Hours of work outside of the classroom will be rewarded at Taylor ISD
Taylor Independent School District will give $400 stipends for employees that finished reading academies within the 2021-22 school year. Superintendent Devin Padavil informed the board of trustees of the revision to the district’s retention stipend.
“When escrow funds by the federal government are provided to school districts, you empowered me to make use of those funds for the benefit of our school district,” said Padavil. “We have looked through our escrow funds budget and we do have the funds for those.”
The revised stipend complements $1,000 stipends for returning employees and $400 stipends for new employees set for January 2023.
Approximately 50 employees are likely eligible for the new $400 stipend. Teachers in grade levels kindergarten through third are required to go through the reading academies.
“I am not exaggerating when I say that employees on their own time outside of school have spent upwards of 100 hours to complete what’s required by the state and when those requirements aren’t met, then it makes their staff position harder,” said Padavil. “A $400 stipend is barely enough to say thank you, but we know we can afford it with our federal funds.”
“My daughter just did that with another school district and you’re not exaggerating that with the time commitment,” said board member Anita Volek.
The stipends come after the board approved raises and compensation changes for the 2022-23 school year April 18. Salaries of teachers, nurses, and librarians increases by 4%, which brings the starting teacher salary from approximately $47,600 to $50,000.
“This is still slightly below Hutto, Pflugerville and Round Rock, but gets us closer to stay competitive,” said Padavil. “We also brought minimum starting wage for full time employees to $15 per hour, which is absolutely necessary now that greater Austin is one of the most expensive cities in America.”
A reduction in district expenses and staff roster led to the district being able to give the raises. School administrators were instructed by the school board to improve compensation to better recruit and retain quality employees.
