USD 257 officials are looking for a new director of operations, after Scott Stanley announced he will leave the position at the end of the month.
Stanley accepted a position with a real estate development company in Missouri.
As director of operations, Stanley oversees the maintenance and transportation department and staff.
Hes worked for USD 257 for eight years, and saw the district through several major renovations.
The switch from neighborhood elementary schools to grade-level attendance centers required a great deal of planning and effort, he said. He also recalled projects like renovating the building at 305 N. Washington St. as a new board office, and remodeling the former board office to serve as the Crossroads alternative education program.
Most recently, he and his crew reconfigured classrooms and other space this past summer when music, art and drama classes moved from the Bowlus Fine Arts Center to Iola High School.
But the day-to-day challenges of maintaining Iolas facilities requires a delicate balancing act, he said. The aging structures were never designed for the modern challenges of education. Not only are electrical systems unprepared for the demands of computers and modern technology systems, those machines put off heat that stresses the HVAC systems, Stanley said.
With the ever-changing technology and the way instruction is done in the classrooms now, its not just students sitting in chairs with a book, he said.
Because of those challenges, Stanley said he hopes voters will support a bond issue to build a new elementary school, a technology center at Iola High School and purchase a new HVAC system at Iola Middle School. Officials estimated the new buildings and improvements could save the district about $300,000 each year because of various efficiencies and consolidation of services.
We are spending so much money on trying to maintain these aging buildings, and I think we are falling further and further behind in the classroom. Students are the ones suffering, he said.
Stanley said hes enjoyed his time working for the Iola district, but the opportunity in Missouri was too good to pass up.
His advice for future directors is to communicate well with teachers and administrators about their needs, including budgetary needs, and to remember the focus is to provide a safe place to education local children.
We do whatever it takes to help the kids out. Weve got a good group of staff in place which makes it easy, he said. Ill definitely miss the folks who work here.
USD 257 has begun advertising for the position; an advertisement can be found on page B2.
