Horizon Middle School and Sunrise Middle School, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — An imbalance in class sizes at Horizon and Sunrise Middle School will be discussed by the Kearney Public Schools Board of Education, an overview was presented during their meeting on Monday, July 14.
It was noted to the school board members that more development has been occurring on the west side of the Kearney community, and this has led to a higher number of students entering the elementary schools that eventually go to Horizon Middle School.
Middle school enrollment in Kearney has generally been divided down 2nd Ave., with students on the west side attending Horizon Middle School and those on the east side going to Sunrise Middle School.
Future classes that are in elementary school now will push class sizes at Horizon well over 20 students in some cases in the coming years. It was noted that Sunrise Middle School is actually the larger building, with five more classrooms than Horizon.
According to projections, in the 2026-27 year, there would be 706 students at Horizon and 550 at Sunrise. This trend continues throughout the school years up to 2029-30, with generally 700 students enrolled at Horizon and 500 at Sunrise.
The school board has been in discussions about shifting around students to help balance the numbers in both middle schools. The board will continue to discuss their options at future meetings. It was noted they are seeking a solution that will be the least disruptive to parents in the district.
Also during the meeting, the board members approved on the second and final reading board policies for behavioral intervention and safe driving record for drivers.
Regarding the policy addressing behavioral intervention and classroom management, the point was made that the district is already doing the actions spelled out in the policy, but the policy is now codified.
On the safe driving record for drivers, the old policy had disallowed those with stated motor vehicle offenses from operating a district vehicle for 20 years. This was deemed excessive and changed to seven years in the new policy.
The board also approved a resolution to increase the school district’s overall property tax request authority by up to an additional five percent above the base growth percentage, and authorize and direct the Superintendent or designee to take any action to ensure that the school district’s overall property tax request complies with LB243.
Board member Amanda Smallcomb later said during an interview on KGFW, that school districts have the ability to reserve this additional five percent as a safety measure should there be the need for extra funds that were not budgeted for.
Smallcomb said it is not a tax increase and that the district does not have to spend these funds, this action was simply claiming the authority to claim the funds, should they be needed.
During the presentations period of the meeting, Kearney High School Principal Jeff Ganz spoke on the report for the Class of 2025 academic and scholarship achievements.
Ganz said that the 2025 class saw 390 students graduate from KHS and the Hanny Arram Center for Success. This class had a graduation rate of 94 percent, well over the national rate of 84 percent and the state rate between 88-90 percent.
Additionally, there were 30 juniors who had completed all of their high school requirements early and were able to graduate with the seniors.
In addition to meeting their academic requirements, the 2025 class also logged over 8,000 hours of community service in the area.
Ganz also noted that the class had received $5.3 million in scholarships.
The board also moved to accept the resignation of Connor Beranek, physical education teacher at Sunrise Middle School, effective at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. They also cancelled the employment contract of Jill Hadwiger.
The employment of certificated staff was also approved, including Karla Rohde, 6th grade social studies teacher at Sunrise Middle School and Molly Brown, family and consumer science teacher at Sunrise Middle School, for the 2025-2026 school year.
Recognitions during the meeting included the Kearney High School Girls Basketball Team and Head Coach Drew Danielson for receiving the 2024-2025 Nebraska Coaches Association Academic Excellence Award.
There was also a recognition of Head Coach Nate Polacek and the Kearney High School Girls Track Individual State Champions and Runners-Up. They included State Champion: Alexa Jacobsen-Shot Put. State Runners-Up: Abigail Burger-1600M and 3200M, Kyah Hazard-Pole Vault and Greeley Cargill-Discus.
