In this episode, host Karen Borchert heads to western Kansas to talk with Superintendent Jamie Rumford of USD 466 Scott County Schools, where 4,000 people, 6,000 county residents, and more than 20,000 head of cattle define truly rural school life.
Jamie has spent 30+ years in education and more than a decade as a superintendent, centering his leadership on trust, transparency, autonomy, and taking care of people. When he arrived in Scott City in 2014, the district was coming out of a serious budget crisis and had just cut salaries by 2%.
What followed was a long, thoughtful process of rebuilding: simple budget “dashboards,” honest updates, reorganizing leadership roles to give principals smaller spans of control, and eventually paying back that 2% in a surprise “13th check.” Along the way, Jamie and his team built traditions like districtwide state send-offs and handwritten birthday cards for every staff member that knit together a culture he describes as connected, loyal, and motivated.
💡 Little Wins in This Episode:
- Start and End Together: Why USD 466 now always kicks off and closes the year with the whole staff in one room.
- Real Transparency: How a simple budget comparison and regular updates calmed fears after pay cuts.
- The 13th Check: Returning the 2% reduction in a single end-of-year payment and what it signaled to staff.
- Designing for Autonomy: Restructuring buildings, principals’ roles, and a 6–12 activities director to shrink workloads and sharpen focus.
- Presence Without Micromanaging: Visiting every building weekly, staying in hallways, and letting principals lead instruction.
- Birthday Cards & Send-Offs: Handwritten notes and whole-district state send-offs that build connection from PreK to 12.
Key Moments
02:16 Western Kansas roots and choosing rural life for his family
03:19 Jamie’s father, the lifelong “educator,” and what real reward means
05:14 Stepping into USD 466 during a budget crisis and 2% salary cuts
08:27 Practicing transparency with a simple budget “dashboard”
10:18 Paying back the 2% in a surprise “13th check”
12:09 Realizing staff were disconnected across buildings
13:03 “We always start together and end together” as a rallying cry
23:26 State send-offs: cross-country team walking all three buildings
25:17 Handwritten birthday cards for every staff member
26:59 Three words for culture: connected, loyal, motivated
29:54 A little win: Boss’s Day surprise from the central office team
Connect with Jamie Rumford
🧵 About the Podcast:
Little Wins is the podcast that digs into the small, deliberate actions school leaders are taking to build strong, human-centered cultures.
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Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Alpaca for more conversations on building powerful school cultures.
What is Little Wins?
Little Wins is a podcast that shines a light on the small moments making a big impact in schools. Hosted by Karen Borchert, each episode features courageous conversations with principals, heads of school, and superintendents who are building trust, sparking belonging, and shaping culture—one hallway celebration, heartfelt gesture, or coffee-fueled conversation at a time.
Because in education, it’s the little things that often matter most—and they’re the reason people stay.