Committee debates exit-survey approach; HR to report participation rates at year end

Committee members debated whether employees who resign should be required to participate in exit interviews or surveys and asked the district to document participation rates.

Miss Delay and others argued for strengthening the role of higher-level staff in reviewing departure paperwork; a committee member suggested the director of student services should be the only authorized designee for certain reviews to avoid paperwork getting lost. In response, the Director of Student Services said that, in practice, when a responsibility is designated it typically is assigned to a supervisor (for example, an elementary or secondary special education supervisor) rather than a wide group of people.

The Director of Human Resources explained the district’s current practice: “I do send everybody a link to an exit survey.” She said the survey contains roughly “17 or 18 questions” including multiple-choice and narrative responses and that respondents may check a box to request a face-to-face exit meeting. The HR director estimated a ballpark return rate of “probably 40 to 50%” and said she follows up with repeat emails when necessary.

Committee members pushed back on making exit interviews mandatory. The HR director cautioned that forcing participation can reduce candor, saying employees forced to complete a questionnaire often give perfunctory responses. The committee asked HR to track and report the number of exit surveys sent and returned and for an end-of-year summary to be presented to the board; HR agreed to provide that report.

No formal policy change was adopted at the committee meeting; the discussion produced a direction to staff to provide data on participation, not a binding rule change.