Superintendent to retire, search starts
RANDOLPH - The superintendent of Randolph Public Schools intends to retire at the end of the next academic year.
Jeff Hoesing has submitted his resignation and the school board discussed how to proceed with the search for their next leader at the Randolph School Board meeting Monday.
Hoesing will complete 10 years when he wraps up his time at Randolph in June 2023. He’s been an educator for 40 years.
“It just means I’m really old, it doesn’t mean anything else,” Hoesing said.
He started his career at Clearwater Public Schools where he worked as a teacher and a coach for 15 years; and K-12 principal and athletic director for eight years. He spent seven years at Mullen Public Schools as superintendent and elementary principal before moving to Randolph.
Randolph School Board President Paul Schmit said the search for a superintendent will take some time and the next leader will have big shoes to fill.
“His Christian morals lead to super decisions working with people,” he said.
Keeping the board informed and his budget expertise are just two of his strong suits, agreed board treasurer Sandy Owens.
“We seldom have surprises,” she said.
The board is mulling whether to use the Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) or the Nebraska Rural Communities School Association (NRCSA) superintendent search services.
Schmit said he was satisfied with using the NASB in the past but recently learned about the NRCSA services. The board decided to table a decision until the August meeting after the board can review and compare each organization’s services side by side.
In other school board news, esports has officially been ruled as game over.
Esports, or Electronic Sports, is an organized school activity in which participants compete in video games between teams and other schools. Proponents of esports say it builds critical thinking, leadership, teamwork, communication and dedication among players. Opponents report that the activity feeds into video game addiction and also frown on it being a sedentary activity.
High School Principal Brandi Bartels made one last plea to the inclusion of eSports into Randolph’s extracurricular activities this coming school year, describing the student who would belong to it.
“Esports would give these kids something to look forward to at school. We would provide the structure to build teamwork, set boundaries, and provide a positive social environment. At school, we could create an environment that would bring forth positives for these students that would be different from going home, going to their room and playing. As the principal, I wish every kid could have that one thing that they love in high school,” she said.
After months of discussion and a failed vote to pass it last month, eSports failed again this month with a split vote. Schmit, Owens and Loren Haselhorst voted for the school-based gaming activity and Jim Scott, Cody Backer and Lisa
