The Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation will have a few new faces when students return to class in August. Superintendent Dara Chezem says a number of new employments were approved during last week’s school board meeting.
“We hired our new athletic director, Bryan Leverenz,” Chezem says. “Bryan has experience coaching basketball, football, and baseball at the varsity level, and he’s looking forward to supporting our Warrior student athletes and coaches.”
Leverenz replaces Bill Ball, who was transferred to a high school social studies teaching position last month. Other new hires include fourth grade teacher Anthony Hall, sixth grade teacher Taylor Huber, developmental preschool teacher Kacey Koedel, and second grade teacher Ashley Prater.
Chezem says the school board also approved the retirements of instructional assistant Deb Straw after 30 years and sixth grade teacher Ron Nies after 49 years. “Mr. Nies, he’s touched thousands of students’ lives over the years, many of whom have gone on to become teachers themselves, and as we celebrated everyone’s retirements, we realized how many of our own staff had learned from Mr. Nies over the years,” Chezem says.
She adds that she appreciates the difference Nies and Straw made in the lives of students and says they’ll be missed.
