Teachers and parents tell Woodland board 'scoreboard' evaluations harm morale; public raises pay and retention concerns

Multiple teachers and district stakeholders used the public comment period at the Sept. 25 Woodland Community Consolidated School District 50 board meeting to criticize daily ‘‘scoreboard’’ check‑ins and raise concerns about low teacher pay and staff retention.

"I'm a stakeholder in this district," one speaker said in detailed remarks about the scoreboard used in staff areas. Miss Zielinski, who identified herself as a specials teacher, described an 85‑inch screen in staff areas that displays team results from a daily online form. "If your team records all of them record a yes, it turns green. But if teachers forget, are too busy, or even absent, it records as a no... Teachers have named this the board of shame," she said.

Sue Hansen, a first‑grade teacher, echoed those concerns and linked them to morale and retention: "The bottom line is the staff deserves better... Starting salary at Woodland is currently around poverty level," Hansen said, adding that she believes low pay and morale are contributing to unfilled positions. Tim Walinski, a community stakeholder, told the board the district has "at least 70 open positions" and noted the district is using subcontracted employees to fill about 20 vacancies.

Parents also spoke. Katie Gallivan, a parent whose children are in the dual‑language program, said she was told a Spanish teacher took another job days before school started and that the district has more than 70 open positions. "If you can take a job a few minutes away and make 12 to 15,000 more to start, I myself would do the same," she said.

Board members acknowledged the comments and discussed how personnel reports are presented. One board member said she would continue to vote against the human resources report until the board receives more detailed background on hires and resignations; the board ultimately approved the HR report by roll call with one ‘no’ recorded.

Several speakers suggested the scoreboard system — which requires daily team members to mark whether they completed five positive interactions or greetings — publicly flags staff when a required form is missed. Administrators did not dispute that the system records team responses and that screens display team colors; they did not announce a change to the practice during the meeting.

Board members and administration discussed next steps for transparency on human resources. A board member asked that the historic “hire sheets” used in prior years be provided to members as a scanned attachment in addition to the calendar/hyperlink report the board currently receives. The administration said it could provide those sheets on request.

Public commenters and staff linked staffing shortages, low starting pay and morale to higher vacancy rates; speakers urged the board to prioritize competitive starting salaries and measures to improve retention and staff climate.