All full-time New Caney ISD employees returning in the 2026-27 school year can expect a $750 bonus on their May 5 paycheck after the district’s board of trustees unanimously approved retention stipends April 20.
How it happened
NCISD employees will receive a $750 retention stipend, should they choose to continue to work at the district for the 2026-27 school year, said Christie Gates, executive director of human resources for NCISD, during trustees’ April 20 regular meeting. The stipends are expected to cost NCISD $2.1 million total, said Scott Powers, NCISD's executive director of public relations, via email April 21.
All full-time district employees—from teachers and auxiliary employees to administrators—qualify for the stipend, Gates said.
"When there are finances available, I know that our superintendent, [Matt] Calvert, and ... [the] board have always been very supportive of trying to give that back directly to our employees, if we can," Gates said.
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To qualify for the one-time retention stipend, employees must be in "good standing" and have received contract letters or "reasonable assurance" they will return to work for NCISD, Gates said. The 2026-27 school year begins on Aug. 6 for students and in late July for employees, according to NCISD's online calendar.
"There are criteria that the employees must meet because our goal is we want them to come back next year to complete their contracts and their work calendars," Gates said.
Employees who are paid a retention stipend but resign before completing their contract for the 2026-27 school year will be required to pay the stipend back to NCISD, Powers said.
Looking back
On April 21, 2025, NCISD’s board of trustees unanimously approved retention incentives of $1,000 per full-time returning employee, as previously reported by Community Impact. The stipends were funded by $4.3 million in state aid awarded to the district for the 2023-24 fiscal year to offset revenue lost due to a statewide increase in homestead exemption requirements.
