District staff present leadership gap analysis showing misalignment on statutory mandates and communication

District staff presented a leadership gap analysis to the Escambia County School Board that stratified employee responses by leadership and non‑leadership roles to reveal where perceptions diverge. The presentation described a 34‑question instrument covering employee benefits, professional growth, onboarding, resource allocation, statutory/outside influence and employee value.

The presenter said the largest gap between supervisors and rank‑and‑file was in statutory and outside influence—how state and federal mandates are perceived at the school level—and that communication shortfalls underlie many misalignments. "We benchmarked leadership for the first time and then compared supervisors with non‑supervisors to see where the disconnects were," the presenter said.

Presenters showed division‑level results and said high schools were the most aligned between supervisors and staff while middle and elementary schools showed larger gaps. They recommended sharing full results with employee groups, targeting communications on items with the largest gaps and using shorter, targeted six‑question follow‑up surveys in divisions to monitor progress.

Board members thanked staff for the work and requested copies of the full presentation and the superintendent's board questions and responses. Staff committed to providing expanded slides and division‑specific plans that will guide strategic‑plan implementation.

The district framed the next steps as communication and focused interventions rather than immediate policy changes; staff said they will deliver the data to employee groups and then reassess to measure change.