WAUSA – Wausa Public Schools is looking for someone to fill a new dual role of elementary principal and special education coordinator starting in the 2024-25 academic year.
Part of the reason for this search is Wausa Elementary special education instructor Amanda Boyle’s resignation from her position, which the school board approved on Feb. 12.
Wausa Superintendent Brad Hoesing also holds the title of elementary principal currently.
“The school is hiring an elementary principal with special education duties, so adapting the role that Mrs. Boyle held,” Hoesing said in a follow-up interview. “I will continue to help with discipline, scheduling, etc., but the elementary will get someone who has a true elementary background, and who will be able to assist them in curriculum, instruction and fidelity of practice within the classroom, which I am excited for them.
“We have an outstanding elementary staff, and they deserve someone that can help them reach their full potential,” he said.
According to the job description, the elementary principal will provide instructional leadership for students and staff in grades prekindergarten-eighth, and also will work in cohort with the junior/senior high special education teacher to support the school district’s special education population.
In her resignation letter addressed to Hoesing, Boyle wrote she accepted a position with Creighton Public Schools.
“I would like to thank you for the opportunity to have worked in this position for the past five years,” Boyle wrote. “I learned a great deal during my time here and I have enjoyed collaborating with my colleagues.”
She added she will do what she can for the rest of her time at Wausa to help make the transition as smooth as possible and she will provide whatever support she can as she hands her duties over to her replacement.
Hoesing told school board members that Wausa will miss Boyle. “She’s done a great job for us,” Hoesing said. Mike Kumm, school board president, noted he has only ever heard “complimentary things” about Boyle.
The school district also is looking for a new business teacher for 202425, as Mariah Totten submitted her resignation, which was approved by the school board on Feb. 12.
“I am grateful for all your support during my time here and deeply appreciate all the valuable experiences I have gained,” Totten wrote in her resignation letter addressed to Hoesing. “It has been a sincere pleasure working with you and all the faculty here.”
Totten started working at Wausa in 2022-23 after being hired to replace longtime business teacher Dawn Friedrich.
Hoesing noted Totten accepted a position at West Point Public Schools, as did her husband in physical education.
West Point is close to Bancroft, where Totten grew up and went to Bancroft-Rosalie High School.
“She’s done a good job with us,” Hoesing said, adding he understood Totten’s choice to resign and move closer to home. “I do get it, though.”
According to the job description, Wausa has one of the strongest business programs in Nebraska. More than 90 percent of its students are enrolled in FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) – winning multiple state and national awards annually – and Wausa routinely finishes as one of the top school districts across the country in a nationwide financial literacy test.
