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Beloit board presses administration on 49–50 unfilled positions, recruitment and substitute coverage
Summary
Board members identified hot-spot vacancies at Converse and Todd elementaries and pressed HR on recruitment, use of contracted staff, permanent substitutes and a staffing coordinator. Administration said permanent building subs are fully deployed and will provide vacancy counts and recruitment metrics.
Board members spent substantial time on Nov. 4 probing a staffing plan the administration presented to address persistent vacancies across the School District of Beloit.
Administration (Dr. Garrison and HR’s Missus Almendarez) said they are continuously recruiting and focusing on both hiring and retention, and they are preparing to fill a staffing-coordinator role in HR. Almendarez told the board the district is working with higher-education partners to recruit graduating teachers and is using permanent building substitutes and contracted staffing as temporary measures to cover gaps.
Multiple board members called out hot spots, notably Converse and Todd elementary schools, which they said each had two classroom vacancies creating daily instructional gaps. Board members urged the administration to prioritize placing daily, consistent educators in those classrooms, noting that rotating or day-to-day coverage undermines instruction and increases teacher workload.
On candidate communications, a board member said she had heard reports that licensed applicants do not always receive a response from district hiring managers. Almendarez explained hiring managers handle initial candidate contact and said HR would investigate reports and work to ensure candidates receive timely status updates.
The board requested actionable HR metrics: applicant counts and response rates disaggregated by position type, and measurement of turnaround time from recommendation to start. Almendarez said applicant-tracking software can produce counts and that the district will develop response-time metrics for the board’s review. A board member estimated roughly 49–50 completely unfilled, noncontracted positions; administration agreed to confirm and provide an updated count.
Almendarez also described the district’s limited use of contracted staffing as a temporary “band-aid” when internal applicant pools are insufficient; contracted staff may be retained without penalty after a year if mutually agreed. Several board members recommended directing temporary resources primarily to classrooms with the largest instructional gaps.
Administration committed to return with vacancy counts, recruitment metrics and schedules for shared positions (music, band, orchestra) so the board can review staffing configurations and prioritize filling daily classroom assignments.
