Stipends for certain positions renewed for FY 2024-25 in Round Rock ISD

Some Round Rock ISD educators will once again receive a one-time stipend in fiscal year 2024-25 for remaining in a position the district deems difficult to fill.

What you need to know

RRISD trustees approved a measure to amend the district's compensation plan for FY 2024-25 to provide stipends for staff members in hard-to-hire positions. These one-time stipends were enacted in FY 2023-24 but were not initially included in the district's proposed compensation plan for the upcoming fiscal year as the district was working to identify efficiencies in its budget.

Per district documents, the stipends are intended to both retain existing staff and draw new staff members to these positions competitively, as many surrounding school districts offer similar stipends.

The details

The stipends were proposed in the following manner and approved via the board's consent agenda:

• Special education teacher: $3,000
• Special education educational assistant: $1,500
• Student teacher sign-on bonus: $1,000
• Student teacher hiring bonus: $1,000
• Secondary mathematics: $1,500 at the middle school level, $3,000 for the high school level
• Secondary Spanish: $1,500 at the middle school level, $3,000 for the high school level
• Visiting teacher international relocation stipend: $3,000

The total cost of providing the stipends is about $2.68 million and has already been factored into budget assumptions and will not require the district to identify additional funds, district documents show.