During the September school board meeting, District Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith spoke about the current staffing climate in ways he never has before, he said.
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Staffing is booming in the Warren County R-III School District.
During the September school board meeting, District Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith spoke about the current staffing climate in ways he never has before, he said.
“What’s really our focus on our CSIP goal is to retain 90 percent of our staff,” Klinginsmith said. “This is the best report I’ve given, ever, in all the time I’ve been around. I really believe this is a record year for retention. I don’t have all the data, so I can’t say that with 100 percent confidence. I have been around since 2011, though. During that time, we’ve never come close to hitting 90 percent.”
In the report, Klinginsmith said staff retention, excluding retirements, is 89.5 percent, a 4.5-percent jump from the previous school year.
From Sept. 1, 2025, through Sept. 1, 2026, the district retained 450 of its 503 employees.
“That is really crazy,” Klinginsmith said. “A lot of that is (from) building administrators building new cultures in our schools, but also I think the promise of higher salaries down the road is having a big impact on keeping people here, so those are all positive things.”
For all Classified Staff, the retention rate was 88.3 percent.
That breaks down to Administrative Assistants/Certified Office Staff at 95.7 percent; Transportation at 94.3 percent; Custodian/Maintenance at 82.8 percent; Food Service at 90.5 percent and Paras/Latchkey/Parents as Teachers at 83.3 percent.
“We retained 204 out of 231 classified positions,” Klinginsmith said. “Transportation is at 94 percent, so when people come drive for us, they like the job and they stay. It’s a job people like to do and we’re trying to get more people to do the job. It really is a good job. Some areas where we dropped off have been custodians and maintenance. It’s an area we need to work on, for sure.”
In terms of certified retention, 90.8 percent of all staff was retained.
That breaks down to teachers at 90.2 percent; Counselor/Librarians at 84.2 percent; and Other Certified (SPED, Curriculum, ELL, Therapist) at 100 percent.
“To retain 95 percent of our administrative team and 90 percent of our teachers has been a goal for a long time,” Klinginsmith said. “We lost two teachers, total, to St. Charles County. We’re retaining people here. Good things are happening in Warren County.”
Klinginsmith said that, looking ahead, the district’s objectives should be straightforward.
“Our goals are to always try to increase pay,” Klinginsmith said. “We’re also working to provide positive working conditions for all work groups.”
