Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Staff Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears rising staff injury reports and low response to exit survey; calls for urgency on safety and better data collection
Summary
Administrators reported increased workplace incident reports this year versus last, with paraprofessionals accounting for a large share. The district launched an auto‑generated exit survey for withdrawing families but had only a 4% response rate from the retroactive mail list.
District administrators told the board on Jan. 29 that reported workplace incidents and workers’ compensation claims have increased compared with the previous year and that paraprofessionals accounted for a majority of staff‑injury incidents in the relevant reporting period.
A staff presenter said the district recorded about 100 workers’ compensation reports or incidents in the first two quarters of the reporting window; not all reports become claims. Cost paid to date in the current reporting window was approximately $58,000 versus about $268,000 at the same time last year. The presenter said 34 of 54 incidents reviewed in the second quarter were staff injuries caused by students; paraprofessionals reported 21 of those incidents. The district said it continues staff training, consultant support and targeted follow‑up at identified schools.
Board member Doctor Herzog urged faster action to protect staff and emphasized school climate, culture and accountability for behavior in addition to training. “I would like us to create more of a sense of urgency to protect all of our staff,” Herzog said, urging steps that go beyond staff training to change culture and student behavior.
Separately, the district reported on an exit survey launched to understand why families leave the district. For families who withdrew between the 2022‑23 and 2023‑24 school years, staff sent surveys to 587 households; 23 responses were returned (a 4% response rate). The presenter said 17 of the 23 cited relocation as the primary reason; five mentioned safety or school quality concerns. Board members said the low response rate limits conclusions and suggested follow‑up strategies such as timely in‑person or phone outreach when families withdraw.
Administrators said they will continue prevention training, third‑party consultation and school‑level follow up and will report back on progress and any changes to the mod (experience) rate projection.
