The Willis ISD board of trustees approved a one-time retention payment of $1,000 to each employee at the Nov. 12 meeting.

What to know

WISD Chief Financial Officer Garrett Matej said the funds will be from the district's general fund and will have a total cost of approximately $1.35 million. The payment will be made Dec. 15, officials said.

Matej said the district anticipates recouping the funds from the state in early spring.

All district employees and school resource officers hired on or before Nov. 1 will be eligible, Matej said.


Digging deeper

Following the approval, a budget amendment was approved for a total of $99.8 million. The 2025-26 budget was for $97.18 million, as previously reported by Community Impact, but it was updated to $99.8 million to account for the additional $1.35 million in retention payments, as well as additional security costs.

Matej said several positions were also added in the fall due to student enrollment growth.