Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Human Resources Hris Recruitment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sarasota schools outline HR overhaul: new HRIS live, recruiting push and benefits steps
Summary
Chief of human resources Ashley Ramodka reported on pillar 3 of the district strategic plan, including a January Skyward HRIS go‑live, expanded recruitment and affiliation agreements, substitute fill-rate gains, new benefit programs (Omada and EncircleRx) and a plan for HR KPIs, onboarding improvements and recruitment marketing.
Ashley Ramodka, the district’s chief of human resources, presented a seven‑month analysis of Pillar 3 (Every Employee Valued) at the Feb. 4 board workshop and described near‑term HR initiatives including a new HRIS rollout, targeted recruitment steps and benefit‑cost interventions.
Ramodka said the district successfully launched the core Skyward HR module Jan. 6 and processed the first payroll from the new system on Jan. 15. The Skyward build delivered employee self‑service, a mobile app and a Skyward implementation SharePoint site for training materials; the district has started a second build phase to add applicant‑tracking and leave modules.
On recruitment, the HR team reported growth in affiliation agreements with educator programs (rising from 11 to 21 affiliations), expanded teaching internships (final‑term paid internships supported by the Borensek Foundation), and increased field‑experience placements (from 54 to 65). Ramodka said a recent virtual district job fair doubled attendance versus an earlier pilot and that a sponsored Indeed posting for Sky Ranch openings drew 74 external candidates (49 of whom applied to other district positions).
Ramodka gave counts and throughput examples tied to Sky Ranch staffing: 410 candidates submitted interest for instructional vacancies at the new school and 57 for classified openings; HR will work to redirect candidates not placed at Sky Ranch to other vacancies.
Benefits and health‑cost trends were a central topic. Ramodka said district medical spend rose from roughly $59 million to $80 million over three years, with plan‑cost increases of 19.3% in 2024 and 9.7% projected in 2025. She said much of the trend is driven by GLP‑1 medication spend and that the district is launching two board‑approved programs this month: a chronic‑condition management program with Omada and a prescribing‑management program (EncircleRx) to support oversight of GLP‑1 prescriptions. She said nutritional counseling and an expanded wellness newsletter are also being offered.
On substitutes and onboarding Ramodka said district substitute fill rates have improved to the 90% range districtwide; she reported 366 new‑hire mentees enrolled for first‑year mentor support under the SCTA contract. A mentorship and onboarding expansion were listed as priority next steps.
Ramodka recommended building HR dashboards of key performance indicators (KPIs), improving onboarding checklists, launching an HR intranet (with employee recognition tools), and partnering with communications on recruitment‑marketing to segment candidate audiences (substitutes, per‑diem, full‑time applicants). She also asked the board to note staffing and resource needs in HR to sustain the new functions.
Ending: The HR chief said recruitment marketing, onboarding improvements and KPI dashboards will be prioritized in the coming months and staff will return with more detailed timelines and metrics.
