To fill expected openings next fall and replace teachers who leave, the district will need an estimated 1,600 new teachers. Faced with a dwindling pool of applicants, Mincberg said the district has little choice but to get more competitive. And this is the year we are starting. HISD is not the only district scrambling for new teachers. And districts like Spring Branch are adopting new salary schedules to use as a lure.
Stipends can come and go, but once salaries are on the schedules, there really is no going back.
So that really is our biggest selling tool. But Spring Branch is likely to find stiff competition, particularly in starting pay, when other area districts adopt their schedules. Although Aldine will pay new teachers slightly less than Spring Branch next year, the north Harris County district is offering other incentives. Blanson said Aldine hired about 700 teachers this year and started school with fewer than 50 vacancies. But he said the district is projecting about 2,000 more students next year.