Garfield Heights district outlines staffing priorities, retention steps after levy loss

Employee services director Tasha Pettigrew presented a human resources update to the Garfield Heights City Schools Board of Education on May 19, describing new evaluation tools, retention initiatives and immediate staffing priorities after the district’s recent levy defeat.

The presentation outlined programs the district has launched to retain employees, reduce absenteeism and “right‑size” staffing. "Everyone now has a performance evaluation tool to see how they're doing to continue to grow," Pettigrew said, describing a new supervisor evaluation plus a separate self‑evaluation for employees.

Why it matters: The district must match staff levels to falling enrollment and reduced revenue while trying to keep core services. Pettigrew and board members framed the measures as efforts to protect instruction and support employees as the administration trims…