Liberal Sr High School

What Liberal Sr High School does

Liberal High School is a public secondary school located at 1611 W. 2nd St., Liberal, Kansas, operating as part of Unified School District 480 (USD 480). It serves grades 9-12 students in the local community, providing college preparation, career and technical education through KSDE CTE programs, IDEA-compliant special education services, athletics across fall/winter/spring seasons, and extracurricular activities under the 'Redskins' mascot competing in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). As a government-funded non-profit entity, it does not charge tuition; funding flows from state aid, local property taxes, and federal education grants under oversight of an elected school board and the Kansas State Department of Education. Leadership comprises Principal Darla Forney, Assistant Principal Brandi Fowler, Director of Athletics & Activities Chad Friess, and Assistant Director Kellen Jackson, with a staff directory listing 209 constituents across 14 pages.

The school's technology stack consists of standardized EdTech platforms: PowerSchool for student information management (enrollment, grades, attendance), Finalsite for the public-facing website, Google Workspace for Education for teacher and student productivity, ADP for HR/payroll, Frontline Education (AESOP) for substitute management, sportsYou for athletics scheduling, LinqConnect (Easy Pay) for cafeteria payments, Aimsweb for student progress assessment, TalentEd for staff onboarding, Classroom Walk-Through for instructional observation, and Dude Solutions for maintenance work orders. Athletic training services are delivered by certified staff in coordination with physicians, while the parent-run Booster Club provides supplemental financial support for student-athletes through a $25 annual family membership. The school maintains active community engagement via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and is accredited by the Kansas State Department of Education with membership in the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS).

USD 480 operates nine schools in total, with Liberal High School as the district's sole secondary school. The school is fed by two middle schools (Eisenhower and Seymour Rogers), six elementary schools (Cottonwood, MacArthur, Meadowlark, Prairie View, Sunflower), and Bright Start Pre-K Center. Marketing and community engagement rely primarily on social media, with the main Facebook page reporting 223,000+ followers and the athletics page reporting 699,000+ followers. The school has no app, no public API, and no proprietary AI capabilities. Its go-to-market is community-led enrollment within USD 480 rather than competitive student acquisition.

Name

Liberal Sr High School

Legal name

Liberal High School

Website

https://lhs.usd480.net

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Liberal High School is a public grades 9-12 secondary school in Liberal, Kansas, operated by USD 480 and funded through state aid, local property taxes, and federal grants. It serves local students with college preparation, CTE programs, and athletics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public High Schools (EDAJAAAD)

Keywords

• Public secondary education
• High school athletics
• College preparation services
• School nutrition program
• Special education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Liberal, Kansas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: Public school district funded through a combination of state aid, local property taxes, and federal education funding. Operates as a non-profit governmental entity providing free public education.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Liberal High School delivers tuition-free public secondary education to grades 9–12 in Liberal, Kansas as part of USD 480, offering core academics, college preparation including ACT support, career and technical education, special education, and an extensive athletics and activities program. The school also operates a cafeteria meal service with online payment and athletic training services for student-athletes.

Product overview

Liberal High School offers a comprehensive educational ecosystem built on Finalsite's website platform. The core offering is the school website serving students, parents, and staff with academic programs, athletics (including fall, winter, and spring sports), student services, and cafeteria operations. The school integrates with PowerSchool for student information management, provides athletic training services, and maintains an active Booster Club for supporting student-athletes. The school district (USD 480) also operates multiple feeder schools including middle schools and elementary schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Redskins: The athletic teams and mascot of Liberal High School, known as the Redskins. Competes in WAC (Western Athletic Conference).

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration14 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE)coreOthersLiberal High School is accredited and regulated by the Kansas State Department of Education. The school participates in KSDE accountability programs, CTE (Career and Technical Education) programs, and IDEA special education reporting requirements.
• East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS)coreOthersUSD 480 district maintains membership in EARCOS, an organization of international schools in East Asia that provides educational resources and professional development opportunities.
• LHS Booster ClubcoreOthersParent-run organization supporting student-athletes and coaches through financial assistance, promoting team spirit, and building leadership. Annual family membership is $25. Directly coordinates with Athletic Director and coaches to address team needs.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• Pratt High School: Pratt High School (USD 382) is a public high school in south-central Kansas with a smaller enrollment base than LHS. It is a regional peer providing similar public secondary education, athletics, and CTE offerings in a rural-Kansas context.
• El Dorado High School: El Dorado High School (USD 490) is a public secondary school in south-central Kansas serving a similar small-city population. While geographically separate from Liberal, it is comparable in scale, funding model, and programming mix.

Direct peers

• Great Bend High School: Great Bend High School (USD 428) is a central Kansas public high school of comparable scale. It shares LHS's profile of providing comprehensive K-12 programming, athletics, and CTE in a smaller Kansas city, with similar funding model constraints.
• Hays High School: Hays High School (USD 489) is a western Kansas public high school serving Hays. It is comparable in terms of WAC-area athletics participation, comprehensive CTE and college-prep programming, and small-city Kansas public-school economics.
• McPherson High School: McPherson High School (USD 418) is a public high school in central Kansas of similar scale to LHS, offering comparable athletics, CTE, and academic programming within a small-city Kansas community.
• Arkansas City High School: Arkansas City High School (USD 470) is a south-central Kansas public high school of comparable size and demographic profile to LHS, with similar reliance on state aid, local property taxes, and federal funding.
• Garden City High School: Garden City High School (USD 457) is another public high school in southwestern Kansas serving a similarly sized community. It operates in the same WAC athletic conference as LHS and faces comparable demographic, funding, and rural-Kansas market dynamics.
• Dodge City High School: Dodge City High School (USD 443) is a public high school in western Kansas with a comparable enrollment size, similar CTE and athletics breadth, and overlapping demographic profile. It competes in the WAC and serves a community of comparable scale to Liberal.

Others

• Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE): KSDE is the state-level regulator and accreditor for LHS. While not a peer institution, it is the government authority that defines accountability standards, CTE pathways, IDEA compliance, and funding formulas that directly determine LHS's operating environment.

Broad incumbents

• Wichita Public Schools (USD 259): Wichita Public Schools is the largest district in Kansas and a broad incumbent in K-12 public education. While much larger than LHS, it competes for state aid allocations and shares regulatory oversight by KSDE, providing contextual scale comparison for the same funding mechanism.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/USD480
• Facebookfacebook.com/LiberalPublicSchools
• Instagraminstagram.com/liberal_usd480
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/liberal-sr-high-school

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Liberal Sr High School