A few months ago the Board of Education of Callaway Public Schools approved moving forward with replacing the outdated and inefficient boiler system at the school, and at the Feb. 14 school board meeting Superintendent Bryon Hanson updated the board on the progress of that project. The district has now purchased the boiler and has purchased a propane tank from Progressive Fertilizer with plans to have that installed this spring.

“Right now in terms of the project, we are working with Hewgley & Associates out of North Platte and are getting bids on the different components of the project. Bids were opened on Monday afternoon (Feb. 14) and they did come in a little higher than we expected, so we tabled it for now,” Hanson explained in an interview following the monthly board meeting. “The gentleman we are working with at Hewgley & Associates is working with some of the sub-contractors to try to get some things ironed out on the bids, so hopefully we can revisit that and have a price that is kind of in line with what we were thinking.”

The boiler system in the school is believed to be original to the building, dating back to 1958. “We definitely got our money’s worth,” said Hanson. “It’s getting to the point where it is getting very difficult to maintain, very expensive to fix and hard to find parts for. And it just isn’t as efficient as the newer ones. We are looking at replacing it with something that is going to be much more efficient and easier to maintain, and will do a better job of regulating temperatures in the building.”

The board also received three teacher resignations at the February meeting. Those teachers are: Melanie Chesley, English teacher; Katy Cooksley, IPM; and Debra Liewer, elementary teacher.

Hanson explained that Chesley’s resignation is due to retirement, while Cooksley has accepted a position in Broken Bow where she and her husband live and he teaches. Liewer is relocating to be closer to family. Hanson said none of the resignations were a surprise. All three are effective at the end of the 2021-22 school year.

With a nationwide teacher shortage affecting literally every school district, Hanson admitted that losing teachers for any reason at this point is a little scary. “The teacher shortage is a concern. I recently attended a hiring fair at UNK; 15 years ago when I would attend these hiring fairs it was students graduating from college looking for teaching jobs and really trying to sell themselves to districts. For most openings we had multiple applicants per position,” Hanson said. “But our mindset has to shift a little bit in education. It’s not necessarily them selling themselves to us - we have to be proactive. We have to be ready to talk about the positives in our school district and the positives in our community and do a better job of selling ourselves to them. We do a pretty good job of that here. There are still teachers out there. We just have to change our approach in how we go get them.”

Hanson said there is currently a bill in the Legislature dealing with the issue of certification and the sometimes difficult requirements for teachers. “Those things aren’t necessarily a measure of how good of a teacher they are going to be,” he explained. “Other things being talked about in Lincoln right now to help with the teacher shortage are some state programs to help with student loans to encourage those coming out of college to possibly go to areas that are potentially underserved to fill an opening. It’s comforting to know that people at the state level are recognizing that this is a concern and are looking to be proactive.”

Like other area administrators, Hanson said Covid has wreaked havoc on the sub pool at Callaway Public School. He said there was a time not all that long ago when the subs were primarily licensed teachers who weren’t able to find a full-time job. Now, he said, the district is relying on retired teachers and local subs.

“We’ve been fortunate - we have not been hit as hard as some districts. But it’s been hard,” said Hanson. “Our folks have pulled together really well to make sure we are meeting the needs of our kids."

Crysta Yenni and Kaylee Brogan were both approved by the board to serve the district as elementary teachers in the 2022-23 school year.

"It’s getting to the point where it is getting very difficult to maintain, very expensive to fix and hard to find parts for."

— Superintendent Bryon Hanson