Michelle Bridal, chief of human resources and business services for North Clackamas SD 12, told the school board that the district has hired 144 licensed staff as of Oct. 1 and is seeing improved retention across staff categories.

The presentation, given during the board’s regular meeting, summarized hiring and separation data, recruitment initiatives and targeted fairs. "We are really focused on people and culture," Bridal said, and the data she presented was described as a snapshot "as of Oct. 1." Dr. Joe Bridgeman, associate director of licensed staffing, and John Brooks, interim associate director of classified staffing, joined Bridal and gave the numeric breakdowns.

Board members said the results were encouraging. Director Wachter called the staffing and diversity trends "terrific," and Director Kemp and others asked for clarifications about student teachers, pool postings and exit interviews.

District figures presented
- Licensed hires: 144 new licensed staff, of whom 85 were new to the district and 59 were rehires or temporary staff (data as of Oct. 1). Dr. Joe Bridgeman said the district hired 155 licensed staff the prior year, with 90 new to the district.
- Classified hires: 91 new classified employees in the same time period; the prior year showed 122 hires.
- Employment shifts: HR processed 349 employment shifts for licensed categories and "over 290" shifts in classified positions; the prior year had about 370 and 360 shifts respectively.
- Voluntary separations: For licensed staff, the district reported 84 retirements/resignations in 2024–25 compared with 106–108 in earlier years. For classified staff, total resignations were reported at 147, down from 209 the previous year.
- Retention rates: The district reported a 92% retention rate for licensed staff and an increase for classified staff from about 80% to 86%.

Recruitment strategies and targeted efforts
Human resources described several targeted recruitment steps: posting pool positions earlier in the year (special education pools posted in January and dual-language pools in February), partnerships with ESS for substitute and classified recruitment, a district career fair at Clackamas Community College that drew about 140 candidates, and participation in the Oregon Professional Educator Fair (about 120 contacts). Will Ruhle, director of human resources, noted the district’s efforts to recruit bus drivers and transportation staff; John Brooks highlighted transportation hires, reporting seven new licensed bus drivers and additional drivers in training and bus aides.

Bridgeman said the district expanded outreach to prospective school psychologists through a virtual internship informational session and encouraged use of letters of intent for early recruitment from pool applicants. The HR team reported work with ESS to raise the classified substitute fill rate from roughly 75% to about 90% and a licensed substitute fill rate of about 98%.

Exit interviews and data gaps
Board members asked whether the district conducts exit interviews. Bridal said HR sends an online exit survey and offers phone or in-person interviews. She reported returns of 20 exit surveys from licensed staff (about 24%) and 21 from classified staff (about 14%) so far. When asked whether separations were to other districts or into other industries, Bridal said HR tracks reasons on the separation forms and that the data distinguishes between accepting another position and leaving the education field, but she did not provide a full break‑out in the meeting.

Why it matters
Board members said improved retention reduces costs and disruption to students and credited targeted recruitment for recent staffing gains. The board did not take formal action on the hiring update; presenters provided the information and answered director questions.

Ending
Directors thanked the HR team for the presentation. The board’s next agenda items included policy revisions and adjournment.