Del Valle ISD aims to fill vacant positions quickly, looking to hire 90 teachers
DEL VALLE, Texas (KXAN) — As the school year ends, many Central Texas districts are looking to fill vacant positions for the upcoming year.
In Del Valle Independent School District, officials tell KXAN they hope to fill 90 teaching positions.
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“Math and science has always been a huge need and now English, language arts, secondary teachers is a big need,” Del Valle ISD Superintendent Annette Tielle said.
Finding teachers to fill open positions can be a competitive process with teacher salaries and compensation, as well as cost of living factoring in.
“We currently have our starting salary for first-year teachers as the highest in the region with a starting salary of $58,000,” Tielle said. “Last year, we also offered a professional development stipend of $1,000 bringing that to $59,000.”
Tielle said they are looking to increase starting pay even more next year.
“We are currently negotiating our budget and working very hard with our CFO and we will soon be releasing what the starting salary will be for teachers in our district this year, but it will be higher than that.”
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Karla Villarreal stopped by Del Valle ISD for the most recent job fair.
“I like the community that Del Valle has,” Villarreal said.
She hopes to become a teacher and Del Valle ISD is one of the districts she is looking into.
“I was looking at some benefits,” said Villarreal. “It’s the apartments, the school, the student-to-teacher ratio, it is not only competitive in terms of pay, but also the benefits they give.”
Two years ago, Fallyn Sheff took a job with Del Valle ISD as a teacher after attending a job fair in the district.
“I chose Del Valle ISD, one for the location,” Sheff said. “I recently bought a house in the area. I wanted to cut down on my commute and the location of the school was excellent.”
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Over the years, some educators have left places like Austin ISD where high home prices and rent hit harder. Some smaller districts have benefited from this.
Sheff said location is important, but so is teacher salary and compensation.
“I think pay and compensation is one of the biggest factors in deciding which district to go to,” said Sheff.
Villarreal said she will keep a close eye on salaries while applying for jobs.
“I definitely do think the pay here is competitive with other districts,” Villarreal said.
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