Critics of administrators may take this as a good sign. It’s not. Trends that shrink the pool of leadership in any industry has devastating consequences. Inconsistency in school administration directly affects student learning.

Nationally, about one-fourth of superintendents plan to leave their jobs soon, according to a RAND survey out earlier this month. Half said they would leave in the next few years or were unsure how long they would remain.

This is on top of the 13% who resigned this past school year, which is average.

“Our data signal that superintendent turnover could increase in the near future,” the report states. “Superintendent turnover can potentially harm district functioning in that it can disrupt longer-term and systemic school reforms, which typically take five or more years.”

This comes after a February report from ILO Group showing 37% of the largest 500 districts in the U.S. had superintendent turnover since the pandemic began in March 2020. It noted that most superintendents are men and white, reflecting a lack of diversity at the administrative levels.

This superintendent exit has already hit our Texas neighbors.

The Fort Worth-Star Telegram reported this week its superintendent search joins 10 others in north Texas, including Dallas. Its board hired a Chicago-based national search firm to find candidates. Other high-profile districts on the hunt are Boston and Minneapolis.

These are tough, 24/7 jobs with a significant amount of scrutiny and criticism. Finding qualified candidates is challenging and expensive.

Oklahoma isn’t experiencing any uptick in resignations, according to Oklahoma State School Boards Association Executive Director Shawn Hime. Though, he noted, there are an usual number of superintendent vacancies in the Tulsa suburbs.

Since 2017, the state has averaged about 45 first-year superintendents annually, according to the state Education Department.

Four Tulsa-area districts experienced superintendent resignations this school year: Broken Arrow, Owasso, Catoosa and Coweta. Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist has been on the job seven years, outlasting many in urban district leadership.

It’s been particularly grueling for school administrators.

During the pandemic, they were in a lose-lose situation regarding decisions like school closures and mask precautions. What should have been public health and data-led discussions turned into political debates — as if the COVID-19 virus was Democrat or Republican.

No matter the choice, people got upset.

This was added to the unprecedented challenges of distance learning. Teachers were not trained in how to effectively make this switch, and a significant percentage of students initially did not have online access. Concerns over societal issues like hunger and mental health were compounded.

Many superintendents dealt with deaths and severe illnesses of staff, students and their family members from the virus.

Before the pandemic, superintendents reported working an average week of 59 hours. That jumped to an average of 67 hours weekly, according to the RAND survey. About 70% of superintendents say they work more hours now than before the pandemic.

The working conditions have become even more difficult as the culture wars have targeted public educators. Lawmakers are taking aim at “wokeness” with warped perceptions of what’s happening in classrooms, whether that’s the misunderstood social-emotional learning perspective or nonexistent critical race theory.

Oklahoma lawmakers have attempted to punish librarians for books they don’t like and restrict counselors from helping students.

In the meantime, Oklahoma is in the middle of a youth suicide epidemic. Mental health and education advocates have been trying to get attention and resources into literally saving the lives of children and youth.

Teachers are resigning at twice the rate that colleges are graduating new teachers, and many of those graduates leave for other states. Most new Oklahoma teachers leave within five years.

Little state effort has gone into getting more students into teaching degree programs. Even if that were to launch now, it would take four to five years to realize any benefit. Solutions to the existing shortage have been expanding adjunct teacher hours and setting new records annually in emergency certified teachers.

Oklahoma sits at 46th in per-pupil funding, a reflection of the classroom environment.

This is the backdrop for school administrators. Oklahoma public education needs champions and districts need consistent leadership. The alternative is too costly for our future workforce.