Saving money has Victoria making sacrifices

By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

Hays Daily News

Administrators wear more than one hat at Victoria, but it's a sacrifice they decided to make several years ago in order to save money.

“We were losing money, and we had to do something,” said Linda Kenne, who serves as superintendent as well as principal of the middle school in USD 432. “So now we have one administrator at every building who also has other duties.”

Mike Kreller, principal at Victoria High School, also serves as the district's transportation director, while David Ottley is principal of the elementary school and also teaches classes there.

It's a system that has worked, and one that Kenne said probably will be ongoing.

The Victoria district has no bond indebtedness, a fact of which Kenne is proud, and curriculum is progressive.

Victoria is one of six western Kansas schools in the second year of a technology initiative funded by a state grant that put laptops into the hands of fourth- and fifth-graders in the district.

Victoria took the impetus from that grant and purchased more computers. Now, in addition to the 20 laptops at the elementary school, there also laptops available to students at both the middle school and high school.

“We have laptops available almost on demand,” Kenne said. “We took the training from the state grant and extended it to the other teachers in the district.”

Enrollment has remained relatively stable the past few years, although a drop in just a few students can make a significant difference at a small school, Kenne said.

“When you reach your max and you lose kids, you lose money,” Kenne said. “You can lose 10 kids, which is more than a teacher's salary, but you can't let go a teacher, because those 10 are spread out through different grades.”

The district has made several improvements to facilities in the recent past, too, including a new tennis court, a new track and a new roof to the high school and middle school.

The latest change for Victoria will be a new league next year.

Victoria has joined the Central Prairie League, leaving the Mid-Continent League after 30 years association with the league.

In the CPL, Victoria will be competing against schools more its size; there also are some CPL schools that play eight-man football, as does Victoria. By contrast, the other nine schools in the MCL all play 11-man football.

Now, Victoria is the smallest school in the MCL that is in the top 20 percent enrollment in the 1A classification.

“It will be a tough league, it will be a really competitive league,” Kenne said. “It'll be a good move for us.”

Reporter Diane Gasper-O'Brien can be reached at (785) 628-1081, ext. 126, or by e-mail at

dobrien@dailynews.net.