Boerne ISD says vacancies fall from 64 to 7; board hears retention and pay questions
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Summary
District HR reported vacancies fell from 64 to 7, bus driver vacancies are now zero and SLP vacancies dropped from eight to one; trustees asked for cost-benefit analysis of recent pay increases and next steps for retention and the teacher incentive allotment.
Rhodes Prewen, presenting on strategic goal two (talent), told trustees Boerne ISD has substantially reduced open positions since last year: "We've gone from a total of 64 vacancies... to 7 this year," citing targeted recruitment partnerships, hiring events and pre-hire agreements.
Prewen highlighted specific staffing improvements: bus driver vacancies fell to zero, speech-language pathologist (SLP) vacancies declined from eight to one, and teaching-assistant vacancies fell from 21 to five. She described district efforts including a paid teacher residency in partnership with Texas A&M, alternative-certification pathways, a CTE teacher pipeline and an Aspiring Leaders Academy for staff interested in leadership development.
Board members asked about the financial trade-offs of recent hourly pay raises and the district's reduced reliance on contracted services. One trustee requested an analysis showing the incremental cost of pay increases versus savings from reduced contracted services; another suggested studying childcare or other benefits to support nonteaching staff. Prewen said the district will gather the requested cost and trend data and noted continuing work on teacher-incentive allotment planning, including stakeholder engagement this fall.
Trustees praised the recruitment progress and urged continued focus on retention and compensation strategies to reduce turnover-related costs.
Next steps: district staff will prepare requested analyses on incremental pay costs versus contracted-service savings and continue stakeholder engagement on the teacher incentive allotment.