Broken Arrow Public Schools Supt. Chuck Perry issued this announcement Friday about moving to in-person learning next week. Please see below.
Staff and Families:
I want to take this opportunity to reach out and update you on our staffing shortage issues.
Although this is an unfortunate situation to be in as I begin this new role, I understand this is part of my responsibility in making sure we have enough adults to adequately educate our students. My goal is to be transparent and share with you the data that goes into making these decisions.
As of 1:30 p.m. Friday, we have 710 employees absent for illness and other various reasons. This is an all-time
high number not previously seen in our district.
To give you some context, Broken Arrow Public Schools is the largest employer in the city with just over 2,300 employees.
- A high absentee number would be somewhere around 250 employees, which would put a strain on district resources to efficiently provide quality instruction, transportation and child nutrition services to our students.
- On Monday, we were operating with 406 absences, and it has steadily climbed each day. We are aware that many absences are due to seasonal illnesses, including the flu, that we have traditionally dealt with for decades.
- In November, our average number for substitute teachers was 109. Yesterday, with only eight sites open, we needed 139 substitute teachers. Our fill rate was 29.5%, which left 98 classrooms unfilled. This causes our teachers to double and triple-cover classrooms throughout the day. Along with the physical and emotional toll on teachers to manage that many students, quality instruction is difficult to achieve.
- With our child nutrition department, 31 employees were absent in addition to the 39 open positions already present due to the challenge of staffing in today’s employment climate.
- The transportation department had 32 absences, which would make it nearly impossible to effectively run routes if all sites would have been in-person.
Although we do not have school on Monday, Jan. 17, for Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, we are discovering it would be unrealistic to have enough employees able to return on Tuesday to adequately staff all school sites for in-person learning.
With most absences due to illness averaging 7-9 days, our human resources department does not foresee a large number of employees able to return by Tuesday.
Additionally, my team and I discussed utilizing our Education Service Center and Central on Main staff and administrators – including myself – to substitute where needed. Even this does not give us enough coverage to be in-person.
Because of these factors, I have made the decision to transition to distance learning for next week, Jan. 18-21.
This decision causes me great heartache because I firmly believe that in-person learning is best for students, not only instructionally but also for their social and emotional well-being.
I understand the strain and difficulties this places on families, but I’m hopeful this extra time will allow our entire district to get healthy and return to in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 24.
Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated as we continue to push through this unprecedented staffing challenge.
Respectfully,
Chuck Perry
Superintendent of Schools
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OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
- All Level 2 and 3 special education students will report to class in person unless communicated otherwise.
- In-person tutoring is available at each site by contacting your school.
- All extracurricular activities, practices and athletics will continue as regularly scheduled. No transportation will be provided to practices.
- Child Nutrition will continue to provide meals daily during the work week at the school sites from noon to 1 p.m
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