Keller ISD is filling its staff vacancies.
Tracy Johnson, chief human resources officer, told trustees Oct. 23 that the district has filled all classroom teaching and librarian vacancies, a total of 432 positions this year. The current substitute teacher pool remains at 850, with over 200 in the pipeline for processing, she said.
Staffing statistics for the 2023-24 school year at Keller ISD
- Keller ISD graduates: 37
- Employees who previously worked in Keller and returned this school year: 47
- Prior Keller ISD paraprofessional or substitute staff who transitioned into a teaching role: 32
- New employees who attended the district’s job fair in April: 43
- Referred by a current employee: 77
Keller ISD’s turnover rate is 7.8%. The attrition rate in Texas is at a historic high of 13.4%, according to a report from Texas Education Agency.
Only 4% of employees left Keller ISD because of dissatisfaction, Johnson told the board. Other reasons included promotions, finding jobs closer to home and retirement.
Starting pay for a new teacher with a bachelor’s degree in the district is $59,000.
Trustee Chris Coker noted that the district’s turnover rate is substantially lower than the state’s, and Keller ISD also is seeing more staff members who are referred by current employees.
“That tells me we’re doing a good job,” Coker said.
The number of job postings on the district’s website doesn’t match Keller ISD’s actual vacancies, Johnson said. Per state law, the district has to keep the job posting available for a certain number of days.
The district currently has more than 30 teaching positions available on the website.
“Sometimes, those postings don’t always match the vacancies, because we’re always in that recruitment stage,” she said.
Dang Le is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at dang.le@fortworthreport.org or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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