School board members approved a policy Monday night that rewards teachers and administrators for notifying the district early in the calendar year of their plans to either retire or leave the school district.
“The sooner we know a teacher is leaving, the better our chances of finding a good replacement,” said Jack Koehn, USD 257 superintendent of schools. “The pool of applicants becomes smaller the longer we wait.
“If we are forced to wait until summer, we’re at a disadvantage.
“For those who are pretty sure they are going to retire or relocate, we’re hoping this is an incentive to let us know as soon as possible. The teacher shortage in Kansas is real.”
Those who notify the district by Feb. 5 will receive a $1,000 stipend, those by March 1, a $500 bonus. The early incentive package is for certified personnel only and will be dispersed in June.
The district has 100 teachers and 10 administrators. Of those, “about three to six” leave the district each year, Koehn said.
The highest turnover rate is for those new to the profession. When coupled with living in a new town, the rate skyrockets, Koehn said.
“We have about a 50 percent turnover rate for teachers who have one to five years of experience and are new to Iola,” Koehn said. The retention rate is higher if Iola is their hometown, he said.
CREST school district has voiced an interest in participating in a regional vo-tech program, Koehn said.
Chuck Mahon, superintendent of USD 479, Colony, recently contacted Koehn to inquire about the program, Koehn said.
That brings the number to eight high schools, and three community colleges, involved in the discussion of the program that hopes to get underway in some fashion by next fall.
Under the arrangement, the colleges provide the instructors, the high schools the students. The state reimburses the colleges for what these students would be paying in tuition if they were attending the community college.
Ray Maloney, LaHarpe businessman, has agreed to lease land to the colleges for the program. Maloney recently purchased the site where Diebolt Lumber was headquartered south of U.S. 54 in LaHarpe.
The next step is for the college administrators to figure what classes they can get turned around in such a short time frame, Koehn said. “We’re hoping each college will be able to provide at least one class,” he said. “It’s just a starting point. The program will have to built incrementally.”
The next meeting of area high school and community college administrators is Feb. 16.
DOUG TRESSLER, has been named the new director of ANW Cooperative, Dan Willis, school board member, reported.
Willis is the board’s representative to the cooperative. ANW provides the services by which children with special needs can attend public schools.
Tressler has a strong background in special education, Willis said.
Another strategic planning meeting between school administrators and members of the public will be Feb. 1.
This will be the third meeting of the group since last fall.
“We’re hoping to get the final blessing,” on a plan to present to the public, Koehn said of the meeting’s goal. It is tentatively set for 9 a.m. and is expected to last a couple of hours.
“Rain forest” conditions at Lincoln Elementary prompted Scott Stanley, director of operations, to spend almost $2,000 in roof repairs. “We found some leaks,” and patched them, he said.
Recent gifts to the district include $400 from the Iola Booster Club to the band program for the cleaning of instruments; almost $2,000 from the booster club to go to the costume for the school mascot, Marv; and a $110 grant from Petco to fifth-grade teacher Karen Price for a Crested Gecko habitat.
In staffing matters, the board hired Vince Coons, high school science teacher, as assistant track coach at the high school, Emily Hampton, as an assistant track coach and Maggie Wilson, as a half -time track coach, and accepted the resignation of Tony Wagner as a paraprofessional on the school bus.
In other news, Koehn said vo-ag students under the guidance of instructor Charles Kerr are retrofitting an old school bus, “inside and out” to resemble a diner.
Besides being available for student functions during the school year, Koehn envisions the mobile diner being a good fit for the summer food program in Gas and LaHarpe.
