SAN ANTONIO — A local school district is offering a cash incentive to get new workers in the classroom.
South San Antonio ISD is hosting a hiring fair this week where it will be offering new employees a $3,000 recruiting payment.
The district is trying to get creative as organizations are noticing many teachers leave the education industry.
“We’re seeing issues with not just now finding teachers, but not finding other school employees, and we need everybody in order to have a successful career for our students,” Ovidia Molina, president of the Texas State Teachers Association tells KENS 5.
She says districts offering signing bonuses are not a surprise.
“Districts are having to figure out what to do because our educators have not felt the support from the state in a very long time,” Molina added.
South San Antonio ISD tells KENS 5 it's dealing with shortages that many districts across the state are facing.
Many local districts remain comparable in pay.
A teacher with zero years of experience would make $54,500 per year at South San ISD. We found it falls in the middle of the range between other San Antonio-area school districts.
On top of the $3,000 payment, stipends could be offered ranging from $500 to $6,000 depending on teacher qualifications.
Other districts have similar incentives as well. For example, Edgewood ISD is offering a $1,500 sign-on bonus along with a $3,000 stipend for bilingual certified teachers.
North East ISD says it presently offers a one-time $1,000 sign-on bonus and a $1,000 relocation stipend (greater than 150 miles) for bilingual teachers.
Molina feels local school districts are making up for what the state hasn’t done.
“We’ve only gone up around $600 or $700 from when we got a pay raise in 2019 because of HB3, we have not fully invested in our educators as a state and now we’re seeing the ramifications,” Molina said.
The district tells KENS 5 the $3,000 would apply to new and existing full-time employees, including teachers, bus drivers, custodians, and others.
The payment is offered until December 31, 2021, the district says.
Existing employees could see the payment in October, according to the South San ISD Human Resources department.
South San ISD’s job fair will be held on Thursday, October 7 from 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm at the South San Athletic Center located at 2737 Bobcat Lane.
Additional information can be found on the school district's website.
