Big surprise: Palestine kicks off school year with employee bonuses

Aug. 10—Palestine Independent School District made 593 full time employees extremely happy with a surprise bonus Monday at the conclusion of the convocation ceremony kicking off the 2023-2024 school year.

According to Larissa Loveless, PISD Public Information Officer, after learning public schools and current educators would not see any benefit from the bountiful budget surplus at the state level, PISD Board of Trustee and administration began the behind the scenes work of providing a locally funded token of financial appreciation to all full time PISD employees.

"Clerical, teaching, administrative, transportation as well as operations employees all received an unexpected $500 during a time when a little extra cash is much needed for those in the education arena," Loveless said. "Staff members expressed gratitude and surprise and campus administrators and board members distributed checks. They continued to say thank you on social media channels as well as in personal notes and emails."

" The bonus was a Godsend. It was unexpected and really helped on getting new school clothes, some fun, and I was able to put a little away," said Jeff Chavez, in his second year as Palestine High School CTE Audio Visual Instructor. "Getting paid once a month, you budget differently. So, a mid-month bonus really means a lot to teachers."

"As an employee who is new to the district, I was thrilled to be included," said Kimberly Hobson, the new Assistant Principal at Palestine Junior High. "The surprise bonus was definitely a blessing.

Palestine teachers and students start the 2023-2024 school year Thursday, Aug. 10.