Board questions personnel report; HR says teacher departures not higher than pre-COVID levels

Director Langworthy asked how many exit interviews have been completed after recent resignations and whether the district is conducting surveys to understand why teachers leave.

HR Director Reese told the board that exit surveys or interviews are offered to any departing employee — classified staff, certified teachers and administrators — but that completion rates are typically low and the district does not have immediate summary figures in the meeting. Reese also said that, contrary to some public narratives, the district currently has fewer teachers leaving this year than in any year since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Langworthy asked to review the exit interview instrument and to see data about departures over time. Reese said she would discuss what information is appropriate to provide to the board with the superintendent and return with recommendations.

The board then voted to approve the personnel report as amended. Director DeGraff moved to approve consent-agenda item 4 (personnel report); Director Cole seconded. The chair called the vote and the motion passed unanimously (5-0).

Why it matters: Board members seeking exit-interview data are attempting to separate public comment and anecdote from district personnel trends and to determine whether additional board-level oversight or policy action is warranted.

Context: The personnel report had been pulled from the consent agenda for discussion. HR described the district’s current approach (offering exit surveys) and declined to provide granular survey-completion statistics at the meeting because those figures are not part of the published agenda packet; staff offered to provide additional data to the board by follow-up.

Ending: The board approved the personnel report (5-0) and asked staff to follow up with information about exit-survey design and participation rates.