Oklahoma state agencies have high turnover after some new elected officials take over
BY PAUL MONIES
Database Editor
pmonies(at)opubco.com
Scores of state employees have left agencies after new leaders took office earlier this year, saving the state some money but at the cost of experience and knowledge in many specialized jobs.
Leading the way is the state Education Department, which has seen 61 employees leave since state schools Superintendent Janet Barresi took over in January.
The Oklahoman examined payroll records at six statewide elected agencies for the first six months of 2009, 2010 and 2011. The governor and lieutenant governor offices were excluded because they have smaller staffs.
Among the findings:
• The average turnover rate for state employees has been about 13 percent. Three of the six agencies had double those turnover rates in the first half of 2011.
• A combination of voluntary buyouts, employee transfers, retirements and resignations meant the number of employees at the Education Department fell to 269 at the end of June, down from 341 in January. Fourteen people left in the first part of 2010, while 11 employees left in the first half of 2009 under longtime state schools Superintendent Sandy Garrett, a Democrat.
• A quarter of the staff, or 32 people, at the Insurance Department left in the first six months of 2011. That compared with 12 employees in the same period of 2010 and 10 employees in 2009. The agency has 113 employees.
• More than one-fourth of the staff at the attorney general’s office left in the first part of this year. The agency has 148 employees. In the first part of 2010, 6 people left, while 11 people left in the same time period in 2009.
Turnover normal
Brett Sharp, a political science professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, said employee turnover is a normal part of any agency. It typically spikes a little when new leaders take over.
“We have way too many elected leaders in the executive branch,” Sharp said. “That makes Oklahoma different from most other states. We have a weak-governor (system). Part of that is having all these elected executives. They have their own agendas, and they bring in their own people. The people that are there may want to leave, especially if someone is coming in who is not the same political persuasion.”
There also are costs associated with training new people on the job or leaving positions open for extended periods. In its latest compensation report, the Office of Personnel Management estimates employee turnover costs the state about $82 million annually.
“One of our biggest challenges is maintaining senior management positions,” said State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones. “They’re often lured away by other agencies with offers of higher salaries. It’s also difficult to recruit experienced auditors.
“Most of our new hires are recent college graduates with no field experience, so additional training is necessary to prepare them for the job.”
Department turmoil
Phillip Applegate retired from the Education Department in February.
Applegate worked there from 1995 to 2005 and again from 2008 to 2011. His last job was as director of policy research. Applegate, 54, now works at the University of Tulsa.
Applegate said communication was scarce at the department between last November’s elections and January, when Barresi took office.
“There was very little effort to reach out to the people who had 25, 30, 35 or 40 years of experience,” Applegate said.
“It was disheartening, especially when we heard statements that really were more politically driven than educationally driven. I think there was a real concern that there was no desire to keep any of us around. She knew what she wanted to do, and we were simply in the way.”
Damon Gardenhire, Barresi’s communications director, said the turmoil involving the state Education Board earlier this year ended any hopes for an orderly transition.
After a contentious first meeting with Barresi leading the board, the GOP-controlled Legislature passed a law stripping the board of some oversight powers at the Education Department.
“We spent about four months with the superintendent not being able to act as the chief executive of the agency and being micromanaged by a group of unelected political appointees,” Gardenhire said. “That significantly affected morale in the agency, and we are in the process of rebuilding morale.”
Gardenhire said the Education Department was overstaffed in many areas. Barresi has been able to cut payroll by $2.5 million in the first six months, he said.
More than 20 longtime employees took buyouts in January or February.
Among the payroll savings were cutting the number of employees in the print shop to one from seven. The department also streamlined some financial services jobs and communications jobs, Gardenhire said.
As part of a statewide technology consolidation effort, the Education Department shifted some information technology employees to the Office of State Finance.
At the Labor Department, 10 of the 89 employees are new. That’s close to the turnover numbers for the first six months of the previous two years under former Commissioner Lloyd Fields, a Democrat.
Labor Commissioner Mark Costello, a Republican who defeated Fields, said new administrative staff took a pay cut when they started.
He also decided not to replace a deputy commissioner and an attorney, both of whom made salaries of more than $70,000.
“Personally, I reduced my salary by 15 percent in order to meet the bottom line.”
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TURNOVER
The Oklahoman looked at employment and agency turnover at six agencies headed by new officials. Here’s how they stacked up:
Education Department
• Elected official: Janet Barresi
• Number of employees, January: 341
• Number of employees, June: 269
• Turnover, first half 2011: 61
• Turnover, first half 2010: 14
• Turnover, first half 2009: 11
Attorney general
• Elected official: Scott Pruitt
• Number of employees, January: 143
• Number of employees, June: 148
• Turnover, first half 2011: 40
• Turnover, first half 2010: 6
• Turnover, first half 2009: 11
Insurance Department
• Elected official: John Doak
• Number of employees, January: 117
• Number of employees, June: 113
• Turnover, first half 2011: 32
• Turnover, first half 2010: 12
• Turnover, first half 2009: 10
State auditor, inspector
• Elected official: Gary Jones
• Number of employees, January: 114
• Number of employees, June: 118
• Turnover, first half 2011: 11
• Turnover, first half 2010: 11
• Turnover, first half 2009: 9
Labor Department
• Elected official: Mark Costello
• Number of employees, January: 91
• Number of employees, June: 89
• Turnover, first half 2011: 10
• Turnover, first half 2010: 6
• Turnover, first half 2009: 9
Treasurer
• Elected official: Ken Miller
• Number of employees, January: 56
• Number of employees, June: 55
• Turnover, first half 2011: 3
• Turnover, first half 2010: 1
• Turnover, first half 2009: 0
SOURCE: THE OKLAHOMAN ANALYSIS OF STATE PAYROLL DATA
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