Superintendent turnover in U.S. school districts hits pre-pandemic low
Turnover among superintendents in the nation’s 500 largest school districts has retreated to pre-pandemic levels, with 17.4% of districts appointing new leadership during the 2025-26 academic year. Despite this stabilization, the long-term impact of the pandemic on executive stability remains profound, as only 78 of the original 500 leaders remain in their positions.
The latest findings from the ILO Group’s Superintendent Research Project indicate that 87 districts saw leadership changes over the past year. This marks a significant decline from the elevated churn seen in the five years following 2020, when annual turnover consistently reached or exceeded 20%. While the current rate aligns with pre-pandemic norms of 14% to 16%, the cumulative disruption has been immense: since March 2020, these districts have undergone 745 leadership transitions.
Dr. Julia Rafal-Baer, CEO of ILO Group, noted that frequent leadership turnover often forces districts to reset priorities, creating barriers to long-term progress. Those 78 superintendents who have remained in their roles since 2020 now boast a median tenure of 9.2 years, more than double the standard contract length for the profession. Meanwhile, gender representation continues a slow climb; women now hold 34% of these top positions. However, at the current rate of advancement, the industry is not projected to reach gender parity until 2048.
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