Does your car need to be repaired? The Regional Rural Technical Center’s new automotive technician program needs cars.   And because the center doesn’t charge for labor, it could be quite a bargain. The catch,…

A new security system will allow USD 257 staff to remotely monitor and allow access to facilities. At Iola High School, for example, it will allow secretaries in the main building to open doors for…

Mustang spirit was on full display at Monday night’s USD 257 school board meeting. The board met at Iola High School’s new science center and cafeteria, where Principal Scott Carson showed off a new audio/visual…

When something isn’t working, just rip out the seams and start over. Iola High School students Kinsey Schinstock and Jess Kroenke talked to USD 257 board members about the lessons they’ve been learning from sewing…

The local school district bucked a long-term trend by increasing the number of students attending Iola schools for the 2022-2023 school year.  The official student “count” day on Sept. 20 gives district officials the yardstick…

It’s been 15 years since the Iola school district saw an increase in enrollment. With the official enrollment count last week, the district saw an increase of 15.5 students (virtual school students are counted at…

It’s been a busy summer for the Iola school district’s maintenance crew. They moved out of four buildings — three elementary schools and fifth grade at the middle school — and into one new building…

One year after the 2014 school bond issue was soundly defeated, then-school board president Tony Leavitt recruited Dan Willis to run for a seat on the board. “I wish I could say it was all…

The arrival of the 2022-23 school year offers up the first big test at Iola Elementary School: safely and efficiently depositing 500 or so students each day at a single building. With classes set to…

The USD 257 budget will include a slight tax rate increase, mostly because the district is receiving less state aid.  At Monday night’s meeting, school board members reviewed next year’s budget, which calls for raising…