Oconto Falls School Board reviews staff survey results

Discipline, pay practices, communication among concerns
By: 
Warren Bluhm
Editor-in-chief

A survey of teachers and staff in the Oconto Falls School District showed concerns about discipline, pay practices, and a decline in morale, the school board learned Sept. 19.

Rob DeMeuse, research director with the consulting firm School Perceptions, gave a 15-minute review of the survey results from last spring. A total of 197 people responded, or two-thirds of the staff, he said.

The survey was comprised of a series of statements, with staff asked to agree or disagree on a five-point scale ranging from “strongly agree” (5) to “strongly disagree (1).”

The responses to only three statements fell below an average of 3 into negative territory. A statement that discipline in the district is “consistent” garnered a 2.98 and discipline is “effective” fell to 2.97.

DeMeuse said it’s not unusual for school staff to be concerned about discipline.

“This is not a local issue, it’s a nationwide trend,” he said. “This is not uncommon data by any means, by any stretch of the imagination.”

He added that slight majorities of 51% and 50% were either neutral or agreed that discipline is consistent and effective.

Only one statement did not garner a majority. The statement “District pay practices are fair” was supported by only 43% of the staff with a 2.75 average.

“You should be thinking, OK, how can we communicate with our staff to better understand what their thoughts are in terms of pay, what went well and what not went well, what compensation lever that we need to pull in order to change what our staff are unhappy about,” DeMeuse said.

The survey found that teachers generally feel they have access to the technology they need to help their students learn, have healthy working relationships with their co-workers, and feel safe at work. More than 90% of the staff supported all three of those statements.

The support dipped to 75% for the statement “I feel comfortable sharing concerns with administration and supervisors,” but one of the highest scores was for “I feel supported by my supervisor or administrator when I make a decision.”

The survey gave staff a chance to comment on anything they wanted, and DeMeuse said the comments could be summarized in five major themes: Respondents highlighted a decline in morale, climate and peer-to-peer relationships; they continue to rely on their peers for support and well-being; they expressed a concern about an increase in workload; they want to see improved communication with staff from district leaders; and they want more consistent and effective approaches to discipline.

The public review followed a 90-minute closed session in which the board went over the results with DeMeuse in more detail, said board president Clint Gardebrecht.

“We thought it prudent to share the information in open session so people can see it,” Gardebrecht said. “Great data, great information, and I’m looking forward to what the district can do to make improvements in some of the areas that were noted.”