McWhirter takes reins at 256

MORAN — For the past 31 summers, Kenneth McWhirter has known exactly what was needed to get Marmaton Valley Elementary ready for the start of school.
He still does, but now McWhirter has a host of additional responsibilities as USD 256’s new superintendent of schools.
McWhirter was appointed this summer to replace the retiring David Hardage. McWhirter will remain as principal at MVES.
“I’m always thinking, ‘OK, is there something I’m missing, something I’m not seeing?’” McWhirter said. “Is there a deadline from the state I need to be worried about? Before, I just worried about my school building. Now, I have to worry about a lot of state stuff.
“Am I excited?” he asked. “Anxious? Yeah. Like any new job, there are a lot of hurdles, a lot of new things you learn along the way, things you don’t always get out of a book.
“In part, it was due to the financial situation of the district,” he said. “With the declining funds from the state, it was a good fit to combine the two positions. It’s been done at quite a few smaller schools throughout the state, and it was discussed last time before they hired Mr. Hardage.”
McWhirter understands there will be an adjustment, for him and his staff.
“There will have to be some delegation,” he said.

MARMATON VALLEY for years has churned out scores of top-notch students, McWhirter said.
“We’ve been very successful with our academics,” he said. “We’ve had nurses, doctors; we’ve had a Rhodes Scholar from here. Academically, the kids that go from here to four-year schools have been successful.”
But…
“It’s the other ones, the ones who don’t have the desire to go to a four-year school, whose interests may be more mechanical or plumbing, those type of occupations,” he continued.
McWhirter points to the high school’s industrial arts program with Crossland Construction, in which students potentially earn college credits or other certification.
“If funds were unlimited, I’d love to see an auto mechanic class,” he said. “I’d love to see technology courses offered.”
But a glimpse at the district’s budget quickly snaps McWhirter back to reality. Those programs are exponentially more expensive than traditional school courses.
“As it stands, we’re having to do more with less to serve the students we have, to get them so they can compete in the marketplace” he said.
But McWhirter is nothing if not tenacious.
He’s eager to see Marmaton Valley reach out to neighboring districts for a cooperative vocational program.
The subject was broached recently with Iola and Humboldt, but those talks were quickly shelved as budgets tightened.

AS IT stands, Marmaton Valley — the smallest of Allen County’s three school districts — offers a plethora of opportunities, McWhirter said.
“One of the things we can do here is provide an opportunity for students to participate in a lot of activities,” he said. “In a bigger school, they might not be able to participate in as many things, and have to focus on specific areas. With a small school, students get to try out a lot of things. Maybe they’ll find something they didn’t’ realize they were interested in until they learned about it.”
The other strength is USD 256’s staff.
“I’d say the staff members, for the most part, have been here 10 years on average,” he said. “They know me. I know them. They know my expectations; I know where they’re at, how they deal with things. It will make it a lot easier. Any time you have a good staff, it works much better for everybody.”
District facilities remain in tip-top shape.
The buildings are up to date and well-maintained,” McWhirter said. “Our custodians do a great job with preventive maintenance.
“What we will have to look at is our transportation fleet,” he continued. “It’s starting to show some age. Some of our buses are getting to the end of their life span, and buying a bus is an expensive thing to do.”

ONE OF the questions board members asked of McWhirter before they expanded his duties was how long he planned on staying in office.
As a 40-year educator — he taught in Larned for eight years before moving to Marmaton Valley — McWhirter was eligible for retirement long ago.
In response, McWhirter pointed to the superintendents he’s worked under while at Marmaton Valley — seven in all.
“And we’ve had more high school principals than that,” McWhirter said with a chuckle. “I don’t know what it is about elementary principals. We just don’t go anywhere. And with the seven superintendents we’ve had, if I stay here five years, I’m near the top of that list in terms of longevity.”
For the record, McWhirter indicated no desire to retire soon.