Oswego SD308 grapples with big principal, administrator turnover

OSWEGO – Turnover is high among school principals and other administrative posts in Oswego SD308.

Half the district’s principals and assistant principals have been on the job for two years or less, while about 67% have joined the school district within the past four years, according to a report delivered to the Oswego School Board on Feb. 27.

For district-level administrators those figures are even higher, with 63% new to their positions in the past two years and 84% joining the district within the past four years.

A trio of district administrators told board members that increased salaries will reduce that turnover and ultimately save money for the district. They also asked the board to hire two additional administrators.

“The frequency of turnover results in a negative environment,” said Faith Dahlquist, associate superintendent of educational services.

Dahlquist, along with Assistant Superintendent of Student and Staff Services Heather Kincaid and Director of Communications Theresa Komitas, presented a report that emphasized creating and maintaining a positive culture in the district.

“We can’t do this with the turnover,” Komitas said. “It takes time to build relationships. It takes time to build trust.”

A proposed salary increase for the district’s 48 principals and assistant principals would cost about $378,000, or 0.01% of the annual district budget, Dahlquist said.

For the 46 other school building and district administrators the proposed increase would cost $213,000, or 0.08% of the budget, she said.

Dahlquist displayed a chart showing that District 308 principals and assistant principals are paid appreciably less than their counterparts in comparable school districts.

Making salaries more competitive would both attract high-quality applicants and promote retention for those administrative positions, Dahlquist said, saving the district the considerable cost of bringing new employees on board.

“They’re great, great people but we’re starting from scratch,” Dahlquist told the board.

“If the priority is reducing spending, improving overall climate and increasing student achievement, then it is necessary to decrease the amount of turnover in our administration,” Dahlquist said.

Dahlquist cited a report that estimates the cost of replacing an individual employee at one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary. Over the past three years, this translates into somewhere between $1.75 million and $7 million in costs for administrator turnover in the district, Dahlquist said.

Kincaid said “work-life balance” for hardworking administrators also needs to be promoted in order to avoid burnout.

Board member Alison Swanson indicated that the board’s priority now is hiring a new superintendent to replace the departing John Sparlin. “I’m not going to entertain hiring new positions until we hire a superintendent,” Swanson said.

Board member Jennifer Johnson also said that the superintendent search comes first. “I don’t think we need more people or more money. Money doesn’t fix everything.”