The doors of William Allen White will be open once the 2022-23 school year begins.
USD 253 School Board members declined a recommendation to “pause” operations at the elementary school during a more than hour-long special board meeting Thursday afternoon. The recommendation came as the district is in the midst of a “staffing crisis” and would have seen building certified and classified staff transferred throughout the district to fill the urgent vacancies.
The board’s decision came after a near-hour-long public comment period where students, staff and patrons had the opportunity to offer their thoughts on the matter and express their desires to see the school remain open. Upon hearing the passionate words of his “school family” Thursday, building Principal Tell Kirk tells KVOE News he felt a mixture of pride and gratitude.
A common concern expressed during the public comment period and the special meeting was the timing of the recommendation. With just four weeks to go before the start of the school year, Board President Leslie Seeley called the timing “abysmal.”
Seeley added that while she understood the reasoning behind the recommendation, she could not bring herself to place this burden on the families and students of William Allen White.
Board member Jami Reever agreed, saying students and families have already weathered enough adversity over the past two years alone.
In addition to declining the pause recommendation, the board also granted all authority necessary to Superintendent Allison Anderson Harder to explore and find a new potential solution to the staffing crisis. Additional options presented to the board Thursday included:
*Transferring instructional strategists to classroom teacher positions
*Hiring qualified student teachers in December
*Adjusting instructional strategist schedules to go into classrooms for part of the day and teaching flex groups for part of the day
*Combining grade levels into “multi-age” classrooms
*Staggering start times
*Increasing class sizes
*Scheduling flex groups with more students per group
Anderson Harder says she cannot say what the right decision is at this time, however, the district wants to hear all opinions from staff and patrons alike. Anderson Harder adds that while this is not a conversation that anyone within the district wanted to have, she believes it has helped to drive home the true severity of the ongoing staffing shortage.
The district’s “best case scenario,” according to Anderson Harder, is that over the next three years enrollment and staffing both increase significantly to the point where “we never have this conversation again.” With the district seeing roughly 40 resignations over the past year, coupled with Thursday’s discussions, many spectators and some board members questioned whether Emporia is still a destination where people want to come to teach.
Board member Jennifer Thomas stated Thursday it is difficult for the district to retain and recruit new educators while “pulling the rug out from under current staff.”
According to district statistics, USD 253 currently has 13 certified staff positions open at the elementary level, three certified staff positions open at the secondary level, almost 30 classified positions open districtwide and over 30 para positions open. With that in mind, the district continues encouraging local residents and community members to consider job opportunities with the district, encourage family members and friends to apply and to be more actively involved in supporting the district.
The KVOE.com news poll asking whether William Allen White was the best option if the district needed to close a school due to a staffing crisis did not find favor with participants. Twenty-four people said that was the best move, while 68 disagreed and three voted “other.”
