District reports staff turnover below 10% and continued retention efforts

Human-resources staff on Oct. 22 told the Franklin Board of Education that district turnover has dropped below 10% for the first time in several years and that the district is continuing targeted efforts to retain staff.

Miss Lancour, who presented the annual staffing report, said the district added new visualizations of resignations and reasons staff cited for leaving. She highlighted a downward trend in turnover and said support-staff turnover remained a primary focus. "For the first time in a couple of years, I'd say that our turnover is under 10%, which is really exciting to see," Lancour said.

Lancour described several retention strategies already underway: an employee engagement survey, a Better Place to Work task force, building-level rounding conversations and building-based engagement teams. She also said the district’s upcoming health clinic — referenced multiple times in the meeting — will be available to employees and is expected to aid retention.

Board members asked for clarification about how budget-driven staff reductions are accounted for; Lancour said voluntary resignations are reported separately from budget reductions tied to enrollment. She also described targeted work to reduce turnover among educational assistants and custodial staff by improving training, performance reviews and leadership among head custodians.

Lancour declined to set a specific numeric target beyond continuing to reduce turnover, saying the district will report more precise goals once it has a longer run of data. The report also noted that some turnover is expected as employees change careers or retire. No formal action was taken on the staffing report at the meeting.