PFLUGERVILLE, Texas — Pflugerville ISD has approved a minimum $15 per hour entry wage for some workers and a one-time $500 bonus for staff, according to a report from KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman.
The district's board took the measures last Thursday in response to a significant number of vacancies in the past year. According to the Statesman, the board plans to have a workshop meeting in January to address the scale of the problem.
All PfISD employees who have been active and in good standing on Feb. 1, 2022, will receive the $500 bonus. According to the Statesman, the stipend will cost the district $2 million.
The entry-level raises are for understaffed and critical hourly positions such as custodians, registrars, security officers and special education assistants. Those raises will cost the district $1 million.
The Statesman reports that William Watson, PfISD's chief human resources officer, said the district typically reviews compensation in March or April, but the staffing shortage has become urgent. Watson said the district's vacancy list is high and the average time of the vacancies in an average position is "hovering close to 90 days, which is quite a long time."
In addition to an increased staffing shortage, the Statesman reports that PfISD is also seeing a decrease in student attendance, which could impact future funding from the State and tax rates overall.
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