Sweetwater ISD to Incentivize Educators for Next School Year

SWEETWATER, TX -- Sweetwater ISD is offering several incentives to attract teachers to their district.

According to SISD, they have been working to retain their staff and improve the quality of learning.

"In Sweetwater we have a hard time retaining teachers. They come for the first two or three years, and they go off somewhere else," said Sweetwater ISD Superintendent Dr. Drew Howard.

The school board is expected to approve an increase for starting pay from $38,000 to $42,000 per year.

The district will also be offering free child care for all district employees, which is a vital perk for many teachers.

"This has allowed us to not have the cost of child care anymore and be able to put that towards a mortgage and buy a home," said teacher Andrea Higgins.

In addition to the salary increase, teachers and full-time staff will receive a $1,000 bonus and part-time staff will receive a $500 bonus.

Toddlers between the ages of three and four who previously did not qualify for free Pre-K will now be allowed to register.

In order to gauge student improvement, the district will be testing students every month.