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Chester‑Upland HR: staffing gains in hiring, but high staff absences and contract talks pose budget and operational risks
Summary
Human resources reported recruitment gains and reduced midyear resignations at high‑turnover schools, while also presenting data showing widespread employee absences and ongoing contract negotiations with professional staff that could affect the budget.
Human resources leaders in the Chester‑Upland School District reported recruitment and retention progress for the 2024–25 school year but warned that high staff absences and pending contract negotiations create operational and budgetary uncertainty.
Dr. Pless, the district’s HR presenter, told the receivers advisory council on May 22 that the HR team recruited 36 professional staff members during the year; 21 of those recruits were appropriately certified and the district reduced emergency‑certified staff to 15. The district also reported a large drop in midyear resignations at two historically high‑turnover schools—Chester High School and Edgemont Scholars Academy—declining from more than 25 midyear resignations in 2023–24 to fewer than five for 2024–25.
At the same time, Dr. Pless said staff absence data is concerning. For professional staff the district reported:
- 80 staff with 10 or more absences during the school year (count used for federal reporting), - 76 professional staff with 18 or more absences, and - 19 professional staff with 30 or more absences.
Support staff totals were also reported: 106 support staff with 10 or more absences, 62 with 18 or more, and 13 with 30 or more absences. Dr. Pless said the district’s payroll‑based staff count is 396 employees; the presentation noted that 72% of school staff had 10 or more absences, 35% had 18 or more, and 8% had 30 or more.
Dr. Pless tied attendance and retention problems to both morale and historical practices, saying the district must communicate expectations and align practices with the court‑approved recovery plan. She said the HR department will engage staff to improve morale, coordinate with legal on egregious cases, implement health‑insurance eligibility audits, and continue recruitment initiatives. The HR presenter also said the preliminary budget includes proposed salary increases for all employee groups beginning July 1, though the professional staff contract remains under negotiation.
On collective bargaining, Dr. Pless said the district participated in fact‑finding on May 1 and received the fact‑finder’s report on May 21; the district is reviewing the report. She said the district’s bargaining goals are to comply with the recovery plan, maximize instructional quality, provide reasonable wage increases given the financial position, and slow health‑care cost growth.
Dr. Pless said all district contracts other than the professional contract are settled and that the district expects negotiated outcomes to affect other bargaining units. She said the district intends to implement insurance changes where feasible on July 1 and to continue recruiting for critical positions over the summer.
Ending
Human resources officials said they will present a follow‑up update in September about summer work, staffing ratios and any changes to positions tied to the final budget.
