Editor’s Note: This is the fifth story in an 11-part series focusing on local candidates running for election. The City Commission candidates ran Thursday. The School Board candidates will run Friday and Saturday.

If you would like a PDF of our entire Voters Guide, email us at [email protected]. Printed copies of the Voters Guide will be available to read at Zeb’s next week.

Name: Joseph Hurla 

Race: School Board  

Current job: Self-employed, energy efficiency industry

Current community involvement: 

The School Board for the past 10 years.

LMH Health Foundation Board.

My wife and I are both actively involved throughout the community in various respects.

Why are you running for election? 

It’s been a very trying year, and the school district has been through a lot of changes, a lot of unique circumstances, along with other school districts. And so while we’ve adapted to handle that, I want to kind of continue to have a steady hand on the wheel and keep moving the district forward as we come out of COVID. 

We have a new superintendent who’s recently started here in July. I think that consistency is important for the School Board, in kind of guiding the school district as we move forward. I want to continue to have that role in that. 

So I think some of the changes that we’re going through is we’re continuing to grow as a school district. We’ve filled our buildings. So we are looking at how we continue to provide space and adequate resources for our students. 

We’ve adapted a lot in terms of trying to meet social-emotional needs for students rather than kind of the traditional just classroom setting education. So I think we’ve added a lot of staff focused on serving students in that capacity. And then we’re continuing to try to provide additional offerings to complete the needs of the whole student. So not just again in the classroom, but to be able to offer opportunities for students in extracurricular-type settings.

Earlier this year, residents participated in surveys and focus groups about what they wanted in a new superintendent. We’re going to ask you some questions related to this same data since they relate to the leadership vision for the district. One of the top priorities was creating more competitive salary and benefits packages to attract and retain staff members. How do you think the School Board should approach this issue? 

Well, the School Board has made it a priority over the last — I’ve been there for 10 years, over the past 10, and probably even going beyond that to focus whatever financial resources we can within reason to increase salaries and overall compensation to our teachers and other staff. 

And so I think the School Board has continued to make that a priority. I think we will as we move forward. We have a very good working relationship with our teachers in general within the union that negotiates on their behalf. And I think that we’ll continue to work with them in whatever ways we can to see those salaries and other compensation move into a more competitive direction. 

I guess I would also note that, with the recent adoption of the contract by our staff, we did hit a milestone of a $40,000 per-year starting salary for staff, which is something that we as a board thought hit a milestone that we wanted to make. We’ve been excited about that.

Another priority that residents noted was the upkeep of buildings. What capital improvements do you think are needed across the district? 

That’s a good question. The buildings that we have are all relatively new on the spectrum of facilities and in K-12 schools in the state of Kansas. I think a challenge that we face is this community sees those as brand new buildings still and, really, our newest building is the elementary school. It’s 10 years old. 

Still relatively new, by all means. But just like a house that’s been bought 10 years ago, you start to have issues that need to be maintained: heating and cooling systems, roofing, those sorts of items are just periodically in need of being updated. So while the elementary school is still pretty good and pretty sound condition in that respect, the other facilities — high school, the [middle] school and then the West Resource Center — kind of have some infrastructure issues that probably need to be evaluated and potentially updated. 

That’s first and foremost is taking good care of what we already have. And then the second challenge that we have is that we are, if not bursting at the seams, we’ve had pretty consistent growth, and at this point, we are pretty close to capacity, and for all of our facilities, we have to struggle with our administration to find classrooms to put students and teachers in. 

Again, it’s not always just “there’s a third-grade class.” You have a third-grade teacher, you know, we have a lot of support that we provide outside of that for multi-tiered systems of support. We have reading and math that moves students to specials, such as art, music, PE and finding enough space for all that can be a challenge. 

So I think we have to evaluate realistically, what is our growth trajectory and make sure that we plan for that over the next 15 years. So it was 15 years ago that the planning started for an elementary school. It’s now 10 years old. So if we’re going to look 15 years down the road, now’s the time to have those conversations.

Improving diversity and equity in the district was also noted as important. What role do you think the School Board should play in this? 

Yeah, I think the School Board plays an important role in terms of setting the strategy, the vision for the school district. And I think that certainly is very valuable. I think that the consensus of the board is that improving the equality of outcomes and opportunities for students is vital. 

I think the way that we do that is to try to nurture a diverse setting, meaning with the staffing that we employ, we’re a little more diverse in that capacity. And then, you know, educating students on the importance of that diversity and exemplifying that by demonstrating that we think it’s important to give everyone those equal opportunities.

How do you hope to improve the educational experience for students? 

You know, we’re doing a great job. I think there are always going to be opportunities. I mentioned social-emotional support resources is something that I think, as we come out of the pandemic, is that much more important. 

I think it exacerbates an issue that had already been present, which is that there’s a little bit more isolation among students than there would have been, say, 20 years ago. So you have to make a conscious effort to make sure that those students are receiving the support outside of a traditional classroom that they need.

So I think that’s a big part, I think, continuing to offer additional opportunities outside of the classroom, not just for social-emotional support, but for extracurricular activities, you know, we’ve expanded pretty significantly the offerings that we have, both in the classroom and outside of the classroom, really at all levels. 

I think that’s been an important thing for students to be able to find their niche and be able to fit in some way in a group or something that they can excel in and that they enjoy. And then I would like to see us continue to expand the college preparatory offerings that we have. So being able to make sure that students are on a college track, move from the high school into their preferred college setting as well prepared as they can be, which portion of that would be with college credits that are going to be transferable and position them to be able to excel at college.

Not only community members but School Board members themselves said they wanted a next superintendent who is a proactive thinker. But the board plays a key role in this as well. What vision do you personally have for the district? 

We need to work together to establish a vision. We want the superintendent involved in that. But that is the role of the School Board is to set that vision. You know, it’s largely a reflection of what the community large wants, which is why the board is elected is to represent the community, but we need to collectively identify what that vision is: again, where we’re headed over the next 5,10, 20 years, and then ask the superintendent to carry out that vision. 

I think that they did an excellent job in his first three months of working toward that vision, but I think he will continue to become a little bit more ingrained in the community and understand even more what that vision is and be able to even more effectively execute it.

What do you think are the biggest strengths of the school district? 

I think our staff is a tremendous strength. I think that we have great teachers, administrators and other staff throughout the district that are just really committed to what they do, that are excellent at it.

I think that continuing to find great staff and retain the ones that we have, that’s paramount. I think the community support that we have is tremendous. We see great involvement from parents, and just other community members and all the activities that we have, and all the opportunities for, for that involvement. 

I think community support is a tremendous asset and strength. 

I’d say the excitement and a willingness to try new things and exploring new approaches to education is, in some ways, the third one. I think that we are always looking at ways to improve the district. I don’t think that there’s complacency. And I think that that starts with the School Board president, and I think that the superintendent is certainly demonstrating that he’s got that same willingness to look for opportunities to adapt and change just for the coming educational environment. 

And I think that that resonates down through the administration, the staff, and teachers that we have, and I think it’s reflected in the community as well, as I don’t think that a lot is resting on laurels.

What do you think are the biggest challenges? 

As I think first and foremost, our biggest challenge? Well, in 2021, I’ll go ahead and say for the record, COVID remains a challenge. You know, I think that’s not unique to Eudora, but there are purely logistical challenges in terms of making sure we have students in the classroom and how to effectively educate students when we are maintaining social distance and masks and that sort of thing. 

But there’s also wear and tear on staff and particular students as well. Parents in the community. It’s been exhausting. It’s been trying for sure. So I think that is a challenge that should not go without being noted because it’s real, it’s here. 

Obviously, it’s to our detriment in the first place, but maybe the biggest detriment is it obscures our ability to focus on the remainder of education and that’s been maybe the most taxing part of it. 

But with that said, probably the most significant ongoing challenge that USD 491 faces is a financial one. We are a property poor school district.

So the way that school funding works in the state of Kansas is it’s based on your property valuations. We’re fortunate that the state does also provide we’ll call it matching funds, but we get a lot of funds from outside of the district because we are so property poor.

But because of that low valuation, we’re not able to accomplish quite as much financially we’d like to, and when it comes to things such as passing bonds, that leads to higher mill levies than it would in neighboring districts that have higher property valuations because a smaller number of property owners and taxpayers bear the burden of those decisions. 

So it’s that much more important that we be fiscally responsible, and try to keep the levies at a reasonable level. But at the same time, we have to balance that with the need to pay staff to provide facilities to provide technology and provide the other resources that are needed to educate students.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I think Eudora has continued to demonstrate through the past 18 months its passion and enthusiasm for our students and the school district. It’s been exhausting for everybody, and I think — as somebody who’s been on the board for a while — this is not a thing I anticipated or hoped for by any means or signed up for but that enthusiasm and passion is what makes me want to go back and continue to serve the community and be on the School Board. 

I think that it’s always worth it. Education is very important, having the district continue on a positive trajectory is important and I think that I can hopefully serve the community in a way that’s to the benefit of everyone.