Longtime Great Bend USD 428 administrator Tricia Reiser will leave the district at the end of June to take a position as superintendent of Winfield Public Schools.
Her resignation was announced at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, hosted by Jefferson Elementary School.
Reiser is an assistant superintendent at the District Education Center and has worked for USD 428 for 18 years.
“I have enjoyed working for USD 428 for the last 18 years and I appreciate the opportunities and experiences that I gained during that time,” she said. “This is a bittersweet moment for me. I will miss working with everyone but I am so proud of the district’s achievements, new programs and facilities.”
The school board also accepted resignations from Great Bend High School math teacher Nathan Broeckelman and Great Bend Middle School instructional coach Tami Schepmann.
Broeckelman was also the head wrestling coach and assistant track coach at GBHS. He is leaving his teaching and coaching positions at GBHS and will be the new head wrestling coach at Barton Community College.
Schepmann was a member of the GBMS staff for the past 15 years; she has accepted an administrative position in another school district.
Assistant Superintendent John Popp said the district has also filled several open teaching positions for next year. The board approved the appointments of Jamie Sorenson, sixth-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School; Kieara Kaufman, first-grade teacher at Eisenhower Elementary School; Mayra Reyas, a kindergarten teacher at Eisenhower; Bradyn Houlteberg, vocal music teacher at Jefferson Elementary School; and Samantha Nicholson, who was in the Teacher Assistant to Teaching Program and will be a fourth-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School.
Contributions and grant applications
The school board also approved the following contributions:
• Christine Simos will donate a 15-by-60-foot section of artificial turf to the new Barton County Special Services Preschool. The contribution is valued at $5,000.
• Eisenhower Elementary received $200 from Eisenhower PTO as the contribution for the DJ fee at Family Formal Night.
• The GBHS Choir received $396 from the Applebees Giving Tuesday Fundraiser and $1,106 from the Pizza Hut Fundraiser.
• GBHS Forensics Coach Kim Heath received permission to apply for a “Roads to Nationals” grant from the William Woods Tate Jr. Memorial Fund that, if granted, provides $250 up to $1,000 to help students attend the National Speech & Debate Tournament.
The meeting was hosted by Jefferson Elementary School, where Principal Adam Niedens and other staff members and students shared information regarding the academic programs and the school improvement efforts at the school.
Todd Dumler, senior project manager at McCownGordon, provided a brief update regarding the construction project on East 10th Street. After the meeting, board members were invited to tour the site. (See related story.) Principal Niedens was also available to provide tours of Jefferson School.
