What’s summer without a splash? Johnson County needs lifeguards for various pools

Overland Park will be forced to curtail its outdoor swimming program unless it can hire more lifeguards, which are in short supply there and elsewhere.

“Right now we have enough lifeguards to open one outdoor pool this summer with full staffing,” Aquatics Supervisor Renee Reis said in a news release. “Aquatics is an incredibly fun operation, but safety has to remain our top priority. It’s simply not safe to operate pools without a full staff of lifeguards.”

Overland Park has five outdoor-pool locations. Last summer, with about 220 guards on staff, it was able to open the Tomahawk Ridge Aquatic Center at 11950 Lowell Ave., Young’s Pool at 8421 W. 77th St. and Stonegate Pool at 9701 Antioch Road.

Overland Park has increased lifeguard pay this year, so that qualified candidates can earn up to $13 an hour, a $3 increase from 2021. The city also provides training.

Still, by March 9, only about 100 lifeguards had been hired for the upcoming season.

For more information about the position, visit opkansas.org/about-overland-park/careers.

Robyn Essex tapped for Olathe council

The Olathe City Council agreed unanimously early this month to appoint Robyn Essex to fill the council vacancy created by the resignation of Larry Campbell. She was to be sworn in on March 15.

Essex is moving to the Ward 1 seat from the Olathe Planning Commission. Council member Wes McCoy said he was pleased to learn that Essex’s work experience has included conflict resolution.

“We need more of that, in terms of our community, in terms of knowing how to deal with people in our community, you know, treat everybody the same,” he said at the March 1 City Council meeting.

Spring Hill hires new superintendent

Link Luttrell, who has been a school superintendent for nearly a decade in eastern Missouri, has been chosen to lead the Spring Hill School District, starting July 1.

He will replace Wayne Burke, who is retiring at the end of this academic year.

Luttrell is retiring from the Festus R-VI School District, where he has been superintendent since 2013 and previously served five years as assistant superintendent. His education career spans 36 years, including positions as principal and social studies teacher.

In Festus, according to a Spring Hill news release, Luttrell “demonstrated high levels of success in academic achievement, fiscal responsibility, district-wide communication, workplace culture, and community engagement.”

A retirement announcement from Festus said that under Luttrell’s leadership, teacher salaries are now the highest in Jefferson County and student achievement has increased significantly.

“In 2006, before Luttrell joined the district, the district said, only 43% of Festus students tested proficient in English language arts and math, which was below the state average. In 2020, those figure had risen to 65% in English and nearly 56% in math.

School day lengthened at Olathe high schools

Despite this winter’s snow days. Olathe elementary and middle schools have mustered the number of hours needed to meet state requirements.

But not so at the high schools.

So as of March 22, after spring break, high school students are starting school 10 minutes earlier, at 7:50 a.m. That’s also true on Thursdays, where late starts have come to an end.

In addition, the first day of finals on May 24 for everyone except seniors, will change from a half day to a full day for students.

Mental health clinician for JCCC

Johnson County Community College now has a full-time mental health clinician to serve students on campus.

The clinician, an employee of Johnson County Mental Health Center, began work in February. Services include short-term therapy, crisis intervention and connections to community resources.

“We are fortunate and thankful to have Johnson County Mental Health Center as a partner in our efforts to support JCCC students facing mental health challenges,” Randy Weber, the college’s executive vice-president and chief student success and strategy officer, said in a news release.

“Resources for students have been increasing over the past couple of years, and we know the addition of a licensed clinician on campus will add to our growing tools for success.”

The college is providing 75% of the funding for the position, and the rest comes from the REACH Healthcare Foundation based in Overland Park.

Increasingly, the mental health center has been embedding its employees with schools and public safety agencies. The number of co-responders working with law enforcement agencies increased from seven to 18 in 2021, the mental health center said.

In the education arena, the mental health center has embedded one co-responder in the Gardner Edgerton School District and has two in the Olathe district as part of a statewide effort. The center hopes to expand the Olathe contingent to five next year.

The center also offers mental health first aid courses in schools and collaborates with several groups on a suicide prevention effort called Sources of Strength.

De Soto schedules sales tax election

De Soto residents will vote by mail in June on whether to renew a sales tax that helps finance roads, sidewalks, drainage projects and other capital improvements.

The three-quarter-cent tax, which generates about $600,000 a year, will expire in June.

If renewed by voters, the tax would be collected for 10 more years starting on Oct. 1.

The election timeline calls for the postal service to receive the ballots on May 31. Voters must return them by June 21. An informational session is planned for May 23, followed by a second session in early June if needed.

Blue Valley produces Coca-Cola Scholar

Evanna Dominic, a senior at Blue Valley Southwest High School, is one of only 150 students nationwide to be named Coca-Cola Scholars for 2022.

The prestigious scholarship program provides $20,000 for college studies, plus unique networking and leadership opportunities.

No other Kansas City area student was selected.

Free weekend at arboretum

The Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens is offering a free admission weekend March 26-27. The arboretum, at 8909 W. 179th St., is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

Three administrators hired

The Gardner Edgerton School District has filled three administrative vacancies:

▪ Shay Carter, director of special education. Carter currently holds a similar position in Doniphan County, Kan., and has 29 years of experience in public education.

▪ Tiffany Morawiec, director of business and finance. She has 28 years of experience in financial management, including 13 years in school finance. Most recently, she was at Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston, Texas.

▪ Josh Kindler, assistant principal at Pioneer Ridge Middle School. He’s now principal at Mill Creek MIddle School in the De Soto district.

Carter and Kindler will start their new jobs on July 1. Morawiec will start on March 28.

This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "What’s summer without a splash? Johnson County needs lifeguards for various pools."