Staffing for the Future

By Superintendent of Hudson Community School District, Dr. Anthony Voss 

Compared to many of our colleagues around the state, Hudson is in somewhat of a  unique situation. Where many of our neighbors are experiencing drops in enrollment, that does  not appear to be the case here. Granted, while our residential or certified enrollment count is  down a smidge, the overall headcount is up just enough to overcome the residential decrease.  Admittedly, we had anticipated a larger increase in our enrollment this year. Even so, the trend  continues to point in an upward direction and our projections suggest increases for the  2026-2027 school year.  

Enrollment is mostly growing from the 'bottom up', starting with the kindergarten class  in the 2022-2023 school year when we added a fourth section to that grade level. Tactically,  each succeeding year we have simply added a section as that grade level has matriculated,  while the grade levels below them have continued to be sustained and staffed with four  sections. We are now preparing for that grade level to move to the fourth grade next year, and  again planning to add the accompanying section. A lot of what we have done to this point have  been tactical decisions, in other words short term specific actions that provide the most  flexibility.  

At the same time, we are considering long term strategic planning. Think about this.  Adding a section a year based on enrollment numbers at a particular grade level is a pretty  straightforward decision. If you have 70+ students in an elementary grade level, it can either be  staffed with three sections in low to mid twenties, or four sections of 17/18. Tactically, we have  elected to go with 4 sections with the understanding that if the numbers are 'on the bubble'  and the budget doesn't support those sections, we can simply forego making that hiring  decision. If that happens over the course of a couple of years, perhaps it may become  necessary to scale the faculty back by a position. Tactical. The trouble with tactical decision  making is that unforeseen issues can kind of sneak up on you. For example, were you aware  that our enrollment has increased over 120 students since 2021? That's an almost 14%  increase! And, as I mentioned that trend appears to continue rising. Sure, it may slow but up is  still up.  

That's why we have been engaged in strategic planning for well over a year now.  Thinking about staffing needs long term and what positions, both for direct instruction and  support may be needed down the road. Or, what structures need to be in place now to support  this growth in enrollment? When we hire teachers for our classrooms, there needs to be a solid  foundational system that supports them now, and is nimble and flexible enough to support  future growth. Case in point: we hired a middle school principal this year. It was evident the  number of students and teachers being served by current building administrators was not  manageable. Furthermore, as staff continue to be added and those students matriculate to  middle school they need a champion in their corner.  

But that is not the only strategic decision that we will make, or even need to  contemplate in the coming months and years. You see, as our enrollment growth continues it  will require much more than a section at a grade level. Those are needs that you can see with  your own eyes. It is also about the number of staff we have in the music department. The  special education program. Art department. Counseling. Whenever I am blessed with the  opportunity to visit with employees one on one, I ask the question: what do you need? Their  answer in one form or another is usually: help.  

Therein lies the challenge. Hiring an additional teacher can be accomplished without  too much pain fiscally. Particularly when you have 80 students and are trying to determine  whether or not you want class sizes of 20 or 27. This task becomes much more complicated  when the math isn't quite so quantifiable. Compound it further when you must determine  whether or not space limitations are part of the calculus (they are in our case).  

Then, there is the reality of funding for Iowa Schools. Now, that really isn't the point of  today's column, but when the rate in which per pupil funding grows in Iowa doesn't even keep up with the cost of inflation it only exacerbates the underlying issues. Even with static  enrollment, costs are going to continue to rise. If employees aren't going to see wage increases  that are competitive they will leave. A hard to fill position like some of the supporting roles  mentioned above will practically guarantee turnover at a rate that makes the ability to sustain  and grow some of these programs all but impossible.  

With that, we'll stop for today. Next week we'll dive a bit deeper into the strategy.  Answers may be elusive, but the first step is identifying the problem and the barriers while  considering the strategic decisions that are being contemplated.