Sunrise Middle School choir singing at the 2025 Veterans Day event, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — The Sunrise Middle School Honor Choir will have a singing performance at the State Capitol in March, the Kearney Public Schools Board of Education learned the details during their meeting on Monday, Feb. 9.
Stacie Blackmore, music teacher at Sunrise Middle School, appeared during the meeting during the presentations and noted that the Sunrise choir is only one of two middle school choirs singing at the Capitol this legislative session.
The performance will take place on Wednesday, March 18 at 12:30 p.m. in the Capitol Rotunda.
Blackmore said that the honor choir will be made up of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students and they will perform six songs.
Schools are able to perform once at the capitol once every three years, Blackmore said.
During the personnel portion of the meeting, the school board approved the resignations of Andrew Chadek, English teacher at Kearney High School; John Wegner, 5th grade teacher at Buffalo Hills Elementary; Audra Haas, 5th grade teacher at Bryant Elementary; Kati Burns, special education teacher at Horizon Middle School; Chelsey Jacobitz, special education supervisor with Kearney Public Schools; Julian Beltran Dorado, art teacher at Kenwood and Cottonwood Elementary Schools, and Lydia Goracke, computer teacher at Horizon Middle School, effective the end of the 2025-2026 school year.
Retirement resignations included Kellee Vornhagen, family and consumer sciences teacher at Kearney High School; Ranee Borowski, kindergarten teacher at Windy Hills Elementary School, and Darren VanWinkle, English teacher at Kearney High School, effective the end of the 2025-2026 school year.
Hiring of certificated staff included, Matthew Dahlke, orchestra teacher at Kearney High School; Tatum Smith, 2nd grade teacher at Bryant Elementary School; Kinley Johnson, 5th grade teacher at Bryant Elementary School; Morgan Semerad, orchestra teacher at Horizon Middle School; Josue Gomez Gutierrez, 7th grade math teacher at Sunrise Middle School; Ayden Brophy, 7th grade teacher at Horizon Middle School; Anna Howard, 5th grade teacher at Emerson Elementary School, and Sarah Snyder Essay, English teacher at Kearney High School, for the 2026-2027 school year.
Administrative staff hiring included Trent Steele as assistant principal at Kearney High School, starting the 2026-2027 school year.
The board also approved the ratification of a negotiated agreement with the Kearney Education Association.
“The two sides have agreed to a 3.53% total compensation increase, agreed upon changes to the negotiated agreement, as well as identified extracurricular positions for the 2026-2027 school year,” per KPS.
Regarding other business, the school board approved the purchase of 1,190 Chromebooks for 5th and 9th grades and the Windy Hill Elementary upgrades from RTI for the cost of $292,049.80.
The board also discussed lighting and sound upgrades to the Kearney High School CHAT for the Theatre Production program. The cost of the equipment was $76,075.40 and was approved by the board.
The board then entered closed session to discuss a personnel matter.
The next regular meeting of the Kearney Public Schools Board of Education will be held on March 9, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. in the Staff Development Room in the Administration Building.
