The Callaway FFA Chapter was recently notified that it is the recipient of a generous memorial donation. Carla Kimball made the presentation during the Callaway Board of Education meeting on Dec. 9.

Kimball shared that her father, Conrad Wildhagan has passed away and that the family has decided to use a portion of his memorial to help support the local FFA chapter. She presented a check for $2,000 to CHS FFA Advisor Garrett Hrupek at the meeting. The donation has been specifically earmarked to go toward the construction of an FFA greenhouse.

Lately, it has felt more like greenhouse weather than snowstorm weather, but it is Nebraska and the snow will eventually come. As the board moved into action items on the agenda the first discussion centered on the purchase of snow removal attachments for the school’s bobcat. The board approved a motion authorizing Superintendent JD Furrow to spend up to $7,000 for those attachments. Board member Jim Phelps was the lone no vote on the motion.

Like the snow removal equipment, a new walk-in freezer for the school has been discussed by the board in previous meetings. At the Dec. 9 meeting the board unanimously approved a bid from Cozad Services for a new freezer in the amount of $53,304.23 to be paid out of the special building fund. The approval allows Furrow to lock in the bid and begin scheduling the installation of the unit.

With one semester now under his belt at Callaway Public School, Furrow’s superintendent evaluation was discussed by the board. Both the board and Furrow agreed that they like the way things are going after his first few months, and Furrow expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to lead the school.

Board President Mike Reiff also discussed some options for reviewing the superintendent's evaluation in the future, including the formation of an evaluation committee to meet with Furrow and share the results of his evaluations. The board decided to continue recapping the evaluations during the regular board meetings.

Furrow expressed to the board that he would like them to extend his contract for an additional year and to consider his salary for the 2025-26 school year.

The only other action item was a unanimous vote to close two safe deposit boxes at First Interstate Bank. The board agreed with the recommendation of Tiana Bonde that only one box is needed and one will be renewed.

The next meeting of the Callaway Board of Education will be Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. The officers for 2025 will be voted on at that time. All meetings are open to the public and are held in the school library.