To address ongoing staffing issues, the Granbury Independent School District recently approved a $5 per hour pay raise for homebound teachers.
During the GISD board of trustees meeting Aug. 19, the board unanimously approved the consent agenda item, which will raise the current hourly rate of homebound teachers from $25 to $30.
According to a memo submitted by the special programs department, part-time certified homebound teachers provide services for students with medical needs that limit their ability to attend school. The goal of homebound instruction is to help students stay on track academically so they can avoid losing educational time or academic credit.
The district occasionally recruits its own full-time teachers to provide these services after school and on weekends, the memo states. However, GISD has been unable to recruit enough teachers for these positions lately, due to the current low hourly rate of $25 an hour.
“For reference, a first-year teacher with no experience makes $38 an hour,” Director of Special Programs Shelly Curtsinger wrote in the memo. “In order to maintain adequate staffing levels, we are requesting a raise to $30 an hour this year. In conversations with prospective teachers, this increase, while modest, would make a difference for those willing to work these positions.”