FBISD has 75 teacher vacancies versus 182 vacancies at this time last year, Chief Human Resources Officer Glenda Johnson said at the Feb. 24 board meeting. To continue addressing those vacancies, the Teacher Recruitment, Retention and Recovery Task Force presented their strategies to reduce turnover and increase engagement among those hired.
Trustees lauded the work of the task force for assessing the needs of teachers and strategizing the recruitment of in-demand positions across the district.
“A year and some months ago, we did not know where we stood as far as teaching, teacher vacancies, retention, recruitment,” trustee Sonya Jones said. “I have to commend [Superintendent Marc Smith] on the effort, the transparency about where we are. We're not in the dark anymore about where we stand.”
In comparison
Nationwide, 74% of public schools have difficulty filling vacancies with certified teachers, Johnson said.
Much like the state of Texas, FBISD has demand for positions in special education, bilingual, career and technical education, and secondary core subjects, Johnson said. In particular, the district has struggled to hire secondary math and science teachers.
Assessing the need
Last fall, the task force administered a survey that found 77% of 3,700 employee respondents would recommend FBISD to a peer. Respondents named compensation, their passion for the work and comfort in their current position as reasons they stay in FBISD, Johnson said.
In evaluating exit surveys, most respondents cited a promotion at another district or a transition to another industry as their reasons for leaving, Johnson said.
“It goes both ways. Some employees are happy about compensation, while others are not,” Johnson said. “Thanks to the board for our [upcoming compensation] study, we look forward to getting that information so we can have data driven information coming back and making additional recommendations about compensation.”
The action taken
Johnson said the task force has tackled recruiting external candidates through the following avenues since its inception:
- College graduates through social media platforms such as Handshake
- Partnering with alternative certification programs that allow hires to teach while completing certification requirements
- Hiring transportation and facilities workers from the U.S. Department of Labor apprenticeship program
- Continuing education for noninstructional staff
- Career and technical education outreach
What trustees are saying
Many trustees relayed feedback from teachers who desired a compensation package with cheaper benefits that didn’t significantly impact their take-home pay. While the voter-approval tax rate election, known as a VATRE, approved a pay raise for district staff in November 2023, trustees said there was also an increase in the benefits costs.
“[Teachers] absolutely want the paycheck, but a lot of times, better benefits and less expensive benefits translate into dollars, as do other some of the intangibles,” board President Kristin Tassin said.
While the Texas Senate Education Committee proposed on Feb. 20 a roughly $5 billion permanent allotment for mandatory teacher pay raises, trustee Rick Garcia said FBISD will still have to compete with other districts to offer benefits that don’t significantly decrease take-home pay.
If the proposed legislation passes the state Senate and House chambers, FBISD teachers with three to four years of experience would get a $2,500 raise, and more experienced teachers would earn a $5,500 raise, Community Impact reported.
“We're looking at ways to recruit. We're also to look at how we stack up against the big guns around the state,” Garcia said. “What the state can giveth, the state can also taketh away.”
Keep in mind
The district will hire for all positions at a job fair April 5 at Dulles High School, Johnson said. Candidates interested in certified special education positions are also invited to the pre-event March 5 at Dulles High School.
For both events, interested candidates can register online until the event date or in-person at the event, according to the district website. On-site interviews and job offers will be granted.
Looking ahead
Meanwhile, the district began survey focus groups Feb. 24 to determine areas of attention for the task force moving forward, including an employee retention plan. The plan will be a comprehensive review of recruitment and career growth to retain employees, Johnson said.
The task force is also awaiting a compensation study from the Texas Association of School Boards, or TASB, to evaluate pay practices, Johnson said.
Community Impact has not received a response from the district on when either the employee retention plan or TASB compensation study will be released as of press time.
