L&T VIEWPOINT
When Todd Stanton ran for Seward County Commission, he made an issue of the county needing a financial controller, someone who could watch over the county’s finances across the board and develop strategies for sound financial management of the county’s resources and taxpayer dollars.
This suggestion seemed to resonate with the voters in his district, and he was elected, unseating an incumbent who served for 32 years.
The commission as a whole should take Stanton’s victory as a sign of support for the need of a CFO-level position.
Several years ago, Seward County was operating without an administrator, and there were concerns about hiring a leader and how that position would be funded.
Looking back on that decision, it has been a good one. Through the coordination of an administrator, Seward County has been able to better communicate and utilize its resources.
Additionally, there are few organizations with a budget of $40 million plus that don’t have a CFO. Seward County is one of few counties our size that still doesn’t have one.
And, there is the example of the City of Liberal that saw huge financial savings when Scarlette Diseker joined the financial team. Her money management has led to more than a half million dollars in additional revenue to the city, which has helped the city avoid any tax increases.
It’s not a major risk to assume a similar position for Seward County couldn’t garner similar results.
Yes, the additional position must be funded, but it is one of the few positions that can actually lead to reduce overall cost to the taxpayers, and when Stanton is sworn in Monday, the commission should give serious consideration to adding this worthwhile position.
USD No. 480 also received some unsettling news this week when head football coach Bryan Luetters resigned his position effective at the end of the school year.
Luetters cited a number of issues in his departure, mostly dealing with commitments made to help fund his assistant positions that have been modified or rescinded while the district looks to import educators from the Philippines to help fill its low number of certified teachers. Almost one-third of the instructional staff is currently not certified.
Was it reductions in salaries to interim educators who also served as assistant coaches who saw reductions in order to help pay for the $5,000 per Filipino instructor’s immigration fees? We don’t know.
What we do know is that the public outcry over the reasons Luetters resigned has been boisterous.
There is nothing that can be done to save Luetters at this point. He has stated he has no interest in rescinding his resignation.
But will the district leaders listen to the public and the concerns of staff about these policy changes?
We hope so, and we encourage a healthy, positive dialogue between the elected leadership of the district and the people they represent.
There is a workshop scheduled by the Board at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Room C107 of the Liberal High School East Annex. If public members choose to attend this meeting, they should let their feelings be known is a respectful way.
And the Board should be willing to listen.
We have long been disappointed with the lack of two-way dialogue between the district and the community. While the City of Liberal, Seward County and Seward County Community College have all routinely hosted town halls to interact with the public, USD No. 480 has not. In a narrow 4-3 vote, the district barely decided to broadcast its meetings over social media.
The Board of Education has a duty to listen to the people it represents and an even greater duty to seek out that input.
Now is a critical time for both the county and the school district to do what they were elected to do, which is to listen to the public and to respond accordingly.
