DE SOTO, Kan. — Unified School District 232 will welcome students back to school next Wednesday and Thursday.
There will be a lot of new students walking the hallways as the district continues to grow.
The district has about 7,400 students from De Soto and parts of Shawnee, Lenexa, and Olathe.
It's adding 100 new students this school year.
"There was a time in the late 90s, early 2000s, enrollment was moving at that rate or even greater," said Dr. Cory Gibson, USD 232 Superintendent. "We’ve been fairly level for a decade; small ups and downs here and there."
The superintendent attributed the steady rate to slowing birth rates.
For the past five to seven years, he said, birthrates were dropping.
Now, the district is noticing developments like the Panasonic plant slowly bringing the district new employees.
"We’ve seen changes last year, particularly of people coming for industry, maybe a spouse and their spouse having a license to be a teacher or to be a para educator," Dr. Gibson said.
At the last board meeting before the school year starts, an empty chair served as a reminder for them to keep students in mind with their decision-making.
With more students to consider, the board's president, Stephanie Makalous, said she knows where a parent's mind can go.
"Question comes up all the time," Makalous said. "How many kids are we going to have in a classroom and will we have to redistrict?"
Makalous said the student-to-teacher ratio remains normal.
Redistricting isn't needed yet, but staffing is always a focus.
In a staffing update to the board on Monday, a committee reported 27 teachers resigned at the end of last school year, and another 68 employees who didn't hold a teaching license also left the district.
The report stated teacher retention is 93%, but retention for non-teachers is 75%.
Due to increased enrollment, Gibson said, the district added three new teacher positions this school year.
The district is starting the school year without any teacher vacancies.
However, para educators are more difficult to keep.
"I think back to when I was an elementary teacher," Dr. Gibson said. "When I applied over 20 years ago to go into that classroom, there were over 100 applicants for that one position. Today that's not the case."
USD 232 is trying to remain competitive for job applicants, especially with other employment options coming to the area.
Last year, USD 232 teachers received a 9% raise.
This school year, teachers got a 6% raise.
"We feel great where we’re at and we're always trying it make it better," Dr. Gibson said.
The district is keeping an eye on all the new housing developments that could bring additional students and tax revenue in the coming years.
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