Boone County superintendent highlights high staff satisfaction in stay-interview summary

Dr. Haswalt and district human-resources leaders presented an executive summary of last year’s employee stay interviews, saying the district intends to use the results to guide retention and communication efforts.

Eric Ball, who led the stay-interview process, told the board that the district conducted 260 interviews and plans to invite roughly 500–510 people in future cycles. "92.7% of our employees agree or strongly agree that they are satisfied working with Boone County Schools," Ball said, and he contrasted the district’s results with national averages.

Ball reported other key metrics: 91.1% of employees said they would recommend working for Boone County Schools (national average cited as 53%), 89.2% said they are enthusiastic about coming to work (national average cited as 31%) and 94.6% said they will continue with the district (national average cited as 72%). He said the interviews combined four scaled questions with seven open-ended questions and that narrative feedback identified communication and the challenges of continuous change as areas for improvement.

Board members praised the high marks and noted workforce trends: the district has recruited about 100 certified teachers this year and increased starting wages and hourly pay in an effort to improve recruitment and retention. Dr. Haswalt said the district will continue the stay-interview schedule and use the data to inform strategic priorities.

The board received a more detailed written executive summary for review and plans to incorporate findings into upcoming committee work.