Lufkin ISD considers raise for custodial staff

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - Lufkin ISD Superintendent Lynn Torres said the school board discussed a one dollar an hour raise for custodial staff on Tuesday. Torres said the role is of increased importance due to the pandemic. She said it may not seem like much, but she hopes it will make a difference.

“We were running with 17 vacancies. We’re now down to 12 but it is still a concern because what you’re doing now is you’re overworking your custodians who are coming to work everyday. You’re making them do so in order to clean our buildings and sanitize and do everything that we need to do … you’re making them work long hours, so it’s burning them out,” Torres said.

The raise will be in addition to the retention bonus offered to employees who are working with Lufkin ISD now and will end the year with them. Eligible employees also must return for the 2022-2023 school year. Torres said the bonus of $1,500 will be broken up into three payments.

“One of our custodial supervisors sent me a little email saying, ‘Thank you so much.’ You know, we think this will make a difference, and I hope it does. And that we get people to work and we can give the people that have been working with us a little bit of a rest,” Torres said.

The consideration still needs to be approved by the school board at Thursday’s school board meeting.

“One of the advantages of having our Tuesday meeting is that they get to go through all of that, and so, you kind of know their feelings or if they have questions or if they have concerns. So, I don’t think it will be an issue tonight. It’ll pass,” Torres said.

If you are interested in applying for a janitorial position at Lufkin ISD you can apply on the school district’s website under employment.

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