Pete Im - Lansing Education and Community Advocate - Personal Page

08/25/2026

🦁🛼 Lansing Lions, grab your friends and come kick off the school year with us at Skate City! ❤️

📅 Wednesday, August 26
⏰ 6-8 PM
🎟️ $7 admission + $2 skate rental
🍕 $11 large pizza special

📍 Skate City Wyandotte
7838 Washington Ave, Kansas City, KS

08/24/2026

Yes... More of this...

A big thank you to members of the Lansing Fire Department for spending time with our students in th...

08/20/2026

We spend a lot of time talking about what our schools cost. We should spend just as much time looking at what our students are accomplishing.

Recent district data show progress in early learning, attendance, behavior, academics, graduation, and college and career opportunities.

None of these numbers proves that a single program or expenditure caused every improvement. But they matter when we decide what is working, what still needs improvement, and where to focus our resources.

This is part of the story of our investment in Lansing students - and what that investment helps make possible.

There is always more work to do. But progress should be recognized, measured, and built upon.

08/18/2026

Beyond the Numbers - Part II

Here is a simple point: enrollment tells us how many students we serve, but not necessarily what those students need or what it takes to serve them well.

The next question is just as important: How do we know whether what we're doing is working?

Good governance requires looking at multiple measures - not one convenient number. State assessments, screening and progress monitoring, attendance, graduation, readiness, behavior, and other evidence all help tell the story.

But evidence is only useful if leaders are willing to act on it.

That means understanding what we control, what we are constrained by, what we cannot control, and then making decisions that preserve what is essential, explain the tradeoffs, and measure the results.

Good governance and leadership do not depend on one convenient number. It depends on understanding the evidence, explaining the tradeoffs, and keeping students at the center.



Sources / Further Reading:
USD 469 Student Achievement Update: https://www.usd469.net/article/2982206
USD 469 MTSS / FastBridge Review: https://www.usd469.net/article/2251115
USD 469 Board Workshop / Student Growth: https://www.usd469.net/o/usdhs/article/2180214
KSDE Accreditation / KESA: https://ksde.gov/student-success/accreditation
KSDE Structured Literacy: https://www.ksde.gov/student-success/resources-by-subject-area/structured-literacy
KSDE Balanced Assessment: https://www.ksde.gov/student-success/school-improvement-resource/balanced-assessment

08/17/2026

UPDATE: COACHES SECURED!

SERIOUSLY FOLKS... We are looking at having to delay the start of the season!

🚨⚽ URGENT: SOCCER COACHES NEEDED! ⚽🚨

Over the weekend, we unexpectedly had a volunteer coach withdraw from the Fall Soccer season due to unforeseen medical circumstances, leaving TWO teams in need of a coach.

We are currently looking for:

⚽ ONE Coach — 3rd & 4th Grade Soccer
⚽ ONE Coach — 5th & 6th Grade Soccer

These teams already have kids registered and ready to play — we just need the adults willing to step up and lead them!

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A SOCCER EXPERT!

You don't need extensive coaching experience. You simply need to be willing to work with the players, learn the game, and provide a positive experience for our young athletes.

🏆 Parents, grandparents, family members, and community members are welcome to volunteer!

⏰ We need to identify replacement coaches as soon as possible, as coach information and equipment pickup begin Wednesday, August 19. Without a replacement, we may have to delay the start of the season for these age groups.

COACH REQUIREMENTS:

• Must be 18 years of age or older
• Must pass a background check
• Must sign the Coaches' Code of Ethics

Interested?

📞 913-727-2960
📧 [email protected]
🏢 Visit us at 108 S 2nd Street, Lansing, KS 66043 (M-F, 8 AM - 4:30 PM)
🌐 Apply online: https://www.lansingks.org/1213/Parks-Recreation-Department via "Volunteer to Coach – Apply Here."

Know someone who would make a great coach? TAG THEM or SHARE THIS POST!

⚽ Two teams. Two coaches needed. Let's get these kids on the field!

08/17/2026

Beyond the Numbers: What Our Students Need - and What It Takes to Meet Those Needs

An important question: if enrollment is relatively stable, why have the costs of educating our students increased?

It's a fair question, and deserves more than a percentage or a headline.

Enrollment tells us how many students we serve. It does not tell us what those students need.

Our schools provide much more than classroom instruction. Students may need academic intervention, special education, counseling and behavioral support, transportation, attendance and family support, and safe, functional buildings. Those needs can change even when the total number of students does not.

Costs change too.

Some increases are simply the cost of maintaining what we already have - teachers and staff, compensation and benefits, insurance, utilities, transportation, facilities, and contracted services.

Other costs reflect our deliberate investments in students: interventionists, FastBridge screening, curriculum and instructional materials, structured literacy, teacher training and coaching, and student-support services.

That distinction matters.

Higher costs do not automatically justify more spending. But higher costs also do not automatically mean money is being wasted.

Responsible leadership has to look underneath the numbers and ask: What must we preserve for students? What is driving the cost? Which investments are producing results? And what can our community responsibly sustain?

That is the real work of governing a school district.

It is easy to say spending is “up” or “down.” The harder work is understanding why, deciding what our students actually need, and making responsible choices about how we meet those needs.

Sources for anyone who wants to dig deeper:
These graphics are my own and are not official USD 469 publications. The sources below provide the underlying budget, student-support, instructional, and funding context.

USD 469 Budget & Accountability Reports
https://www.usd469.net/page/accountability-reports1
District budget documents, accountability reports, assessment information, ACT data, facilities reports, and related public records.

USD 469 Budget Documents
https://www.usd469.net/documents/our-district/budget-documents/25-26/25366486
Includes the district budget, Code 99 documents, and financial information used to understand levy, spending, and budget structure.

USD 469 Student Achievement Update — June 2026
https://www.usd469.net/article/2982206
Covers FastBridge, Kansas assessments, college/career readiness, and how PLC, BLT, DLT, and MTSS teams use data to adjust instruction and interventions.

USD 469 MTSS / FastBridge Work
https://www.usd469.net/article/2251115
Shows how district teams review FastBridge results, intervention protocols, and instructional strategies to identify and respond to student needs.

USD 469 Structured Literacy / LETRS
https://www.usd469.net/o/lusd/article/3049944
https://www.usd469.net/article/2053320
Background on structured literacy implementation, Kansas Seal of Literacy work, instructional coaching, interventionists, and LETRS training.

KSDE — Structured Literacy / Science of Reading
https://www.ksde.gov/student-success/school-improvement-resource/structured-literacy
https://www.ksde.gov/licensure/teacher-licensure/science-of-reading-licensure-requirements
State guidance on structured literacy and the literacy-training/licensure requirements for Kansas educators.

KSDE — Special Education Funding
https://www.ksde.gov/policy-and-funding/special-education/categorial-aid-reimbursement
KSDE explains that state SPED aid is intended to supplement 92% of excess costs and that districts must use additional General Fund resources when appropriations do not cover those costs.

Kansas Revenue Neutral Rate Law
https://kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/laws/079_000_0000_chapter/079_029_0000_article/079_029_0088_section/079_029_0088_k/
The statute explains how RNR is calculated from prior-year property-tax revenue and current assessed valuation.

08/15/2026

The Rest of the Story

A recent graphic posted shows an increase in USD 469 property-tax revenue between selected 2023 and 2025 endpoints. The number is real. But it does not tell the whole story.

Start with the baseline.

In fall 2023, the Board chose to go Revenue Neutral for the 2024 school year. The district's total levy fell to 53.44 mills—an unusual one-year low, not the longer-term baseline. That decision matters when a later year is compared against it.

Just a reminder: governing decisions have consequences beyond a single budget year. Holding revenue down for one year does not make the district's obligations disappear. Special education still has to be provided. Buses still have to run. Employees still have to be paid. Buildings still have to be maintained. Insurance, utilities, supplies, and other costs still increase.

Then look at what drove the increase shown in the graphic.

According to its own numbers, about 84% of the increase came from Bond & Interest. Debt payments are not the same thing as growth in everyday school operations.

The broader financial picture includes declining federal support, increasing special education costs, compensation and transportation pressures, aging facilities, and money that is legally restricted and cannot simply be moved into classrooms.

A headline can pick two years and show a percentage. Governance has to deal with everything in between.

It means balancing what the law requires, what taxpayers can reasonably support, what our community expects, what our employees need to do their jobs, and what the district can sustain over time. And through all of that, there is one thing we cannot lose sight of:

Our students. The budget is not the mission. Students are.

Every dollar supports teachers, paraeducators, and interventionists working with them, the buses getting them to school, special education services, safe and functional buildings, academic programs, activities, sports, career opportunities, and the many other things that help students grow and succeed.

We do have a lot to be proud of in Lansing. Our students are achieving - in the classroom, in college and career opportunities, in activities, sports, in the arts, and across this community. Our teachers, staff, administrators, and superintendent are phenomenal. We are fortunate...

Responsible governance is not about producing the best-looking number for one year. It is about making sound decisions today that allow our schools - and our students - to succeed tomorrow.

And that is the rest of the story.

Sources: https://www.usd469.net/page/accountability-reports1; Kansas State Department of Education: https://datacentral.ksde.gov/budget.aspx; https://www.ksde.gov/Portals/0/School%20Finance/budget/Budget_at_a_Glance/25-26_Summary/BAG-469-2026.pdf; 22-23, 23-24, 25-26,

08/14/2026

As we continue our Back-to-School Community Partner Thank You Series, Lansing USD469 is excited to ...

08/14/2026

FACT CHECK FRIDAY: Student Success

Think you know how Kansas students are doing? Let’s look at the facts.
- 9 in 10 Kansas students graduate from high school.
- In 2024, Kansas students earned 7,225 professional credentials while still in high school.
- Kansas graduates are earning admission to top-tier colleges and universities in Kansas and across the country.

These numbers show what’s possible when Kansas invests in public schools—and in the students who will shape our state’s future.

The facts speak for themselves: Kansas students are succeeding.