was or were/

[lorraineh]

In the sentence below should it be was or were?

The staff was to perch on the gym benches...

 

[banderas]

In the sentence below should it be was or were?

The staff was to perch on the gym benches...

class, team, government, staff, committee, public, family, crowd, group etc. can be be either singular or plural depending on their use in the sentence.
In your sentence "staff" can be regarded either as one unit or as "staff members". I would be inclined to consider it more as as a unit in the sentence above.