During its Jan. 12 meeting, the Board approved a retention incentive payment for special education teachers, itinerant-related staff, and special education instructional assistants in order to address critical shortages and remain competitive in the market for retention of high-quality staff. These lump-sum payments, outlined below, come in addition to the December-approved incentive payments distributed to all district staff.
- Full-time special education teachers/itinerant related staff will receive $2,000
- Part-time special education teachers/itinerant related staff will receive $1,000
- Full-time special education IAs will receive $750
- Part-time special education IAs will receive $375
These incentive payments will be paid out by the Feb. 24 payroll distribution.
Note: The incentive amounts approved by the Board – $750 and $375 for full-time IAs and part-time IAs, respectively – are higher than the amount listed in the Board agenda materials after the Board amended these amounts during the meeting.
The incentive package also includes sign-on payments of lesser amounts for newly hired special education employees.
While Thursday’s Board action was intended to address the current 2022–23 school year, work has already begun to make continued enhancements while shaping the 2023–24 budget.
“We know the special education team has been holding up so much, and this is just a piece of how we plan to honor that hard work,” said Board Vice President Gloria Gonzales-Dholakia, Ph.D. “Thank you to our special education team for all you do. And thank you to district administration for providing us as Board members with the information and the options of what we can do within our budget.”
As referenced in the December meeting, the district will continue to monitor the budget through the spring semester, and if at the end of the fiscal year the fund balance is expected to increase, then administration may come back to the Board with a recommendation for an additional one-time lump sum retention payment.
