A third-party consultant told the Beloit School District board on Nov. 4 that a recent staff climate survey shows modest year-over-year improvement in several indices but flagged technology access as a notable weakness.

Dr. Gottlieb of School Perceptions presented the 2025 survey results, noting 301 staff responses (a 41% response rate). He summarized index changes: academics up 7.6% (from 2.91 to 3.13), student engagement up 2.9%, staff experience up slightly, and the support index down about 4%, largely driven by declines in two technology-related items. ‘‘301 staff members responded. That’s a 41% response rate,’’ he said.

Why it matters: Board members said improving staff support and technology access matters for retention and classroom effectiveness. Trustee Tom Hankins asked how Beloit compares with similar districts; Gottlieb said Beloit remains generally below the comparison average but is moving in the right direction internally.

Technical and retention concerns: Gottlieb highlighted that the technology items—‘‘I have the technology I need to do my job well’’—drove most of the support-index decline and recommended investigating whether policy or device changes (e.g., switching from MacBooks to Chromebooks) affected perceptions. He also pointed to gains in discipline-related items and staff input as important for retention.

Board follow-up: Trustees asked for targeted work to raise lagging items and monitoring of progress. Several members urged translating the survey results into measurable action plans and periodic reporting to the board.

Bottom line: The survey provides baseline data that the district’s administration and board plan to use when developing action plans and SMART targets for the 2025-26 district goals. No staffing or budget decisions were finalized at the meeting.