Prairie View to seek community input in drafting strategic plan

By Roger Sims, Journal staff

linncountyjournal@icloud.com

LA CYGNE – What should a portrait of the Prairie View High School graduate look like? That is what Prairie View Superintendent Joe Hornback wants to know.

And to that end, he enlisted members of the district’s school board to recruit district stakeholders to help formulate what kind of education the board wants the typical graduate to have.

“What are the most important skills and qualities our students need to succeed after graduation?” was the question on the handout Hornback distributed to board members.

Hornback told the board at its July 21 meeting that over the next several months, the board along with community members and parents would be working to develop a strategic plan for the district. That process will include drafting a district mission statement, developing district goals, determining how progress of students would be determined, and developing ways to improve progress.

He suggested that a community advisory team to provide input might consist of students, parents, teachers, school and district leaders, businesses, higher education professionals, faith communities, social service agencies and other community members. That could also include members of the high school’s Career Technical Education groups and recent graduates.

He said he would ask Kaitlin Jones, who was recently named to do district outreach, to draft surveys for those groups.

The board is expected to take up the issue again at its August 18 meeting.

The board also approved setting the hearing for the district to exceed the revenue neutral tax rate at 6:30 p.m. at the August 18 meeting, and a hearing for the 2026-27 budget at 6:45 p.m. before the regular session begins at 7 p.m.

Hornback said that the budget for the new school year, which technically began on July 1, was 90% complete and that business manager Kylee Capp would be meeting with Dale Dennis, a state budget guru, to finalize it before the August meeting.

The district was required to either submit a budget to the Linn County Clerk’s office by July 20 or forward a notice that it intended to submit a budget that has an increase over the revenue neutral tax levy determined by the clerk’s office based on the prior year’s spending. The board at the hearing can still decide to not exceed revenue neutral.

The board approved the 2026-27 negotiated agreement with the teachers, with Brian Uphoff abstaining because his spouse is covered by the agreement.

The agreement included a 3% increase to the base salary for a first-year teacher.  It increased from $48,500 to $50,000. 

“Most teachers will also get a step on the salary schedule as well, so a first-year teacher last year who made $48,500 in the bachelor's column with no experience will make $50,520 this year, which for that teacher is a 4.16% raise,” Hornback wrote in an email.

The board also approved a 3% raise for classified staff and administrators for the 2026-27 school year.

Linda Sylva, who has served as the math interventionist and instructional coach at La Cygne Elementary, has been hired by the district for the newly created curriculum instruction and assessment director post, and she began working in that capacity on July 15. That post will take over the curriculum duties Hornback was doing as assistant superintendent before being promoted in June.

Shayla Long, a former math instructor for the Jayhawk school district, was hired to replace Sylva as the interventionist/coach at La Cygne.

The board accepted the resignation of Ian Ballinger, who was a seventh grade social studies teacher at Prairie View Middle School. Ballinger was hired a year ago. The effective date of the resignation was July 17.

Because of the late date of his resignation, which would normally be subject to a liquidated damages deduction from his salary, the board voted to waive the deduction, which could have been as much as 8% of the base pay. According to the Prairie View negotiated agreement, district teachers are required to give resignation notice by early June or face liquidated damages charges.

The board also recognized members of the FFA program who earned state awards at the state convention earlier this summer. State FFA recipients included Nolan Boyd, Carter Browning, Aiden Griffin, Parker Schwarz, Edward Squires-Riley, Laramie Stevens, Matthew Stolle, Kirbie Stroup and Brody Wilcox.

Schwarz was also a State Proficiency finalist in beef production placement, landing in the top three, and a State Star finalist, earning a top seven finish.