An unprecedented 51 school superintendents have left their jobs during the last 20 months, according to the Georgia School Superintendents Association. 

“That’s the most we’ve seen regardless of reason over the last 10 years,” Georgia School Superintendents Association (GSSA) Executive Director John Zauner told State Affairs.  

The departures mean nearly 30% of Georgia’s 180 school districts experienced turnover in top leadership. That disruption ripples throughout a school system, one study notes, sometimes for years.

 “Anytime you change leadership like that, it certainly impacts your schools locally as well as statewide,” Zauner said. 

What’s happening?

The latest departures began in January 2022 and continue through this month, GSSA data shows. During the time period, 34 superintendents retired while 17 left, moved or departed for other reasons.

More than a third — 12 — of the 34 retirees were women. Women already account for a small percentage of superintendents nationally, according to federal data.

The average school superintendent’s tenure in Georgia is 2.8 years, below the national average of 3.2 years, GSSA said. 

Many of the departures occurred in what’s considered rural counties. Rural school districts account for 62%, or 112, of Georgia’s 180 school districts. 

Zauner attributes the departures to a number of issues.“ In some cases, it’s retirement. In other cases, people are being worn out by the work.”

GSSA President Jason Branch lauded the retirements, saying they were a “celebration of a successful career and long-tenured service for school systems in the state. That’s a mark we all hoped to get to at some point.”

Many of those retired superintendents remain in education, working for nonprofits, colleges and regional educational agencies, Branch noted.

Celebration notwithstanding, the loss still stings.

“Long-tenured boards and long-tenured superintendents, a well functioning governance team,  takes time to build,” said Branch, who has been superintendent of Oconee Schools for 12 years. “It’s always a challenge anytime that there’s a leadership change of this significant number.” 

The exodus comes on the heels of the pandemic which is likely to have exacerbated this round of departures. 

In March 2020, Georgia public schools were forced to shut down for the rest of the school year and rely on virtual classes. Statewide assessments of students’ performance were cancelled. Education in Georgia and elsewhere was upended.

“I have no doubt the pandemic impacted all educators and individuals, because of the challenge of the work that was in front of them,” Branch said. “We’ve never experienced that. The decisions that had to be made and the challenges that came from those decisions certainly were stressful to our communities and individuals we serve. So it would certainly be fair to say that that did not increase the longevity of those folks in those positions for sure.”

The large-scale loss is another example of the state’s continuing workforce challenges. State agencies are dealing with an aging workforce and fewer younger people to replace them.

The exodus of Georgia state employees is at an all-time high — 26%, creating compromised services in some departments and heavier workloads and more stress on remaining workers, as State Affairs previously reported. 

Nationally, some 51,000 teachers and other educational staff quit their jobs in June of this year, according to Statista Research Department.

Why It Matters

While there’s been scores of research and articles done on the average worker in various fields, not much appears to have been done on school superintendents.

The U.S. Department of Education does not track superintendent well-being, performance and willingness to stay on the job, according to Rachel White, an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Tennessee.

But White does.

 Since 2019, she and a team of researchers  conducted an analysis of  superintendent turnover in more than 12,500 public schools nationwide.

Turnover among superintendents rose from 14.2% between 2019-20 and 2020-21 to 17.1% between 2021-22 and 2022-23, White’s analysis found.  More than one in every three states — 37% — had  a turnover rate greater than 20%  between the last two school years.

A superintendent turnover occurred at least once in 35% of districts nationwide and 6% of districts saw two or more turnovers.

White’s research was “unable to determine an exact cause” but did find that districts with “larger proportions of students of color were significantly more likely to experience superintendent turnover.”

“This finding is especially troubling given that frequent churn of leadership can disrupt a school district’s stability and culture, ultimately impacting students’ academic performance,” White wrote in an article about superintendent turnover. 

White’s analysis also found:

What’s Next?

The turnovers ultimately will mean the departing superintendents’ replacements will need time to get up to speed in their new jobs.

“It’s no different than when we see changes in coaches or leaders in any position,” Branch said. “We’re going to see a time where that change is significant to the school system because they [new superintendents] need to come in and establish what they think are the appropriate priorities going forward and those may or may not match the priorities that were in place with the prior leader.”

Efforts are being made to address the exodus of superintendent and teachers alike, Branch said.

GSSA has a range of programs for superintendents, including a senior leadership/executive leadership program; an expanded mentoring program for new superintendents; a new, 18- to 24-month superintendent orientation program; and a two-year superintendent professional development program for those who want to become superintendents.

“We’re trying to do it on the front end once the superintendent attains the position,” Branch said. “And then continue to give professional learning to those individuals who have been in the job for a while.”

But Branch understands losing superintendents and ramifications of that loss is an issue that extends beyond Georgia.

“I think we’re seeing a national trend in education. As  individuals who have long-standing careers retire, are we producing the educators and attracting the individuals to go into education?,” he said. “Recruitment and retention of educators across our country is of significant importance. We need to continue to have that conversation at all levels because ultimately, that’s where your superintendents are going to come from — career educators.”

Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on Twitter @lvjoyner or at [email protected].

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Header image: Ben Hill County Primary School in Fitzgerald, GA welcomes kids back for the new school year. (Credit: Ben Hill County School District)

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