Figure 1. Districts are using compensation in new ways.
struggle to respond to discrete challenges with universal solutions. As districts work on staffing for the coming school year, they have an opportunity to be creative about how they attract and retain talent.
As districts work on staffing for the coming school year, they have an opportunity to be creative about how they attract and retain talent.
The exact nature of the challenges varies by com- munity and by position, and the solutions should vary as well. Teacher turnover is consistently higher in some schools, such as those serving a large percentage of high- needs students. Certain subjects—especially special edu- cation, math, science, foreign language, and English as a second language—suffer from more severe and persistent labor shortages than others. Other districts may be strug- gling to fill positions for nurses, counselors or aides, food service workers, or custodians. Given the differing market realities, it would make sense to recruit and compensate employees accordingly. Yet school districts historically have been less than eager
12 APRIL 2022 | SCHOOL BUSINESS AFFAIRS
to use targeted compensation as a tool to attract and retain workers. Most districts use salary schedules that treat all teachers interchangeably, offer the same pay regardless of special expertise, and ignore the differences in labor markets for various types of skills. The pandemic has prompted many districts to adopt new approaches to address their staffing needs (see Figure 1). For example, Guilford County Schools in North Carolina offered up to $30,000 extra to newly hired teachers who can show at least three years of highly effective performance and who agree to work for two years in one of the district’s 25 lowest-performing schools. This incentive aimed to bring new employees to the district and tied the amount they received to their incoming performance record. Dallas Independent School District in Texas offered bilingual teachers a signing incentive of $4,000. DeSoto Independent School District, also in Texas, offered sev- eral signing bonuses, including $4,000 for bilingual edu- cation and $5,000 for high-need areas, including science, special ed, and career and technical education. Such sign- ing bonuses attract to specific areas qualified workers who might otherwise be inclined to work elsewhere. Districts also created new, targeted retention bonuses to keep their existing workers. For instance, Detroit Public Schools in Michigan offered a recurring bonus of $15,000 for certified teachers to instruct students with special needs. Austin Independent School District in Texas offered a $2,500 stipend for bilingual support positions and $6,000 for bilingual teachers. None of these districts completely abandoned their current salary schedules. Instead, they added new,
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