CONTINUED FROM 1 HELP WANTED With the 2023-24 school year approaching, Leander and Liberty Hill ISDs are experiencing greater shortages of auxiliary sta than neighboring Georgetown ISD. Un lled positions exist in the transportation, custodial and child nutrition departments.
Georgetown ISD 12% positions open Bus drivers
Leander ISD
Liberty Hill ISD
AS OF JULY 19
AS OF JULY 18
AS OF JULY 31
52% positions open Bus drivers 53% positions open Child nutrition services 11% positions open Custodians
60% positions open Bus drivers 34% positions open Child nutrition services 92% positions open Custodians
18% positions open Child nutrition services 7% positions open Custodians
SOURCES: GEORGETOWN, LEANDER & LIBERTY HILL ISDSCOMMUNITY IMPACT
working to ll its ranks in the transportation, cus- todial, food service and maintenance departments heading into the 2023-24 school year. “We continue hiring throughout the year as well, but we never really are fully staed in any of those areas throughout the year,” Gearing said. Spread thin Roughly a month before school started, LISD was in need of 50 bus drivers and 100 child nutrition services sta members, meaning more than 50% of these posi- tions were vacant. In LHISD, only one of the district’s 12 custodial posi- tions were lled. Additionally, 60% of the district’s bus driver positions and 33% of its child nutrition positions were vacant. “All of these support roles, they also impact the classroom,” said Gloria Gonzales-Dholakia, a LISD par- ent and the board of trustees president. “If you can’t get your students to campus on time, that impacts the classroom. If they don’t have enough sta to prepare a healthy meal, that impacts the classroom.” School ocials said they believe a combination of factors has resulted in the stang shortages, pointing to cost-of-living increases, competition from other districts and industries, and a declining workforce. State lawmakers also ended this year’s regular legis- lative session without allocating more dollars to pub- lic schools, making it dicult for districts to keep up with the demands of the job market. LISD bus driver and trainer Terry Williams has been with the district for 12 years. He took on the position because he was looking for a exible work schedule, but he quickly grew to love what he does and began learning Spanish so he could better communicate with bilingual students and their families. “I realized right away I needed to start [learning Spanish], but about 2014 is when it all catapulted. I decided I want to sleep, eat, drink and pray in Span- ish,” Williams said. “Now I’m able to communicate with them in their mother tongue.” Williams said the market for drivers with a commercial driver’s license is competitive. He remembers 10-12 bus drivers quitting last year to go operate dump trucks. “They were paying three times what we pay here,” Williams said. “Families that are in situations where they have nancial demands, they have to nd another resource.” LHISD is struggling to ll bus driver and custodial
positions more than other auxiliary ones. Chief Oper- ations Ocer Mark Willoughby attributes some of these shortages to the COVID-19 pandemic. “People have found new interests or have decided they want to work a certain amount or a certain way,” he said. “I just think it’s a creative challenge for every- body to get people to come back to work and to work eciently and productively in a manner that would replicate what happened before.” Market conditions LHISD Superintendent Steven Snell said districts have also lost sta to larger corporations and busi- nesses, such as Kalahari Resorts & Conventions-Round Rock, Samsung and Tesla. He said despite the district oering a more exible schedule, the higher pay at these large companies makes it hard for the district to compete. “We’re restricted on our pay, and it becomes an arms race,” Snell said. “There’s a lot going on in Aus- tin, and there’s lots of opportunities for everybody. The more opportunities there are in the entire region, the more competitive prices get and the harder it is for schools to ll those positions.” LHISD approved a compensation plan in June that includes a starting hourly pay of $22 for bus drivers and $16.25 for custodians. In the 2022-23 school year, the starting pay for bus drivers was $21.25 and $15 for custodians. The LISD board of trustees approved a 4% wage increase for all employees in April. Gearing said the pay bumps have not eliminated the stang shortages altogether as ination has increased and surrounding districts are providing similar raises. It has, though, allowed LISD to keep pace with the market, he said. Gonzales-Dholakia said the cost of living can have a signicant impact on districts such as LISD because sta can make about the same amount working in an area where homes and rental proper- ties are cheaper. She said while the board left room for pay adjustments when it adopted the scal year 2023-24 budget—87% of which goes to employee wages—it hinges on the Texas Legislature allocat- ing more funding to schools. “I think if our state doesn’t do something signicantly [to address] the pay gaps in public [education], we’re going to see these critical positions have vacancies throughout the entire system,” she said.
WHAT'S THE PAY? Over the last year, district ocials have upped the starting pay for bus drivers, custodians and child nutrition workers in eorts to increase retention and gain interest from candidates. Kelsie Orgil is a member of Liberty Hill ISD’s child nutrition services staff, which had 11 vacant positions prior to school starting. (Courtesy Liberty Hill ISD)
Georgetown ISD Leander ISD Liberty Hill ISD
Bus drivers 2022-23
$20/hr
$20/hr
$21.25/hr
$21/hr
$20-$22/hr
$22/hr
2023-24
Child nutrition services 2022-23 $14/hr
$15/hr
$15/hr
$15/hr
$15.46/hr*
$16.25/hr
2023-24
Custodians 2022-23
$14/hr
$15/hr
$15/hr
$15/hr
$15.46/hr*
$16.25/hr
2023-24
SOURCES: GEORGETOWN, LEANDER & LIBERTY HILL ISDS COMMUNITY IMPACT *$1.50 MORE PER HOUR FOR STAFF IN SOUTHERN PART OF DISTRICT AS INCENTIVE
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