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Enrollment declines but schools hire more managers and other non-teachers

Data from the Kansas Department of Education shows school districts collectively expect an enrollment decline of nearly 700 students this year, but are adding 157 managers and over 1,000 other non-teaching positions. As Yogi Berra would say, it’s déjà vu all over again.

It’s also further proof of why student outcomes won’t change until adult behaviors change. District administrators propose budgets that do not reflect what is needed to improve dishearteningly low proficiency levels, and many local school boards rubber-stamp them.

Nothing has a greater impact on students than direct interaction with teachers, but some districts cut teachers while adding other positions.

These comparisons are published for every school district at KansasOpenGov.org for each year since 2005.

Enrollment increased by 4% over the last 20 years, and districts added 4% more classroom teachers. There are 17% more Other teachers (special education and reading specialists), but 33% more managers and 32% more people in other non-teaching positions.

The table below also lists the changes in enrollment and employment for some of the state’s largest districts over the last 20 years.

Education Commissioner Randy Watson and past state school board members effectively condone this upside-down staff planning. They know that most school districts do not comply with the state law that requires local school boards to conduct annual needs assessments in each school to identify proficiency barriers and the budgetary changes needed to overcome them.

The state school board association contends that a requirement to “conduct” meetings with teachers and principals is satisfied by briefly examining staff-prepared reports, even when the reports lack the required information. But even if one subscribes to that interpretation, local board members should insist on conducting those meetings given that only about one-third of Kansas students are proficient in reading and math and more than 30% are below grade level.

The state school board can force the issue by requiring local boards to conduct the needs assessment meetings as a condition of employment. Past state school boards have had no interest in holding schools accountable for improving student outcomes, but there’s a new board in place, and the student-focused members now have the votes (in theory) to hold schools accountable.

Otherwise, outcomes will remain low, and the manager ranks will continue expanding at the expense of teachers.