Colorado Springs School District 11 officials reported marked progress in staffing for the 2025–26 school year at the board’s Aug. 6 meeting, saying targeted recruiting and changes to hiring processes cut teacher vacancies sharply.

Superintendent Brent Gahl and talent management leaders highlighted metrics showing vacancy reductions from 133 two years earlier to 53 last year and to 33 districtwide as of Aug. 1, with only four unfilled “core” teacher positions. Dr. Comfort, chief of talent or academic operations (presented as “Doctor Comfort”), thanked the talent management staff — described repeatedly as the “green shirts” in the audience — for sustained recruiting, onboarding and processing work over the summer.

Jen Hotelling (talent management) and Tanya Nash (director, talent acquisition and development) outlined initiatives: D11‑focused job fairs with on‑site processing and contingent offers, a redesigned candidate experience, university partnerships for para‑to‑teacher and alternative licensure pathways, priority postings aligned to student‑based budgeting, and an applicant tracking system partnership with PowerSchool. Talent staff reported 267 internal transfers, 207 rehires, 267 new hires and 564 people joining a district interest pool; attendance at district job fairs rose to 669 from 379 the prior year.

Board members noted the operational effects: Director Haefeli and Director Hayfley (board members) said fully staffed “stability” schools (Mitchell High School, Galileo Middle School and Adams Elementary) meant fewer coverage needs for existing staff and better planning time. Superintendent Gahl and Dr. Comfort said the district still plans retention work, leadership development, a job description overhaul and new applicant tracking to sustain gains.

What officials said
- “There are 4,500 employees in this system,” Dr. Comfort told the board, and the vacancy counts are fluid as hiring continues. “On Aug. 1, two years ago we brought to you 133 vacancies… This year as of August 1… we are at 33 vacancies across our teacher force.”
- Jen Hotelling described the job‑fair model that prioritized school‑level connections and on‑site contingent offers, and she credited Tanya Nash for improving candidate experience.

Why it matters
Reduced vacancies directly affect classroom coverage and planning time for teachers, and the district framed the progress as both operational (filling seats) and strategic (building recruitment pipelines and retention programs). Board members asked for continued updates and applauded staff for the rapid summer hiring pace.

Source material: board discussion and talent management presentation in the Aug. 6, 2025 board meeting transcript.