Board reviews student and staff attendance campaigns, aims for 15% reduction in staff absenteeism
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Summary
District leaders reported student chronic-absence patterns and unveiled a staff 'attendance cup' competition to reduce employee absenteeism by 15% in the second semester; policy thresholds for excessive and grossly excessive sick leave (5% and 10% of contract days) will guide accountability steps.
Sam Carter presented semester student-attendance data showing chronic absenteeism is higher at secondary grades and largely unchanged from the prior quarter. He restated common thresholds used by the district: 10% or more missed days indicates chronic absenteeism, while 5–9% indicates high absenteeism.
On staff attendance, Scoonever (speaker 6) described a district-wide "attendance cup" competition to run for roughly three months. He said weekly building and department percentages will be posted, with individual recognition and drawings for perfect attendance. "The goal is to decrease absenteeism by 15 percent second semester," Scoonever said. He emphasized exclusions for FMLA, bereavement and personal days in competition metrics and said the district will document cases that hit excessive (5%) or grossly excessive (10%) sick-leave thresholds and follow district policy while listening to individual circumstances.
Why it matters: Student and staff attendance affect instructional time and school operations. The staff campaign couples positive incentives with policy-based documentation: administrators will support employees with legitimate needs while applying accountability when thresholds are exceeded.
Next steps: Administration will run the attendance campaign and report back on interim results; principals and HR will manage documentation and any necessary follow-up for employees who reach excessive-absence thresholds.