Board hears about tracking buses, teacher pay initiative
HUTTO – Students can get free school supplies at the Hutto Independent School District’s Back to School Rally this week, officials said during a recent board meeting.
The rally is 6 p.m. Thursday, July 30 at Hutto Memorial Stadium, 573 Chris Kelley Blvd. Parents are encouraged to attend. Representatives will be available to answer enrollment questions and local businesses will hand out supplies.
In other business during the July 23 meeting, trustees learned parents will be able to track their child’s school bus in real time when classes start next month, thanks to changes made by the district’s Transportation Department.
In addition, Hutto is considering awarding teachers’ compensation based on how well students do in the classroom and not tenure.
Tracking kids on the bus Transportation director Dana Rosen briefed Hutto ISD trustees on several changes during the July 23 meeting including enabling guardians to monitor school bus movements.
“A lot of people think we get a break during the summer. Well, if you’ve been out in the transportation areas, you know that we’re still working fast and furious,” Rosen said.
Rosen told the trustees the district will return to the previously used Tyler Drive tablets and card readers, which work with the student radiofrequency identification bus passes for an integrated system.
She said the change will provide updates to student stops and route changes.
“This will make everyone a lot safer and reduce errors of routes not being updated,” Rosen said.
Parents will be able to download the MyRide K-12 app at hipponation.org/transportation, an encrypted system offering real-time tracking and notifications when the bus is near a stop.
It will also enable parents to send and receive messages from the district about delays.
Officials said the system increases efficiency for drivers by providing turn-by-turn directions that improve timing and consistency. It will help drivers avoid delays and eliminate paper notes for changes.
Rosen said the RFID cards will give an instant visual and audible warning if a student boards the wrong bus. The cards will also log the time and location of a student boarding and exiting.
The district also made some route changes designed around student safety, including moving bus stops away from intersections, identifying safer stops on neighborhood streets and consolidating stops at centrally located sites.
Parents are requested to fill out the transportation form soon if their student is eligible for bus service.
For more, call 512759-2105.
Pay for performance proceeds
Hutto is moving to tie teacher pay to higher student performance.
Under traditional practices, teaching salaries have been based on years of service, not results, according to Clark Lowery, chief of schools. He said some of the strongest teachers are paid less than weaker ones who have more years of service.
The new direction would make teacher compensation relate directly to student growth. Data from Texas Tech University shows that performance pay moves student achievement, officials said.
Hutto’s board had already shifted to retaining high-performing teachers, rather than all educators, and this change could further the emphasis on greater educational outcomes, trustees said.
Longtime school board member Billie Logiudice said she supports the initiative because investing strategically in teachers helps students achieve success.
“Hutto ISD has historically been a leader in thinking differently when it creates better opportunities for students and the people that serve them,” Logiudice said. “This strategic compensation plan represents an innovative approach to investing in our teachers by recognizing their expertise, rewarding their impact and strengthening our ability to attract and retain exceptional educators.”
The program, known statewide as the Teacher Incentive Allotment, was created with the goal of giving outstanding teachers a pathway to making a six-figure salary. Lowery said it will not add to the district’s expenses; it redistributes existing salary dollars based on performance.
Under the plan, certified teachers start at a competitive base pay of $62,500. From there, the district would forego acrossthe- board raises. Compensation hikes would be based on a teacher’s performance scorecard that measures student growth as 70% of the score.
Nonperforming teachers could see their pay drop by up to $3,000 per year. Measures will be put in place to cushion the transition.
Full roll-out will occur in the 2027-28 school year after accumulating data from the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school year teacher performances, Lowery said.
“This will make everyone a lot safer and reduce errors of routes not being updated.”
— Dana Rosen, Hutto ISD
