Board approves teacher attendance-incentive pilot funded from substitute-cost savings

The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Board of Trustees approved a pilot program Tuesday that uses a portion of projected substitute-teacher cost savings to fund monthly attendance incentives and an end-of-year prize drawing for eligible teachers.

District staff presented historical substitute expenditures from the 2024–25 school year — roughly $2.8 million — and proposed a 90/10 split of estimated monthly savings: 90% of the money not spent on substitutes that month would be paid as a direct monthly incentive to eligible teachers and 10% would accumulate in a year-end pool. Eligibility requires a teacher to hold a position that requires a substitute and to have perfect attendance for at least one month in the fall semester (October–December) and at least one month in the spring semester (January–May) to qualify for the end‑of‑year drawing.

Using 2024–25 figures and a conservative 20% reduction in substitute usage as a modeling scenario, staff projected modest monthly payouts to eligible teachers and an end-of-year pool that could be split among winners drawn from the eligible pool. The board approved the pilot proposal as presented; staff said exact monthly payouts will vary with actual monthly substitute expenditures and that payroll and withholding considerations (including TRS and tax withholdings) will apply.

Trustees asked about timing and payroll logistics; staff said eligible monthly payouts would be processed in the next paycheck after eligibility is confirmed and that the district would work with payroll to account for statutory withholdings. The district plans to run the pilot from Oct. 1 through the end of the 2025–26 school year and evaluate results for future adjustments.

The motion to adopt the pilot passed unanimously. Staff will monitor substitute usage and return an evaluation of the program’s fiscal impact after the pilot year.