Monday evening the School Board is going to discuss the scheduling program at Liberal High School, or at least that is the intent of the meeting.

With the recent resignation of head football coach Bryan Luetters and the underlying reasons for his resignation, it is likely many will want to discuss their concerns about how certified teachers and interim teachers are handled.

Emotions are running high, and that usually results in defensive postures from those under fire from the public.

But a closer look shows that while some decisions can of course be questioned, the attempt to solve the shortage of certified teachers is what we expect from district leadership.

There's no question that if the district made commitments to provide certain levels of pay only to rescind that offer or to decrease an employee's rate of pay after hiring the person based on the agreed upon rate, that's definitely on them. As Coach Luetters said, that is simply being dishonest. According to Luetters, interim teachers who were assistant coaches were going to be able to earn the same as a first-year certified teacher before having their pay cut. And, supplemental contracts were no longer available.

Cutting pay seems to exacerbate the problem when the state average for an interim is $51,204 per year according to zip recruiter, and Liberal decreased its interim pay in 2022 to $43,680 at the highest Tier 1 and as low as $35,000 for Tier 6. That at the same time inflation reached 8 percent that year. 

The push to find certified teachers is understandable. If possible, every position should be a certified teacher.

A quick look outside of human resources shows that there is no line, no strong demand of certified teachers fighting to be hired in Liberal. Or Kansas. Or Montana. Or Oklahoma. Or anywhere. The entire nation is experiencing a teacher shortage.

The scare tactic by the State of Kansas to threaten accreditation sanction if districts do not have 95 percent of core teachers be certified by 2027 is unattainable, not only in Liberal but anywhere else.

Even Kansas City, Kansas is using video instruction to try to claim they have a certified teacher in a classroom while a  non certified teacher is physically in the classroom. They call it "Proximity Learning," according to the Kansas City Star.

Any decision we make should not be made with this gun aimed at our head.

Superintendent Stephen Linkous inherited a district with a large number of interim instructors, and it would have been the same anywhere in Kansas. He can't be faulted for trying to address the issue.

The problem, as has been the case with the district for decades, is the attempt to solve the problem on its own. That creates an "us vs. them" mentality.

But the certified staff is not challenging the non certified. They are defending them. They are on the same side. 

Parents are siding with the teachers.

This, again, then creates a false adversarial environment between those people and the administration and board.

It shouldn't.

What needs to happen here is a partnership between all of these groups and to let the State Board of Education know that Kansas schools will not reach this impossible 95 percent threshold and work on a more realistic solution.

According to newsnationnow.com, states like Mississippi and Montana are working on the same issue, and they have come up with alternatives like creating a performance-based licensure program for interim teachers. Montana's state superintendent is  working on a certificate that would offer substitute teachers professional development that would translate into university credits toward completing an education degree.

Kansas needs to get more creative on solving this issue, and a united Liberal would go a long way.

To do that, district leadership needs to listen to the concerns of the stakeholders. Likewise, the parents and educators need to understand the enormous challenge facing the district and education in general and be understanding at attempts to solve the problem.

Moving forward, it will be critical for communication to remain open between all groups and be willing to accept the input without antagonistic statements calling for resignations or condescending attitudes that only the experts can create the answers.

We are all on this together, and the solutions should come from all of us. That is the sign of true leadership, and it is the only way the State of Kansas will take us and all the districts across Kansas seriously.

Whether seeking a solution to teacher certification or the schedule at Liberal high School, the solution has to involve all stakeholders, and the only way decisions become controversial is when they are unilateral.

If we enter Monday with the idea that Liberal needs to do what is best for Liberal and stay focused on the issue and not the personalities, we can solve this issue. We've done it before. We've come together to build new schools. We've come together to enhance our community with the Focus on the Future one-cent sales tax. We can work together to protect our educators while working to raise the standards.