Earlier this summer, the Post asked our readers what issues you wanted to hear candidates running for USD 232 Board of Education to address leading up to the Nov. 7 election.
Based on that feedback, we developed a five-item questionnaire centering the issues most important to USD 232 district patrons.
Each day this week, we’ll publish the candidates’ responses to one question.
Today, we’re publishing candidates’ responses to the following question:
Teacher and staff retention has been a concern for years in local schools, a problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Districts continue to enter each new year with dozens of vacancies, most notably among special education teachers. Schools are also having trouble filling classified, non-teacher staff roles, like paras and custodians. What, if anything, can the school board do to help schools recruit and retain qualified staff?
Below are the answers the Post received from candidates on this issue:
Member Area 1
Bill Fletcher (incumbent)
Staff shortage is a problem in all businesses, not just education. It is a problem our board deals with every year.
The salaries are really a big issue. I have tried to always represent those in custodial, maintenance, staff and teacher positions each year to advocate for better pay for them.
The problem is that there is only so much money allocated for this. We need to lobby the statehouse to get better funding for teacher and staff enhancements. In addition to salaries, I think we need to investigate better benefits for our staff like better insurance, sick leave, four-day weeks or provisions for uninterrupted planning times during the day.
These things are important and should be explored because they could provide a better work-life balance for our employees and make the job more attractive to qualified individuals.
Chad Philhour
Teacher quality and retention is my concern. The field of qualified educators is declining. Teacher quality is the number one factor impacting student achievement. Administration must wholeheartedly support staff so they can succeed.
I believe we need to create the right culture with competitive compensation. Salary is a major component to the equation but also looking at benefits, work environment, opportunities for development and recognition all matter. A great culture fosters teacher retention and teacher retention leads to a great culture. A positive environment, with respect for everyone’s perspective and allowing everyone to be heard fosters a great culture. Support and good environments are where excellence occurs.
Member Area 2
Ashley Spaulding (incumbent)
The current USD 232 school board has raised pay for teachers and staff members several times over the last few years. This past July, the board approved a 6.31% pay increase for employees (more than 7% including benefits). Since 2022, the board has approved three rounds of premium pay, sometimes called “retention pay,” for all district staff. In addition to always looking for ways to increase pay, we need to regularly evaluate our employee benefits to make sure we’re offering excellent, competitive benefits.
Our teachers and staff also need to feel valued and supported. Their opinions and insights matter, and they need to feel that. We sought feedback from groups of teachers and classified staff during the recent hiring of our new superintendent. Engaging our teachers and staff in capacities such as that is one way to help them feel valued, heard and included. On top of making them feel valued, they must be supported by being given the resources they need to be able to teach effectively.
Education isn’t an easy field to be in right now. Our teachers and staff wear many hats and don’t always receive the respect they deserve. We need to recognize that these things – and other life stressors – can lead to mental health challenges. Just as we provide mental health resources and supports for our students, we need to provide the same for our employees.
Greg Withrow
We need to introduce more incentives, signing bonuses and our board and admins need to put our feet to the ground and go to our teaching institutions to recruit the best teachers we can find. Our students deserve that.
And attracting or retaining non-teaching positions is achieved by showing that our district is the place to work. They can see this through competitive wages, overall satisfaction expressed by teachers and students and parents. Create an environment that is welcoming and has a strong future.
My hope is that USD 232 will be the example for not only the metro but for the state. That in itself should garner some amazing candidates for our open positions.
Member Area 3
Stephanie Makalous (incumbent)
We all have a part in helping with teacher and staff shortages in their area. We have to be supportive of our staff and all the effort they put in to educating our students. This can be as simple as giving complements, sending a small gift or note to school, helping with PTO organizations and raising up these individuals.
We also need to show appreciation to these individuals by increasing their pay if and when funds become available. Through some of the special federal funds received by USD 232 after the pandemic, we have been able to give teacher retention bonuses, but these funds are not ongoing. The board has also made it a priority to increase teacher pay and benefits each year — again as we’re able — based on what the legislature approves each year for school funding.
USD 232 has shown great strength in this area while other districts have struggled. I believe this exemplifies that we are doing a good job of supporting our teachers and staff, but we have to keep this momentum going. We had many teachers that left the teaching profession who came back this year to USD 232. The fact that they sought out USD 232 is a testament to the amazing culture we have in this district.
Henry Sandate
Did not provide the Post with a response.
At-Large Area
Andy Jacober
Our district is fortunate that teachers want to work here. That is a huge credit to our current staff, our kids, as well as the parent support. People want to know that they are making a difference with their job.
The teacher to student ratio was a big positive when we moved here over 15 years ago. Let’s keep our classroom size manageable. If we have to hire more teachers to keep the class size down, and prevent our teachers from being overworked, that should be discussed.
The challenges with paraprofessional, lunch room and custodial staff will continue to be a challenge until we address that and do our best to increase those salaries.
Anh-Nguyet Nguyen
Similar to all students and patrons, teachers and staff members have to be made to feel valued and appreciated.
They must be compensated to the best of the ability of the budget, and every reasonable resource made available to them to do their jobs.
Tomorrow, we will publish candidates’ responses to the next question:
By some metrics, including national standardized tests like NAEP, Kansas schools’ academic performance has declined in the wake of COVID-19, and student achievement has yet to fully return to pre-pandemic levels, especially in math. At the same time, USD 232 remains one of the highest achieving school districts in Kansas when it comes to state-level assessments and graduation rates. How do you assess USD 232’s current level of achievement? What, if anything, are you most concerned about?
