After bonuses, Willis ISD starts year on hiring boom
The Willis Independent School District started the year on a hiring boom.
The district, which has more than 500 teachers among 11,000 employees, filled nearly 70 positions since December — 27 of which were teaching roles.
While there are still a few positions vacant at Willis High School, Superintendent Tim Harkrider cites the district’s work culture as a reason he has been successful in retaining staff.
In December, professional staff received a $1,500 bonus, while hourly staff were given a $1,000 bonus.
Harkrider said previously the district has tried to be creative the last few years, continuing to be competitive with salaries in order to support staff financially. Staff are also expected to receive a bonus in September between $1,500 to $2,500. The bonuses are being paid through federal funds and are one-time grants to be spent in December 2023.
When headlines started to appear about a national teacher shortage, Harkrider said the district wasn’t affected significantly, noting nine vacancies at the high school in the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, and other vacancies scattered across the district.
“(We’re) Definitely blessed that the number wasn’t too high, where we can still run our operations,” he said. “But...our goal next year is we want to be fully staffed by the time we start the first day of school. And I think that process honestly starts right now, with retaining the folks on your staff that you would like to keep and...recruiting early.”
The district will be holding a career fair in April. Harkrider said he hopes to fill as many positions as possible before the end of the school year.
He said that some retired teachers have reached out to the district in hopes of returning back to work.
However, that would be a costly decision due to legislation that was passed in 2021, he said. The bill would require the district to pay for the pension and health care surcharges from the Texas Retirement System of Texas. The agency that manages the benefits of retirees originally held those wanting to return back to work responsible to pay the surcharges.
“Up until then it was up to the district to work it out with the retiree,” said Tim Lee, executive director for the Texas Retired Teachers Association, noting that districts would negotiate assisting the retirees with some of the costs. “And so because of the change in the law, the school districts started saying, ‘hey look, it cost me double or more to re-employ a retiree than it would if I were to go out and find somebody else.’ ”
Lee said the surcharges have become a big story in Texas due to the teacher shortages all over the state.
“I will confess, many teachers after they retire are not interested in going back,” Lee said. “So these superintendents are working really hard to try and find qualified folks to fill these slots. And if they find one of these retirees, it’s been a job to get them to say, ‘yes, I’ll do it.’ ”
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of retirees across the state that have been interested in returning back to work, Lee said.
Harkrider said that the district has been in contact with local legislators to look into the matter.