USD 480 Board Selects Next Superintendent

– After an extensive search under the direction and aid of the Kansas Association
of School Boards, the USD 480 Board of Education has been selected Mr. Stephen Linkous as
the next Superintendent of Schools for Liberal Unified School District No. 480.

Mr. Linkous was one of two finalists for the position and was selected after both candidates had
the opportunity to visit Liberal and meet with staff, administration, community members and the
board of education. After deliberating on both candidates, the USD 480 Board of Education
made a formal offer to Mr. Linkous for the position of superintendent and he accepted the
position and was officially hired by the board on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.

Mr. Linkous most recently served as Chief of Staff for Arlington Public Schools in Arlington,
VA. He has spent his entire 29 year career in the field of education. He has served as a teacher,
coach, assistant principal, principal, school support officer, assistant superintendent, and chief of
staff in communities with similar populations to Liberal.

Prior to taking this position in 2022, Mr. Linkous served as Chief of Staff for Kansas City,
Kansas Public Schools for three years after serving as Assistant Superintendent at Roosevelt
School District in Phoenix, AZ.

During his visit to Liberal, Mr. Linkous was able to tour the community and get to know USD
480 staff and community members and he looks forward to the opportunity to expand and build
those relationships this summer.

“Meeting and speaking to staff, parents, and community members is always the beginning to
building strong relationships,” Linkous said. “These relationships are the key to creating the
culture where everyone is on the same page, in word and action, so that all of our students
achieve academic excellence.”

Mr. Linkous plans to lean on his professional background; as well as, his personal background as
he gets to know the members of the community and familiarizes himself with Liberal.

“As a bilingual Mexican-American, I understand the need for mastery of academic English and
the doors that it will open both personally and professionally, while at the same time keeping my
Spanish fluent as that is something my family is very proud of and has also opened many doors
personally and professionally,” Linkous said.