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Ignacio School Board discusses staff turnover

Libby DeHaan is the recipient of a wool blanket from the Ignacio School District, in honor of her 31 years of teaching in the district.

Spring is migration season for school teachers and administrators. So what level of turnover indicates a problem in a district?

A proposal by two Ignacio School Board members to do exit interviews with departing staff turned into an extended discussion at the May 12 board meeting. Board member Luke Kirk initiated the proposal, and board member Yvonne Conley-Chapman agreed. She suggested the entire board should do it. "It seems like we've had a lot of turnover this year," she said.

It's usually 25 to 30 people, Superintendent Rocco Fuschetto said.

District Finance Director Marie Horn said 11 people have resigned or been asked to leave.

Kirk said, "We have new buildings. I'd like to see what else we can do to retain staff."

Chapman wanted to invite departing teachers to a board meeting. "I'm trying to be proactive," she said.

Fuschetto commented, "There are things that administrators know" about departing staff but can't talk about in public. "If you listen to them, you need to listen to the principals."

Board member Doug Little, who taught and coached at the high school in the 1990s, said, "I think we're trying to micro-manage things now. We've hired these people (administrators) to do the job."

Board president Bobby Schurman agreed.

Chapman said, "I'm not trying to micro-manage. ... I'm just trying to improve my knowledge of the district." Referring to Colorado Department of Education evaluators who visited the district in March, she said, "They asked us how we are holding staff accountable. I'm seeing good people leave. I'll do my own due diligence. ... I'm not trying to find out what's wrong with administrators."

Fuschetto cited a statistic that people change professions on average six times in their life. He and IHS Principal Melanie Taylor also raised the issue of legal liability.

Taylor commented, "Sitting here, I am taking it personally. I'm having turnover. I can't say anything to (a departing employee) or it's a lawsuit. Two of them hugged me and said they're burned out. If I talk to them, I'm setting up for a lawsuit. I have people leave because they are doing bigger and better things. ... The majority are leaving because they want to do something different. Some are disgruntled. That doesn't mean staff is disgruntled. Some don't like the re-design."

Fuschetto told the Times this week that IHS is seeing changes in class schedules, class offerings, and teacher assignments. "Any time you make changes, not everybody wants to get on that bus," he said.

Taylor continued, "The majority that are leaving are from my building. This year has been harder for me. I'm making a lot of changes that people don't like. I have no problem with you talking to any of my staff."

Fuschetto and Curriculum Director Kathy Pokorney referred to teacher perception surveys that are given each year and indicated that board members could look at those in private.

Kirk asked, "Is there anything else we can do to retain teachers?"

Fuschetto responded, "We've done everything we can. We provide support. One teacher resigned after we gave suggestions on how to improve. If a teacher comes to us for help, we provide it."

Pokorney said teachers pay attention to salary schedules in other districts, including where they would start on another district's schedule of steps with credit for years of experience.

"I went where the opportunities were," she said. "That happens. We have some good young single teachers. They will go out and see the world. Their time here has made them marketable in any state in the country. You'll always have that turnover. It's not the same world" where teachers stayed in one district for an entire career. (At the May 12 meeting, the board honored teacher Libby DeHaan, who is retiring after 31 years in the district.)

Horn said, "Our turnover is low compared to other districts. ... It's the way of the world. People don't stay in jobs."

Fuschetto told the Times this week that turnover this year "is not any different than any other year. It was nine or 10 last year at the elementary, about the same this year at the high school. Two years ago it was the mid school."

Some teachers chose to leave for another district or to do something different with their lives, and some were asked to resign, he said.