EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Socorro Independent School District’s (SISD) Board of Trustees will be discussing a proposal to offer a $2,500 incentive payment to 100 teachers who will voluntarily leave their positions at the end of the school year.
The measure will be discussed at a special board meeting starting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 6 at the district’s headquarters at 12440 Rojas Dr, El Paso, TX 79928.
If passed, this would grant teachers the option to submit a Notice of Voluntary Separation to SISD, effective at the end of the 2024-25 contract year. The payments would be distributed to the first 100 teachers to submit the notice.
This comes on the heels of the district approving a measure to lay off approximately 300 teachers and staff at the end of the school year, to address a projected $38 million budget shortfall that threatens to bankrupt the district.
Socorro ISD board approves hundreds of layoffs to deal with budget shortfall
Andrew Kim, one of two state-appointed conservators to oversee the district in the midst of their financial crisis, said two weeks ago after a board meeting that the layoffs are estimated to save SISD $30 million.
That would leave an $8 million shortfall that would still need addressing.
Socorro ISD layoffs shock teachers, students
Veronica Hernandez, union president of the Socorro American Federation of Teachers, said that if passed the measure would be a welcome relief for teachers, but that it wouldn’t do much to improve their situation.
“The morale, it’s just really low right now, extremely low. So yeah, this is a little bit of help, but I mean, that’s nothing for 100 people. What about the other 200-300 that (SISD) is going to let go? By the time unemployment kicks in, you’re already going to be late on several bills,” Hernandez said.
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