Fort Worth ISD hosting job fairs, offering signing bonuses

Fort Worth ISD is also hosting a series of job fairs to fill open positions at the district, and it's offering signing bonuses as an incentive for new hires. The district is also taking its efforts across state lines.

Fort Worth ISD touting a variety of incentives, including signing bonuses. One of them is if you attended Fort Worth schools and come back and work for the district, there's an automatic $500 for that. 

As the district moves toward summer and a new fall semester, Fort Worth ISD is staging monthly job fairs to fill support staff positions with school janitorial and cafeteria staff, campus security, bus drivers and those to help with family engagement. 

Many of the positions were left vacant as workers throughout the district left during the height of the pandemic.

 "I think the challenges around the schools meeting the demand, we were met with parents also trying to decide whether or not their children would attend public school or not," explained Yassmin Lee with Fort Worth ISD. "But what we’re seeing is kids are at school and so our goal is to offer early hiring, hiring on the spot, hiring incentives and try to meet the demand for a large ISD like the Fort Worth ISD."

Justin Shaw has never worked for a school district, but he’s contemplating if any of the positions are a good fit for himself. 

"Not anything in particular. I know growing up one of my friends had a father who was a custodian for Birdville ISD, and he seemed to enjoy that work," he said. "So I may look at something along those lines and see how that works out. But pretty much I have an open mind at the moment."

Like many districts, Fort Worth ISD is also dealing with an ongoing teacher shortage. It is also holding separate hiring events to that end.

"We offer a number of hiring incentives, signing bonuses. Honestly there are just so many opportunities within Fort Worth ISD," Lee said.

The district is also going the extra mile to attract teachers. New billboards are up in Oklahoma and Louisiana encouraging teachers to apply. It’s also touting its beginning teacher salary of $58,000.

The next big hiring fair for Fort Worth ISD included all positions is on April 9.