In Episode 77 of the KillerGrowth Podcast, Samuel McVay sits down with Chad Higgins for a candid, inside look at the state of public education. Chad brings a ground-level perspective on the real challenges facing schools today - staffing shortages, declining enrollment, funding pressures, and the enormous weight carried by teachers and administrators who are navigating a system under significant strain. This is an honest conversation that goes beyond the headlines and gets into the reality of what's happening inside classrooms and school buildings across the country.
Public education is one of those topics everyone has opinions about and very few people have real visibility into. Chad Higgins came on the KillerGrowth Podcast to change that - to give an honest, inside account of what's actually happening in schools right now, from someone who's living it.
The staffing crisis is real and it's not fully captured in the headlines. It's not just about teacher shortages in the traditional sense. It's about the pipeline - fewer people entering education programs, experienced teachers leaving the profession, and the compounding effect of trying to serve students well with increasingly stretched teams. Administrators are making impossible decisions with limited budgets, and the people who stay do so because they genuinely care, not because the conditions are easy.
What the Funding Picture Actually Looks Like
Chad walked through the reality of how school funding works - and how it doesn't. The relationship between property taxes, enrollment numbers, and state funding creates a system where declining enrollment means declining revenue, even as fixed costs (buildings, administration, debt service) stay constant. It's a structural problem that local leaders often have limited tools to fix.
What Parents and Community Members Can Do
The conversation didn't stop at problems. Chad was clear that community involvement matters - not in an abstract, show-up-to-school-board-meetings way, but in the day-to-day reality of schools knowing their communities are paying attention and care about what happens there. Businesses, parents, and local organizations that engage with schools - partnering on programs, offering apprenticeships, supporting teachers - make a real difference in ways that budget line items can't.
What are the biggest real challenges facing public schools right now - beyond the headlines?
Staffing shortages, declining enrollment, and structural funding gaps are the three most pressing problems. But beneath those headlines is a deeper issue: the people who stay in education do so because they genuinely care - and they are being asked to carry an increasingly heavy load with fewer resources. The challenge is institutional, not individual, and it requires community-level engagement, not just policy fixes.
How does the health of local public schools connect to the health of local businesses?
Schools are a business's future workforce and customer base. Communities with strong public education attract families and retain residents - the same demographic that supports local service businesses. Business owners who engage with their local schools - through apprenticeships, sponsorships, or simply showing up as advocates - are investing in the ecosystem their own business depends on.
How does KillerGrowth help local businesses grow in Wichita-area communities?
KillerGrowth works with local service businesses across Wichita and surrounding communities - helping them dominate local search, generate consistent inbound leads, and build a digital presence that reflects the quality of their work. We run local SEO, paid advertising, and GHL automation so owners can focus on serving their community while the systems drive growth.
What makes KillerGrowth different from other digital marketing agencies in Wichita?
KillerGrowth is built specifically for local service businesses - not generalist clients. Samuel McVay handles strategy directly, so you are working with an owner, not an account manager. Every channel we run (local SEO, paid ads, GHL automation, website) is chosen because it drives bookings - not because it looks good on a report. Most Wichita agencies sell packages. KillerGrowth builds growth systems.
How do I get started with KillerGrowth?
Book a free strategy call at https://killergrowth.com/booking. Samuel McVay will walk through your current online presence, where your biggest growth opportunities are, and what a realistic plan looks like for your market - no fluff, no vanity metrics.