Cost containment work continues for USD 253 Emporia, and discussions over the last several months are moving towards an action plan for the district.
On KVOE’s Morning Show on Thursday, Superintendent Dr David McGehee says the Cost Containment Committee recently passed a notable milestone ahead of a presentation to — and recommendations for — the Board of Education on March 11.
Two general categories have risen to the forefront. One likely area is personnel.
Such an effort would likely start with attrition and, possibly, early retirement incentives.
Director of Human Resources Erica Mickelson says this has become a difficult task to complete without a staff reduction.
Another potential option is consolidating certain school buildings. If that is pursued, McGehee says there will be ample time for parents and students to adjust after a rushed public conversation considering a pause of operations at William Allen White in the summer of 2022.
Unless a school building is closed, the district’s infrastructure costs, including utilities, will likely remain constant.
One option that has been discussed — and removed from the list — is changing to a four-day week.
Prolonged declines in enrollment, exacerbated by the lengthy closure of Tyson Foods announced in December 2024, are at the heart of an effort to find around $4 million in cost savings.
While the recommendations are a few weeks away, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Joshua Swartz says this is work designed to help the district long-term.
The potential solutions are difficult, but McGehee says he has been pleased with the process that has involved as many as 80 people on the committee to give a “good, broad perspective” to the ongoing conversations since last fall. He says the district could have softened the blow had it taken action earlier, but he also says a decline in state funding didn’t help.
McGehee says the overall discussion is about right-sizing district operations and building a solid foundation for future education. Interim Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning and Student Services Sheryl Leeds agrees.
Cost containment efforts began shortly after a report from McGehee delivered in late August, where he noted that total enrollment had dipped from the September 2024 headcount of 4,050 students to 3,811, a drop of almost 240 students. The non-weighted full-time-equivalent student number, 4,019, is down from nearly 4,200 students last year — and that category is significant because it’s the one used to calculate state financial aid for the current academic year ending June 2026. Enrollment dipped between 2024-25 and again between 2023-24, but enrollment has generally been declining since being over 4,800 in 2000.
