By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson USD 308 Superintendent Mike Folks believes the biggest needs for the school district aren't necessarily ones that can be met during the school day.
"What you want is for every child to come to school ready to learn, that there's not those barriers that we're dealing with," Folks said. "Poverty, mental health, trauma, all those ACES. That would be, I think, my number one wish for all of our students, to not have any barriers that keep them from learning to their capacity."
Folks noted that physical infrastructure will need to be adjusted in the coming years.
"We are blessed to have buildings that are in really good shape," Folks said. "We have some older buildings with our elementaries, but they've been well maintained. I think we're going to have to study some configuration things with a decline in enrollment and the number of buildings that we have open."
This is because of disparities in class sizes from one elementary to the next, as smaller class sizes tend to be better for kids. It's also important to get people in all of the schools who want to be there.
"You want the highest quality staff that you can possibly have," Folks said. "The differences that we're going to make in student's lives come because everyone in the school system has a job and they're equally important, but those relationships between those great teachers and our great kids, that's what's really going to impact our kids for the future."
The school board will continue looking at its budget for next year at a work session next Monday.