Now let’s talk Knox (aka District Office or the DO):
While many schools in the district have endured painful cuts in the last few years, Knox has only grown.
🌟KNOX “CUTS”?: Last year’s cuts to the DO were confusing. Only one position was cut, one was reclassified, and principals were given additional duties while teaching and learning staff were back in the classroom. In addition, there were furloughs, however, any savings from them were offset by district office raises. What did all this shuffling change? The only net effect was that students lost principal time.
From the OSD 2024-25 Budget Presentation:
🌟HIGHEST REGIONAL PAY: Did you know that the salaries of 12 positions at the DO equals the supposed savings of closing 2 schools? We pay higher salaries at the district office than our neighboring districts. Even the charts that the district has posted for the June 26 board meeting shows a minimum and maximum salaries for some positions. Guess which one adds up to the highest sum?
Based on OSD 2025-26 Salary Comparisons, unless otherwise noted:
🌟ATTRITION: In the June 5 work session, Superintendent Murphy said in regards to attrition, “As I’ve said before, the best way to shrink a school district if its enrollment is going down and our funding is going down, is through attrition. If somebody leaves, don’t fill that position.” Well, according to this week’s board meeting agenda materials, we’re adding in an Assistant Superintendent.
Would love to see clearer evidence of lasting cuts to a district office that has steadily increased in size while our funding has increased and our student-facing positions are reduced.
- Source of Percent Growth of Population in Schools: https://www.americanexperiment.org/district-admin-growth-10x-greater-than-student-teacher-growth/