to $3.25.
- Adult lunch will stay the same at $4.25.
- Elementary lunch will increase by 10 cents to $2.85.
- Secondary lunch will increase from $3.25 to $3.35.
