ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The USD 480 school board will have veterans of both the board and the district come the new term next year.
Luz Riggs received the most votes with 978, followed by Sarah Thompson with 686 and Nick Hatcher with 647. All three were excited to hear they had been elected to the board.
“I was very happy and very grateful. I had the support from my family and some financial support from people in the community who supported my campaign,” Riggs said. “I'm thankful I'm part of a community that's so supportive and caring. When I decided to officially run, my goal was just to get one of the spots, that's what I really wanted, and I didn't expect to end up being the top vote-getter. I was very humbled and grateful to be the top vote-getter, it was a great feeling and I can't give enough thanks to everyone who voted for me.”
“I was happy I got reelected and felt good the community had enough faith in me and my abilities to continue serving as a board member,” Hatcher said. “There's a certain amount of gratification when you get reelected, and this will be my fifth term on the school board. It's gratifying to know people think I'm doing something right and have enough confidence in me to reelect me.”
“I was really happy to get that validation of people feeling like I'm advocating well for their children and our educators, which makes me feel proud. I'm very honored the community wants me to continue representing them on the board,” Thompson said. “I had a feeling Luz [Riggs] would get on the board and be the top vote-getter, so I'm really glad she'll be part of our group. She's got a lot of great energy and great ideas, and since she's got multiple decades' worth of experience in the trenches, I think she'll work really well with everyone and will be a wealth of experience and knowledge. I think it'll just be exciting.”
All three said they had multiple reasons for running for office this election cycle.
“Before I retired from Liberal High School – and I'd told some of my co-workers this – I knew I wanted to be on the school board and part of that. The opportunity came up this year, and I decided to attend the candidate boot camp that was hosted by Kay Burtzloff and Kathleen Alonso at the library back in April, and they talked about what all it would take to run for office and what would be involved in being an elected official,” Riggs said. “Afterward, Kay told me if I was truly serious about running for office, I should do it now while a lot of people still remember me and what I did in my career. Since I was a teacher for 40 years, I also have a good understanding of what's going on in the USD 480 school system. After that boot camp, I did some praying and thinking because being an elected official isn't a job you can do halfheartedly, you have to be all in and be determined. I started getting all kinds of signs I should run for the school board, and I ultimately decided to go for it. My husband, Shawn, has been my biggest supporter, and I can't thank him enough for everything he did for me.”
“The district's had a bit of turmoil in terms of personnel, particularly with what happened with the superintendent position, and I've always felt there has to be consistency in that position and someone with enough time in that role they could get the district running in the right direction,” Hatcher said. “Every time there's a change at the top, that can create some uncertainty and doubt, and there are always changes that have to be made because of a change in priorities. When those types of change happen, it takes time for things to fully set in and everything to really be effective. In the education field, however, sometimes those changes aren't what's best for the students. I wanted to make sure we got a new superintendent hired who's qualified and will move the district forward, and I wanted to be sure the board put its support behind him so he can be successful.”
“With this past term, it's been quite a ride. We've been dealing with the effects from the COVID-19 pandemic and we also had the situation with the superintendent and had to go through that process a couple times, so there's just been a lot of changes in that time,” Thompson said. “Because of all of that, I was originally thinking 'I don't know if I want to go for another term,' but I eventually had some LHS students get in touch with me and ask me to reconsider that because they felt I was doing a good job advocating for all USD 480 students. That was really impressive to me because when I was in high school, I wasn't really paying attention to local politics, so it was nice to know there are young people paying attention around here in these modern times, and after some thinking, I decided to put my name back in the ring.”
The board has been busy with a lot of work, and all three also agreed they have multiple goals for their coming term.
“A big goal of mine is to help with retention of our current veteran teachers and recruitment of new teachers. We also have to work on growing our own teachers, whether by encouraging students to go through LHS's education pipeline or working with our interim teachers or paraprofessionals,” Riggs said. “Another goal of mine is improving academic success – like I said at the candidate forum, we're good in some areas and fair in others, but we need to strive to be great and do better. Our job as teachers is pushing students to be the best they can and develop their foundations so they do well as they go through the education system. I know there has been some work done in those areas, but there's definitely a lot more that can be done as time goes on.”
“I'm really proud we were able to get the bond issue passed and get those new schools built. I can remember taking tours of some of the old elementary schools and literally seeing sunlight coming through the walls in one of the principals' offices,” Hatcher said. “I can't complain about the overall maintenance and effort with that, those people do a wonderful job, but just like everything else, time takes its toll and there comes a point where band-aid solutions just don't work anymore. Some of the older buildings were approaching 60, 70 years old and it was beyond time for new buildings. That bond issue is one of the things I'm especially proud of, it was something needed for the community to be proud of and for the students to enjoy. This time around, I want us as a board to turn our focus toward student achievement – the COVID-19 pandemic really took a toll on students and their overall education, so we need to get things back on track and get students back where they need to be academically. Those changes will probably be tough, but if there's enough support and feedback, I think they'll end up ultimately being really positive.”
“One of the things I'm particularly proud of is us hiring Mr. Richardson in the superintendent role because when you get the right people in the right positions, it makes a world of difference in all aspects and things click together really well. He's also hired some great people, and I feel like all the right pieces are in the right spots for the district, and I feel like good changes will continue happening. We're also seeing some gains in student achievement, and I know some of that work has to do with curriculum and standards alignment and all of that throughout the buildings. Education is not an easy field nowadays because teachers aren't just teachers, they're disciplinarians and nurses and therapists and coaches, so they do a little bit of everything for everyone. We know they have a tough job, and they deserve all the support possible with everything they do for our students. I would like to see more gains in student achievement and get more students learning at grade level for the state tests, and I want to continue building a positive work culture for all the USD 480 employees and students in the schools. We also have some facility upgrades that need to take place. We've made quite a bit of progress in a wide variety of areas, but we know there's a lot more that can be done.”
Overall, all three agreed they are excited to get to work.
“I was an educator for 40 years, so there's not really a lot I haven't seen in all that time. But since I've worked as a district employee and have experience working with the board, I think everything will come together pretty well,” Riggs said. “I'm looking forward to collaborating with the other board members and starting that dialogue with everyone to make the best possible decisions for the district.”
“I'm very appreciative to be given another chance to serve the community and the school district,” Hatcher said. “It's a privilege and a role I take very seriously, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to keep serving.”
“I think the board currently in place has worked really well as a whole – we don't always agree on everything, but we can come to a place where we can agree on what needs to be done for the students and employees,” Thompson said. “I want to thank everyone who went out and voted, I want people to know their voices count, and I appreciate everyone who had the confidence in me to reelect me to the board so I can continue advocating for all USD 480 students and educators.”
