BOISE, ID – Idaho has a shortage of school administrators, especially in rural areas. A bill in the Legislature aims to address that.

House Bill 295 would create the Administrator Leadership Apprenticeship Program to speed up the process for certifying new administrators.

In particular, the bill’s goal is to open the pipeline of administrators from other industries – including the military, private business, nonprofits and government.

Heather Williams is associate executive director of the Idaho Association of School Administrators, and is the director of the Idaho Rural Schools Association.

She said administrators in rural districts often find themselves doing more but not earning more.

“They’re the principal, they’re the superintendent, they’re teaching a class, they’re driving the bus, they’re coaching teams,” said Williams, “and the pay differential really isn’t much more than an experienced teacher. They’re just working more days.

Williams said unfortunately, House Bill 295 doesn’t address this issue.

The bill requires applicants to the apprenticeship program to get sponsorship from a public school district or local education agency and complete leadership training at a regionally accredited higher education institution.

Williams noted that administrator attrition rates are high in Idaho – 20% last year and 64% in the past five years. The losses are particularly acute in rural areas.

Williams said one way to retain more administrators is through mentorship, especially in their first three years.

“Districts or states with formalized mentoring programs report superintendent retention rates 40% higher,” said Williams, “and so we would have really liked to see that as a piece of this, particularly for rural districts.

Williams said support for nontraditional pathways to becoming administrators has also shown to be helpful in other states.

However, Williams noted that as House Bill 295 stands now, it could put more of an onus on already struggling rural districts to find and retain administrators.