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Fairfield board hears retention data showing 94% overall staff return; board to track reasons for departures
Summary
District staff told the board that, measured by issued contracts, 94% of employees are expected to return next year. Trustees discussed benchmarking, tracking reasons for departures and using the measure as a year-over-year indicator tied to strategic goals.
The Fairfield Community School District board on June 22 received a breakdown of staff-retention figures and discussed how to track and benchmark turnover across the district.
Evan, who compiled the retention numbers for the district, told the board the district measures retention by issued contracts to exclude retirees and mid-year separations. "94% of all staff are coming back next year," he said, adding that the total represents about 15 people who left across roughly 300 employees. Evan reported teacher retention at 95% (six teachers left), associate retention at 89% (six left), administrative retention at 89% (one left) and support staff retention at 98% (two left).
Board members and staff discussed the difference between the district’s internal measurement and the state’s Iowa School Performance Profile, which includes retirees and is calculated differently. Directors asked for a plan to capture reasons for departures so the district can separate voluntary moves (for family or new-job reasons) from departures that might signal workplace concerns.
District staff said the retention measure is intended to serve as both a lagging and a leading indicator in the district’s financial-health and strategic reports, allowing the board to monitor year-over-year trends. Staff also suggested possible benchmarking options with conference schools or statewide peers, but cautioned that comparisons require consistent calculation methods.
The board did not take formal action on retention at the meeting. Trustees asked staff to return this measure annually, with coding for departure reasons, and to explore whether comparable districts could adopt the same calculation for fair benchmarking.
The board’s next business item after the retention discussion was the agenda’s focus on learning and a book-study of research-based governance practices.
