Wayne Ledbetter to Retire After 42 Years
Wayne and his wife Lynn, grew up in Jefferson County. They graduated together from Jefferson County North. Forty-two years ago after graduating from Emporia State University. he was excited to have the opportunity to stay close to home by coming to Perry Unified Schools. Wayne received a phone call on the night of his graduation offering him a position as a biology teacher. After three years of simultaneously working full-time for minimum wage and carrying a full load of classes, he was anxious to earn his magnificent first-year salary of $8,500.
Wayne and Lynn came to Perry with their two sons, Mark and Aaron, his daughter Dana arrived two years later. All three of them and both grandchildren, Ashton and Drew, have attended only Perry-Lecompton Schools. Wayne and Lynn both recognize and appreciate the quality of education and opportunities they have received here.
During his four decades plus at PLHS, he has taught 19 different courses in biology, social studies, and career education. Wayne has worked for six superintendents and seven principals. He has helped to write and develop a number of curricula and programs, and has seen roughly 3500 students come through our school. Wayne coached 94 athletic teams: football 35 years, basketball 35 years, track 21 years, baseball 2 years, and even wrestling 1 year. 25 years were at the high school and 10 at the middle school.
Wayne said, “The Perry-Lecompton school district has been a great place to work; a fact that I think is illustrated by the number of teachers who have spent so much of their careers here.”
When asked about his favorite memories Wayne responded “There have been far too many great memories and experiences working here to pick one or two, but I can honestly say, while there have been days I just didn’t want to get out of bed, there has never been a day that I haven’t looked forward to going to school. That is a testament to our students and to our communities.”
Wayne also wanted to share, “What a wonderful blessing it has been to be able to look forward to coming to work every day, to be proud of what I do, and to still be excited about students coming into my classroom. While none of that has changed over 42 years, all good things must come to an end eventually. I have a number of signs in my classroom that are there as reminders of things I believe and philosophies I embrace. One of those is to “Leave it better than you found it”. I hope that at least in some part defines how people see my career.”
USD 343 wishes Wayne the best in his retirement and we are sure that we will still see Wayne around at various events at PLHS.