TAYLOR ISD
The Taylor Independent School District is offering a sign-on bonus of up to $10,000 to fill 12 open teacher slots at Taylor Middle School.
The incentive only applies to the middle school, Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Patschke told trustees at a May 19 school board meeting.
“In order to be extremely proactive and ambitious, we would like to offer a signing bonus of $5,000 to teachers with zero to two years’ experience and $10,000 for teachers with more than three years’ experience,” she said.
Trustees unanimously approved the proposal with no additional questions or comments.
This is a substantial increase from March’s school board meeting, where the proposed incentives ranged from $1,500$2,000.
Funding would come primarily from the district’s general budget with additional money provided by federal sources.
Taylor ISD elementary schools have already filled every job opening and Taylor High School only has unfilled two slots.
Teachers applying to the other schools can receive a sign-on bonus of up to $1,500 based on experience, officials said.
A small pool of applicants this academic year made it difficult to find educators for the middle school, especially a Spanish teacher, Patschke said.
“We’re hoping to recruit the best teachers to come to Taylor,” she added.
Officials said the increased bonus could prompt veteran educators to give the middle school a second look.
Any district employee — not just teachers — who refers a successful candidate are eligible for an extra $1,000 compensation, said Superintendent Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen.
“We want current staff to know we value them and to increase their ability to earn so we’ve also increased our referral bonus,” she added.
More details regarding the stipend program and open positions can be viewed at taylorisd.org/employment.
Applications are open through Aug. 31.
The base pay for a Taylor ISD educator with three year’s experience is $53,385.
The district also offers stipends to coaches, arts educators, graduates who return to teach, secondary science and mathematics educators and career-technical instructors, among others, officials said.
