Teachers retiring or moving districts after this school year
With the ending of another school year comes the retirement or resignation of a few teachers and staff in the school.
This year there are two teachers retiring, two teachers moving to different districts, and one staff member who are leaving.
Agriculture instructor and FFA sponsor Curt Vajnar is retiring after 31 years of teaching, all of which was at Hays High School. He said it feels odd to end his last year teaching under such weird circumstances due to the Coronavirus.
“I have been at school every day from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with my four school-aged children in my room,” Vajnar said. “Never would I of thought the last students in my room would be only my own.”
Vajnar said he looks forward to his time in retirement and jokingly said he plans to spend his time “harassing his younger children.”
The second teacher retiring after this school year is instructor Melanie Folkerts. Folkerts has taught English and German classes during her time at HHS.
Another staff member that will not be returning next year is the head of the Computer Care Unit, Jared Wickham. Wickham has accepted a job working at Midwest Energy.
The two teachers that are moving to different school districts are social studies/physical education instructor and girls basketball coach Kyle Porter and art instructor Jennifer Younger.
After just one year at Hays High, Porter has accepted a new teaching and coaching position in northeast Kansas to be closer to his family.
Younger has been working in the district since 2008 and has had her position at HHS since 2015. She is moving to Sublette to teach seventh through 12th grade art classes.
Younger said that she has loved teaching at Hays High and will truly miss everyone.
“I wasn’t looking for a different job; this one just kind of found me,” Younger said. “My entire family, my parents, granny, brother, sister, nephews and nieces/great nieces all live in Sublette. I’ve been in Hays for 20 years. It’s time to go back home and get closer to my family.”
21abrooks@usd489.com
Allison Brooks is a senior, and this her fourth year in newspaper. Outside of newspaper, she is involved in DECA, Scholars Bowl, National Honors Society...
