Biography
Lisa Gehring has been selected as the new Superintendent for Graham County USD 281. She will begin July 1, 2025.
Lisa Gehring has been an educator for over 30 years. She started her career as a junior high English teacher and volleyball coach for USD 269 in Palco, Kansas, in 1992. Later, she moved into the role of PreK-8 Elementary Principal and finished her time at USD 269 as Superintendent. Overall, she spent 21 years serving the students and families in the Palco school district. In 2013, Mrs. Gehring accepted an administrative position at USD 270 in Plainville, Kansas. She served as high school principal for four years and has been superintendent for the last eight years.
Lisa Gehring received her B.S. in Elementary Education with an endorsement in English Language Arts, M.S. in Building Administration, district-level certication, and Ed.S. in Educational Leadership all from Fort Hays State University.
Currently, Mrs. Gehring serves as an adjunct instructor for Fort Hays State University in the Educational Leadership Department. She works with the Kansas Educational Leadership Institute (KELI), as a mentor for new superintendents in Kansas.
Mrs. Gehring has always made it a priority to remain actively involved in her profession. Currently, she serves on Kansas Education Commissioner’s Dr. Randy Watson’s 2023 Leadership Council, Dr. Watson’s Advisory Council, and Dr. Randy Watson’s Kansas Executive Development for Superintendents (KEDS). Most recently, she was asked to serve on the Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Panel. She also serves on the Educational Leadership Advisory Council for Fort Hays State University.
During her time as superintendent for USD 270, Mrs. Gehring has brought in over 3.25 million dollars in grant funds. She has completed numerous projects in the district to improve the education and well-being of the students and families in the Plainville community. Currently, she is working on a project to provide safe routes to school for students with a project estimate of just under 1 milliondollars. This recent grant is funded at 100% and totals $853,991.
Mrs. Gehring was named KAESP Principal of the Year for Kansas District V in 2009 and KAMSA Exemplary Principal in 2010. Her district was awarded the Sunflower Spotlight Award in 2012 and was the Healthier US School Challenge Award Winner in 2013. She received the Honored Administrator Award from the Northwest Kansas Music Educators Association in 2016. Most recently, Lisa was nominated for Superintendent of the Year.
Lisa and her husband live in Hill City, KS. They have raised four children, and all of them are educators. They have 12 grandchildren, and their oldest granddaughter is a Sophomore at KSU majoring in elementary education. While her passion is and always will be education and working with her colleagues, she truly loves spending time with her family. With all of her responsibilities and interests, there is never a dull moment in her life, and she would not want it any other way.