This story is published and shared courtesy of the Callaway Courier.
The budget and tax levy request were the key items on the Callaway School Board’s Sept. 11 agenda. However, neither of those discussions generated as much attention as an announcement made by one of the school administrators.
It was the last item listed on the board’s agenda. And while the board members likely knew it was coming, the public was surprised at the news. Superintendent Bryon Hanson submitted his letter of resignation to the board, effective June 30, 2024.
“The reason I submitted my resignation so early is because I care a lot about this community and this school and I wanted to give our board ample time to get prepared and hopefully be out front on their search for a new candidate,” Hanson explained. “It’s something I have been thinking about and struggling with, and I felt like it was in the school district’s best interest to make that decision early so they can put themselves in the best position possible to find a replacement.”
Hanson cited his reason for resigning as an opportunity to be closer to family. He plans to relocate to the Lincoln/Omaha area.
The evening began with a budget hearing and tax levy request hearing. There were no changes to the budget or personal and real property tax requirements from what had been shared previously, and later in the meeting, the budget was unanimously approved.
The total operating budget for 2023-24 was set at $5,405,995.31. The property tax request for that budget is $3,372,812. The total levy of .697546 is down from the 2022-23 levy of .741381.
“We were pleased with that, with the increase in state aid and then the small increase in land values we were actually able to increase our spending to take care of some of our needs, but also lower our levy by a pretty significant amount which is a good thing for our local taxpayers,” said Hanson.
The board conducted its annual review and re-adopted several policies regarding instruction and non-resident students. One of those policies was pulled out for board vote separate from the others. That policy pertained to the new grading system which was changed last year, and was approved as presented 5-1. All of the other policies received unanimous approval.
The majority of the policy changes were simply to clean up the wording or to comply with legislative changes. The board also adopted a resolution setting capacity limits in the classrooms for the 2024-25 school year per a new state law.
The topic of compensation for classified staff was discussed as well. “Labor is at a premium right now. I feel like we put together a pretty good compensation package for our folks back in May, and we did raise our starting pay significantly,” Hanson shared. “But some of our employees who have been here awhile, and I completely understand, felt like they would like to discuss an increase in compensation in large part due to the amount of time they have spent in the district and the work they do for us. We are referring that back to our personnel committee to look at it and see what we can do for our people.”
As the board moved into the reports portion of the agenda, Principal Heath Birkel reported that enrollment is up by five students over last year. Elementary Principal Brittany Jesseph reported that Discovery Zone, which is the district’s after-school program, started on Sept. 11 and the kids are excited. She also shared that fall testing has been completed, and once they are allowed by the state to release the results they will share those in open meeting.
At last month’s meeting, the board authorized Hanson to purchase a new van up to a certain amount, and he was able to locate and purchase one this past month.
