ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Candidates for the USD 480 school board had the chance to share their views with the community at a forum last week, and among the topics discussed were needed improvements and potential upcoming projects.
The first question in this regard asked what capital improvements or potential projects should happen on USD 480 properties.
“We have a lot of projects we have discussed and are looking at, and there are multiple things that need to be updated,” candidate Sarah Thompson said. “The ‘new’ high school is more than 40 years old and while we have made some upgrades there, there is still more work to be done. I don’t know how many people in the community have seen the high school’s new library since it’s been completed, that was something I was really passionate about when I got on the board due to safety concerns and other concerns. We need some updates to our athletic facilities due to some Title IX issues. Maskus Auditorium at the high school needs updating and the stage needs replaced, and there are just other upgrades here and there that need done.”
“I would need to do some research on my own, but I definitely agree the athletic facilities need upgrading in terms of those standards,” candidate Terry Tanking said. “Walking in the hallways with all the students, especially at the high school ... there are so many students in those hallways that in the future, we might have to look at expanding that somehow.”
“In terms of capital projects, something I’ve always wanted to have done is to possibly tie the building on the west side to the main building so the students and staff aren’t walking outside, especially when the weather’s not great,” candidate Nick Hatcher said. “It’s the same with the east campus, tie those buildings together. The high school is 40 years old and we’ve made some renovations to it, but there’s work to be done and the community still calls it the ‘new’ high school. That building was designed for 800 to 900 students, I believe, and I think we have roughly 1,400 students in there now, so there are several areas that need to be expanded. We don’t have nearly enough space for a wrestling program or enough dressing rooms for some of the girls’ programs. And again with the auditorium, there’s definitely a lot to do there.”
“There is always work that needs to be done, but I feel like we need to prioritize our plans and focus on what’s needed instead of what’s wanted,” candidate Luz Riggs said.
“There are quite a few things we’re looking at, and I know one of them is the swimming pool with Seward County Community College,” candidate Alan Brown said. “We’ve got to look at what can be done there in terms of whether we do or don’t want one. We do have a swim team at the high school, so I know we’ll have to deal with that in a short time. We also have to look at, out at Redskin Field, remodeling the bathrooms, which were built in 1965 and still don’t meet ADA codes, so that needs taken care of. Overall, however, I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to get done, and the community has really gotten behind the projects we’ve done the past few years. With the bond issue, it’s amazing the buildings the students have to be educated in, and I’m really proud of what we have done. There’s always something needing done, but I agree we have to focus on our needs before our wants.”
“I think we need to focus on the district as a whole and look at all the schools,” candidate Travis Martinez said. “Yes, the high school’s old, but the Cottonwood Elementary School and Sunflower Elementary School buildings have also been around a long time, and both of those buildings also need upgrades. There’s playground equipment at Sunflower Elementary School that’s really old, and the fencing at that building probably hasn’t ever been changed. We also don’t have our own baseball or softball fields – I know there’s been talk of an indoor complex or something similar, but I know there’s a lot that goes into something like that.”
Another area needing improvement is with teacher retention and recruitment, and the candidates were asked what they would do to help that issue.
“There’s probably already a program in place, but I know the college’s nursing program has it where you go through the program and give some time back,” Tanking said. “If we could do something like that with the teaching program, that would be beneficial. I know there’s been talk of online classes, so if we can keep those students here and encourage them to stay here, that would definitely help.”
“I agree we have to grow our own teachers who want to stay in Liberal,” Riggs said. “We have to give them the proper support, which we’re starting to do. However, I believe if we’re going to give these students that financial support, there has to be some sort of reciprocation that comes with that. If we give that support, those students have to sign some sort of contract that says they’ll stay for a certain amount of time otherwise they’ll stay here for two years, get their degree and then leave. Also, every time we bring in new staff, many of them can’t find housing – there used to be some sort of bonus given to new teachers for that, but that’s not a thing anymore.”
“Like has already been said, we need to grow our own,” Martinez said. “I know that program has been around for a while, but I don’t think very many people knew how to use it when it was introduced. I think now, there’s a way to find that information – I actually had an employee who works at one of the schools who asked if she could get more work hours with me because she was an interim teacher with her own classroom and everything. She was let go, so I reached out to one of the board members this past summer, and he pointed me in the right direction, and she was able to be helped out. It’s all about growing our own and using the people we already have.”
The candidates were later asked about collaborating on a pool facility with the City of Liberal and SCCC.
“I have been involved in those discussions between everyone, and I believe it’s something we need to be part of,” Thompson said. “We have a strong swim team at the high school but more than that, they’re doing some heavy recruiting, and we have several students coming up from the junior high schools who are going to be added to that, and it’s going to be even bigger than what it is right now. There are almost as many swimmers as there are football players, so we’ve got to look at a way to support all of our students. If we can find a way for all three entities to come together to make such a project happen, and for it to be utilized be everyone, that’s a win.”
“I think it’s a great idea to do a project like this,” Hatcher said. “It’s not just a city issue or college issue or USD 480 issue, it’s a community issue. I think we should move in that direction by involving the community in trying to develop what’s best for the public. Knowing the issues SCCC’s dealt with with its pool, I know there’s been a lot of talk there, including shutting it down, and I know Adventure Bay Water Park is also having some issues. This isn’t an issue for just one entity, it’s an issue for the entire community, and it needs to be looked at in that manner. There is already some collaboration in the community – USD 480 uses the city’s baseball and softball diamonds for those programs, and SCCC is using the football field facilities for the soccer programs, so we already have collaboration, and I think this is one more thing if we all come together, we can make a solution.”
“I totally agree our community needs a pool facility, and it needs to be a joint collaboration with the City of Liberal and SCCC,” Brown said. “It’s something that will help with quality of life in Liberal, and I don’t think we want to be without a pool facility. It doesn’t really matter how many swimmers there are or any of that, it’s one of those situations where if you build it, they will come. I know the SCCC pool gets used a lot, way more than people think. We can make a facility work with the right teamwork and the right amount of research and everything else, and we need to build it big enough and nice enough that we’re all proud of it.”
