A Pay Increase Is Being Given To Longview ISD Hourly Employees

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Beginning this fall, Longview ISD hourly employees are going to see more money on their paychecks. This announcement comes during a time when most people could use a bump in their paycheck to help pay for necessities and living expenses.

Monday, the Longview ISD Board of Trustees was in favor of setting a new minimum wage for the district's hourly employees to $15 an hour.

Longview ISD Superintendent Dr. James Wilcox said the district had already planned to bump the minimum wage for hourly employees because of the rate of inflation. Hourly employees will begin receiving the new pay rate in September when it jumps to $15 per hour. For those employees already receiving that rate, they will receive an additional rate increase per hour. Dr. Wilcox says this adjustment will cost the district about $650,000 and come from the district's general budget. He says,

We recognize the rise in costs has impacted us all, especially those staffers who are hourly, and this is one way in which we recognize the financial impact the current economic climate is having on our hourly staff. Every single person who works for Longview ISD is vital to the educational success of the students in our care."

A school district is more than teachers, administrators, and the board.

A school needs the following positions filled in order to run and operate effectively: janitors, office staff, maintenance teams, cafeteria staff, groundskeepers, bus drivers and monitors, nurses, substitute teachers, and other varied positions.  Without them, a district would not be able to function.

Prior to this announcement, the board approved salary increases on May 9th for district teachers and salary staff and approved a signing bonus of $1550 to returning employees on the teacher scale.

In the Longview ISD's announcement, Dr. Hockenberry, Assistant Superintendent of District Services, said, prior to the measure, the district's pay scale was "already among the highest in our region, and this new compensation structure ensures that Longview ISD remains a 'destination district' for the best of the best in East Texas."