Hanover Schools Face Staffing Challenges Amid Budget Constraints
District reports 27 staff resignations since May, struggles with recruitment while managing balanced budget
HANOVER - April 9 - The Hanover School Committee learned Wednesday that the district has experienced 27 staff resignations since May, a number that Superintendent Matt Ferron describes as "triple what we would typically get" in a normal year.
The staffing challenges emerged during a budget update from Michael Oates, who reported that despite these difficulties, the district is projecting a balanced budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
"We're currently projecting a 2.8 percent underspend in our salary budget," Oates says. "This positive variance is primarily attributed to three key factors."
Those factors include significant staff turnover, unfilled positions particularly among support staff, and lower substitute costs. While the salary underspend provides a welcome financial cushion, officials emphasize it comes at a cost to operational capacity.
"This isn't where we want to save money," Oates says. "This isn't a good thing. It presents as a good thing when we're doing dollars and cents in the budget, but this is concerning."
The district attributes the staffing challenges to several factors, including the instability created by recent budget constraints and increased workloads for remaining staff.
"When you're understaffed in some support staff positions, the demands on those positions become greater and greater, and the job gets harder and harder," Oates explains.
Superintendent Ferron notes that the district's reputation has suffered during recent budget difficulties, affecting recruitment efforts.
"If you are out looking for your first job, or you are relocating, and your choice is to come to a district that has instability versus a district that does not, where are you going to pick?" Ferron asks.
He adds that while Hanover remains a well-respected, high-achieving community, "the brand is important, and perception matters."
The district faces particular challenges recruiting for specialized positions such as BCBAs (Board Certified Behavior Analysts), speech and language pathologists, and special education teachers.
"Finding people for these positions is incredibly difficult," Ferron says. "That's not unique to Hanover, but we have a really strong reputation as a community that is welcoming to families and to employees, and we've taken a bit of a hit."
Committee member Ryan Hall expresses concern about the district's approach to addressing these challenges beyond the upcoming override vote.
"We're dealing with a 50-50 shot here," Hall says, referring to the override. "So we do need to move forward to continue to be a desirable district. What are we doing outside of pushing for the override to ensure that we are setting ourselves up to want to be a place that people work?"
Ferron responds that the district continues to emphasize Hanover's strengths during recruitment, including supportive colleagues, great students and families.
"If you were in one of those positions and you are talented and you work hard and you love kids, you will be able to stay here," Ferron says. "Those are positions we need. Those are stable positions."
Assistant Superintendent Debbie St. Ives emphasizes that despite the challenges, staff members continue to present "the best of Hanover every single day."
"I've poured everything that I have into this organization, and I'm proud of what we currently have despite the lack of resources that we've been given," St. Ives says. "If you talk to any teacher, if you talk to any family, they are proud to have students in Hanover Public Schools."
The committee discusses implementing exit interviews to better understand why staff members are leaving. While some informal conversations occur, the district lacks a formalized process.
"We don't do exit interviews with everybody," Ferron acknowledges. "We don't have a specific formalized process where people come and they're required to exit interview."
Multiple committee members express support for implementing a more structured approach to gathering feedback from departing staff.
Despite the staffing challenges, Oates reports that the district is on track for a balanced budget in fiscal year 2025, with careful management of resources and strategic utilization of various funding sources.
The district does not anticipate needing to draw upon the special education reserve fund in the current year, though officials continue to monitor the allocation of circuit breaker funds.
In other business, the committee:
- Approved a homeschool request, noting there are currently 26 homeschooled students in the district
- Accepted donations totaling $20,254.55, bringing the annual total to $56,608.51
- Received an update on new user fees, which have generated approximately $178,100 this year
- Discussed potentially eliminating the $75 student participation fee for clubs and activities due to administrative challenges and limited revenue ($4,800)
- Considered changing the tradition of announcing students' post-graduation plans during the ceremony
The committee's next meeting is scheduled for April 30, when they will receive more information about the superintendent evaluation process.