Madison Reporter

The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) has reported progress in employee retention and substitute fill rates for the 2024-25 school year. Comparing data up to December 31 with the previous year, turnover has decreased among several key employee groups. Teachers saw a decline from 12% to 7%, supportive education employees from 13% to 5%, food service workers from 17% to 9%, and bilingual resource specialists from 12% to 6%.

Contributing factors include salary enhancements, a new compensation analyst position, a substitute teacher bonus program, increased pay rates for special education assistants (SEAs), improved customer service, technology adoption, and a streamlined hiring process.

Jennifer Trendel, senior executive director of human resources, highlighted the focus on performance feedback and professional growth opportunities. Programs like Grow Your Own to Associate Degree and Accelerated Licensure in Special Education offer paths toward careers in education for current staff. The District Leadership Preparation Pipeline provides participants with a master’s degree in K–12 leadership.

Trendel also mentioned competitive salaries and robust insurance benefits: “Other benefits include voluntary retirement participation, in addition to the Wisconsin Retirement System, and staff recognition.”

Substitute fill rates have been challenging since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, MMSD's rates have improved significantly compared to the first semester of the previous school year. Substitute teacher fill rates increased from 75% to 84%, while SEAs rose from 48% to 73%. Trendel attributed these improvements partly to budget approval impacts: “We’re definitely seeing the impacts of the budget approval, the increased rate of pay, and the bonus program.”

The community's support for MMSD's operations referendum in November was crucial for these improvements. The measure allowed district staff a full wage increase of 4.12% for the current school year.

MMSD is Dane County's sixth-largest employer. Those interested in working with MMSD can find job openings on their job board.