DISTRICT ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
This chapter examines the organization and management of the Christoval Independent School District (CISD) in five subsections:
- A. Governance
- B. Planning
- C. District Management
- D. Personnel Management
- E. Community Involvement
D. PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
The superintendent is responsible for the management and coordination of all certified and auxiliary personnel at the district. Certified personnel include all administrators, teachers and paraprofessional staff required to hold state certification. Auxiliary personnel include regular, part-time, temporary and substitute employees who perform custodial, food service, maintenance, finance and technical duties.
Exhibit 1-15 shows the percentage of professional staff in various categories.
Exhibit 1-15 Source: TEA, AEIS 1999-2000.
Professional Staff
CISD and Peer Districts
1999-2000
Professional Staff Apple Springs Meadow Brooke-land Slidell Christoval Leggett Region 15 State Avg. Teachers 58.1% 54.1% 51.9% 51.5% 50.4% 47.7% 51.0% 51.3% Professional Support 3.0% 3.6% 1.8% 4.5% 8.1% 0.8% 5.9% 7.3% Campus Administration 2.2% 3.9% 5.0% 3.1% 3.5% 2.5% 2.6% 2.6% Central Administration 2.2% 5.8% 1.7% 1.6% 2.4% 4.9% 0.9% 0.9% Educational Aides 0.0% 10.8% 14.8% 12.6% 12.5% 17.2% 11.5% 10.3% Auxiliary Staff 34.6% 21.8% 24.9% 26.7% 23.1% 27.0% 28.1% 27.6% Percent Minority Teachers 7.4% 14.3% 6.5% 0.0% 3.2% 18.3% 16.3% 26.1% In 1999-2000, CISD had a lower percentage of teachers (50.4 percent) than any of its peer districts except Leggett. CISD is intermediate in value in most other categories.
Exhibit 1-16 shows teacher experience and turnover rates for CISD and its peer districts. CISD had the second highest percentage of teachers with more than 20 years of teaching experience.
Exhibit 1-16 Source: TEA, AEIS 1999-2000.
Teacher Experience and Turnover Rate
CISD and Peer Districts
1999-2000
Meadow Slidell Leggett Christoval Apple Springs Brooke-land Region 15 State Avg. Beginning Teachers 14.3% 11.9% 10.1% 5.8% 3.7% 0.0% 6.9% 7.6% 1-5 Years Experience 43.0% 38.5% 10.3% 22.2% 42.8% 32.7% 22.6% 27.0% 6-10 Years Experience 21.1% 18.4% 20.6% 18.9% 26.1% 31.7% 17.7% 17.9% 11-20 Years Experience 21.5% 24.5% 15.4% 34.1% 18.6% 22.6% 28.9% 26.2% Over 20 Years Experience 0.0% 6.8% 43.6% 18.9% 8.8% 12.9% 23.9% 21.2% Average Years Experience 6.0 7.5 18.3 13.9 7.7 10.6 12.8 11.9 Average Years Experience in district 3.1 4.3 10.1 6.6 5.9 5.5 8.6 8.0 Turnover 34.1% 20.2% 15.2% 12.9% 0.0% 22.7% 13.6% 15.0% Beginning Teacher Salary $25,970 $26,497 $25,491 $26,207 $22,624 $27,125 $24,334 $28,588 Average Teacher Salary 6-10 Years $33,974 $32,795 $33,222 $33,557 $29,201 $39,897 $32,498 $34,632 At 12.9 percent, CISD's teacher turnover rate ranks lowest among its peer districts with the exception of Apple Springs, who reported no percentage of teacher turnover. CISD has the third-highest salary rate for beginning teachers and for teachers with six to 10 years of experience. Teacher turnover rates are not yet available for 2000-01.
Exhibit 1-17 summarizes the current salary structure for CISD and its peers. Christoval pays the second-highest average teacher salary of its peers. The district pays the second-lowest professional support staff salary. Central and campus administrators' pay is competitive with peer districts.
Exhibit 1-17 Source: TEA, PEIMS 2000-01.
CISD Salary Structure Compared to Peer Districts
2000-01
District Teacher Professional
SupportCampus
AdministrationCentral
AdministrationLeggett $37,305 N/A $48,668 $59,000 Christoval $35,434 $25,933 $47,800 $62,000 Brookeland $33,801 $36,353 $48,425 $69,280 Meadow $31,150 $19,115 $36,353 $42,250 Slidell $29,913 $30,921 $40,755 $62,000 Apple Springs $30,328 $41,205 $47,800 $50,900 Peer Average $32,499 $31,899 $44,400 $56,686 State Average $37,567 $44,698 $56,226 $67,463 Exhibit 1-18 compares the district to both the peer average and the state average, in percentages.
Exhibit 1-18 Source: TEA, PEIMS 2000-01.
CISD Percentage Comparison to Peer and State Averages
Salary Structure
2000-01
Comparison
GroupTeachers Professional
SupportCampus
AdministrationCentral
AdministrationChristoval to Peer Average 9.0% (18.7%) 7.7% 9.4% Peer Average to State Average (13.5%) (28.6%) (21.0%) (16.0%) Christoval to State Average (5.7%) (42.0%) (15.0%) (8.1%) When compared with the peer average, Christoval is competitive, and even pays teachers an average of 9 percent higher than its peers. However, it falls below the state average in every other category. Professional support staff compensation falls well below both the peer and state averages.
Tom Green County has a number of comparable size school districts. It draws a large number of its teachers and staff from the surrounding San Angelo area. Angelo State University provides a relatively large pool of newly educated teachers from which the district can draw.
During on-site interviews, it became clear that a high percentage of staff are from the area originally and have little desire to leave. This fact offers the district an advantage because salary may not be the primary factor driving employment.
FINDING
CISD, being a small district, must use every resource at its disposal. Because the district has limited financial resources and facilities, employees perform many different jobs without putting educational quality at risk.
One of the ways the district has addressed this issue is through recruiting teachers that can serve multiple functions. For example, the district is currently recruiting a math and science teacher for the sixth grade. There also is a need for additional coaching and physical education staff. The district is looking to hire teachers that are certified to teach math and science as well as coach. This practice allows the district to save both salary and benefit expenses. Instead of hiring separate individuals for these subjects, the district can pay a stipend and not incur an additional full salary or have to pay for another employee's benefits.
COMMENDATION
The district is actively recruiting teachers with multiple certifications to optimize its use of teaching resources.