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A former superintendent shares five vital lessons he鈥檚 discovering while overseeing the system鈥檚 personnel affairs

For many education leaders, human resources, or HR, is something they interact with, not something they lead. That was true for me, too.

Over the past two decades, I鈥檝e had the privilege of serving in a wide range of educational leadership roles: high school principal, assistant superintendent of educational services and superintendent of Monrovia Unified School District in California. In each role, I worked closely with HR 鈥� hiring, evaluating, supporting staff, navigating negotiations and managing complex personnel issues.

Since stepping into the role of deputy superintendent in Bellflower Unified School District, located between Los Angeles and Long Beach, nearly two years ago, I am responsible for directly leading HR for the first time. It鈥檚 given me a whole new perspective.

If you鈥檙e a site leader, department head or central-office administrator who鈥檚 ever wondered what it鈥檚 like to lead human resources across a school system 鈥� or how HR work shapes the culture, strategy and stability of an entire district 鈥� these reflections are for you.

Unexpected Reach

I thought I understood the work. I didn鈥檛. Not fully.

HR is more complex, more central and more impactful than I ever realized. It touches every part of a school system and every phase of an employee鈥檚 career. This past year has deepened my appreciation for the people who do this work and reminded me how vital HR is to the overall health of a district.

I鈥檓 sharing five lessons I鈥檝e learned along the way.

No. 1: HR cannot operate in a silo.

One of the most important realizations I鈥檝e had is that HR must be fully integrated with every part of the organization to be effective. It can鈥檛 just be a department that processes paperwork or responds to issues as they arise. That alignment starts at the top.

To implement the board of education鈥檚 vision and carry out the superintendent鈥檚 strategic direction, HR must be tightly connected to the district鈥檚 executive leadership. That alignment becomes even more critical during leadership transitions. When a new superintendent joins the team, as we experienced recently in Bellflower, HR helps ensure continuity, builds trust and supports a strong start. Whether we鈥檙e expanding mental health services, launching new career pathways or rethinking school leadership pipelines, HR is the engine that ensures we have the right people in the right roles, supported and equipped to execute on that vision.

For schools and instructional divisions to succeed, HR must understand their goals and align staffing, support and systems accordingly. If we鈥檙e focused on improving reading achievement, expanding dual enrollment or supporting student well-being, HR must be a strategic partner in those efforts. Human capital strategy must match instructional priorities.

The same is true for the district鈥檚 business services. With nearly 90 percent of a school district鈥檚 budget tied to people, HR and business services must be in constant communication 鈥� cross-checking projections, staffing plans, timelines and assumptions. They must function as collaborators while also providing necessary checks and balances.

When HR is siloed, the entire system suffers. When it is aligned with executive leadership, instruction and operations, however, it becomes one of the most powerful levers for driving districtwide success.

No. 2: HR is the heart and soul of a district鈥檚 culture.

I鈥檝e come to see HR as the human core of the district. We鈥檙e there for the milestones that define a career: the excitement of a job offer, the joy of welcoming a child, the stress of a medical emergency and/or the bittersweet transition into retirement.

We鈥檙e also there when things go wrong, whether someone has made a mistake or is accused of wrongdoing. In those moments, how we show up matters. We ensure due process. We navigate conflict with care. We approach difficult conversations with empathy and professionalism.

This past year, we鈥檝e looked for new ways to live out our values more visibly and meaningfully. With strong collaboration across the HR team, we launched our first STAR Awards to recognize employee excellence, hosted a new Retirement Social to honor years of service and organized our first-ever Career Expo and Resource Fair to connect future employees and local partners with district leaders.

Shaunt茅 Knox-Anderson, in her role as executive director of certificated human resources, has been a key partner in bringing many of these efforts to life, including facilitating a districtwide training series focused on building shared understanding, improving communication and fostering a more inclusive and respectful environment for all staff and students.

We also redesigned how we hire school leaders. Our new process includes authentic performance tasks that reflect real work, and we now invite teachers, classified staff and students into the later stages of selection. It鈥檚 not just a procedural change. It鈥檚 a statement about the kind of leadership culture we value: collaborative, transparent and community-centered.

HR is about people, and when we get it right, it builds pride, loyalty and a sense of belonging that strengthens every corner of the district.

No. 3: Strong labor partnerships make everything work better.

The foundation of effective labor relations is trust. That foundation is built over time, one conversation at a time. I鈥檝e learned this year that strong relationships don鈥檛 just help during negotiations. They make everything work better, every day. Every interaction with every staff member is a part of labor relations, whether it鈥檚 answering a question, solving a problem or just listening when someone needs to talk.

That鈥檚 why I鈥檝e made it a priority to connect regularly with our union leaders 鈥� not only at the bargaining table, but also over coffee, breakfast and lunch. I should own stock in Starbucks given how many of our best labor conversations have happened over a latte or a quick bite. Creating space for those connections has built mutual respect, shared understanding and the ability to work through challenges together.

When those relationships are strong, you can solve problems informally, before they escalate into grievances, complaints or public confrontations. You can have honest, open conversations that make room for empathy and forward movement.

Trust becomes even more important when tensions rise, as they often do during negotiations. We all want manageable class sizes that allow teachers to be effective, but smaller numbers require greater financial resources. We want to give everyone a significant raise because they鈥檙e worth it. At the same time, we must contend with budget limitations and long-term solvency. We want to update outdated contract language, but doing so can sometimes feel like a win-lose proposition.

That鈥檚 the art of labor relations: finding the balance between honoring the work of educators and maintaining the district鈥檚 financial stability. Negotiations aren鈥檛 just about today. They鈥檙e about tomorrow. Every decision we make at the table shapes what鈥檚 possible in the future. You might not reach agreement in a single session, but how you show up today lays the groundwork for progress later. Sometimes, what isn鈥檛 resolved now can still come together when the time is right.

No. 4: There鈥檚 far more compliance in HR than I ever realized 鈥� and you can鈥檛 afford to get it wrong.

Despite my years in educational leadership, I didn鈥檛 fully grasp the sheer volume of compliance issues HR manages until I was leading the department myself. Education code, labor law, collective bargaining agreements, personnel commission rules, credentialing, timelines, notices 鈥� the list is long, and every piece matters. Add in required trainings, health clearances, background checks and a full spectrum of employee leaves 鈥� FMLA, ADA, catastrophic, bereavement, jury duty and more 鈥� and the complexity only grows.

It鈥檚 not just technical, it鈥檚 operational. Miss a deadline to issue a notice? You might forfeit the right to act. Let a credential lapse? A teacher may be removed from the classroom. Overlook a memorandum of agreement鈥檚 sunset clause or mismanage leave documentation? You could unintentionally violate contract or statute.

Falling short in any one area doesn鈥檛 just cause paperwork headaches. It creates legal, financial and reputational risks that are far more difficult to fix after the fact.

That鈥檚 why having the right team around you makes all the difference. In Bellflower, I鈥檝e been fortunate to work alongside a smart, steady and solutions-oriented HR team, as well as trusted legal counsel, who help ensure we get it right. I鈥檓 also especially grateful for our partnerships with organizations like School Services of California. Their guidance has helped us think more strategically and systemically about compliance and what it takes to stay ahead of it.

Compliance isn鈥檛 the ceiling. It鈥檚 the floor. It may not be exciting, but it鈥檚 essential. And when it鈥檚 ignored or minimized, it always finds a way to resurface. If you don鈥檛 give it the attention it deserves, it will catch up with you every time.

No. 5: AI Is transforming HR, but people always must come first.

My colleague Frank Olmos, our district鈥檚 executive director of classified personnel, and I have spent the past year exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping human resources work. What has surprised me most is not how powerful the tools are but how quickly they鈥檝e become practical.

AI has helped our HR team work more efficiently and consistently, from reviewing large applicant pools to analyzing documents that once required hours of manual effort. Tasks that used to take days now can be completed in hours, freeing staff to focus on interviews, judgment and relationship building.

Efficiency, however, is not the goal. People are. The best use of AI in HR is not to replace human decision making but to support it. Technology can reduce fatigue and increase consistency, but it cannot understand district culture, weigh context or navigate the human dimensions of personnel decisions.

In our work, AI assists. Humans decide. When used thoughtfully and with appropriate safeguards, AI can help school districts work smarter while preserving trust, fairness and integrity. (See related story, page 26.)

Final Considerations

If you鈥檙e a leader considering a future HR leadership role in a school district or stepping into a cabinet role where you鈥檒l oversee HR, know that the work is complex, demanding and essential. You鈥檒l need to understand the rules, manage risk and support people through every phase of their career. You鈥檒l face hard decisions and high stakes. You鈥檒l also gain a broader view of the organization and a deeper connection to the people who keep it running.

I鈥檓 a better leader for having done this work. Not many get the opportunity to lead both educational services and human resources, and doing so has deepened my perspective, sharpened my decision making and strengthened my ability to lead with the entire school system in mind.

HR leadership will stretch you. It will test your judgment, your resilience and your ability to lead with integrity. It also will remind you every single day why people matter. And if you lead with clarity, empathy and purpose, you won鈥檛 just help your district run more smoothly, you鈥檒l help it thrive. 

Ryan Smith is deputy superintendent of Bellflower Unified School District in Bellflower, Calif.