Instead of trial, sentencing is ahead for a decorated Kansas educator in a child exploitation case.
Howard Pitler, a former Kansas Principal of the Year while at USD 259 Wichita and a former Emporia State University professor, pleaded no contest last month to two counts of indecent solicitation. As part of the plea agreement, Pitler is tentatively set to spend 38 months in prison and not request probation. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
Pitler was tentatively set for trial next month in Johnson County before accepting the plea. Sentencing is Nov. 24.
Pitler was arrested a year ago and originally charged with indecent electronic solicitation after an alleged incident in February 2023.
Before serving as a professor at ESU from 2018, focusing on school leadership and middle and secondary teacher education in the Teachers College, until shortly after his arrest, Pitler was nationally recognized for his education work while at USD 259, including National Distinguished Principal in 1999, Apple Distinguished Educator and Smithsonian Laureate. The Kansas Principal of the Year honor was bestowed in 1997.
