Community Voice for Blair Schools

02/27/2026

FYI: Last chance to throw your hat in the ring! School board candidates that have filed to fill the 4 spots up for election include:
Courtney Tabor - current board member
Steve Callaghan - current board member
Ryan Klein - new candidate
Kyle Kruse - new candidate
Justin Boerma - new candidate

The filing deadline for the upcoming City election is March 2.

Residents interested in serving as Mayor, City Council Member (any ward), or Airport Authority Member must file at the County Clerk’s Office and then complete the process at City Hall.

Filing fees:
Mayor: $90
City Council: $70
Airport Authority: $0

If you’re considering serving your community, be sure to complete your filing before the deadline. For questions about the process, contact City Hall.

02/06/2026

FYI

We are aware of a fraudulent email circulating that appears to be from a high school counselor & asks recipients to sign a DocuSign. This email did not come from BCS.
❌ Don’t click links
❌ Don’t open attachments
❌ Don’t share personal info
Please delete the email. Stay alert.

02/06/2026

ALERT: Scam going around looking like it's from Blair High. FYI

12/20/2025

SUPERINTENDENT CANDIDATE: Let's take a look at our neighboring former superintendent, Dr. Don Johnson, ahead of the Monday interview.

- Background: former Waterloo teacher, principal at an alternative high in Omaha, 30 years at Fort Calhoun as the middle school principal then superintendent. Retired, revamped the Fort Calhoun Community Schools Foundation, and is now working as an asst. professor at UNL
- Awarded 2019 Region II Superintendent of the Year
- During Covid, he would call up families that may have been in need to check in and would often personally deliver the food pantry items to them
- Three middle schoolers pranked him by saran-wrapping his car and putting post-its all over it. The week that they graduated high school, he did the same to them
- On his last day, a caravan of ~30 vehicles including current and retired faculty/staff, a fire truck, and a school bus paraded past the schools to honor him.

12/20/2025

SUPERINTENDENT CANDIDATE: Let's learn together about Dr. Ron Hanson ahead of the Monday interview.

- Background includes nearly 40 years of experience as a math/science teacher, assistant superintendent in Papillion-La Vista, and superintendent in North Platte for 7 years before he retired.
- Shadowed students to learn more about their daily experiences and formed student advisory teams. The students and staff made a tribute video for him below.
- The student newspaper featured him in an article comparing him to Batman (Hanson's favorite superhero) as a "regular" hero using intellect and skills for the greater good.
- He says in a different interview, “I learned that from a very young age, growing up on a farm. The beauty of growing up on a farm is the hard work They instill the importance of getting up in the morning and doing hard work, and you do it respectfully, you respect others. That stayed with me forever in everything I do. You just outwork everybody else."

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=339452314987547

12/20/2025

PRAISE: Thank you for keeping us updated on the search. I'll post more soon about the candidates so we can get to know them before the Monday 12/22 interviews. It looks like the Special Board Mtg. is scheduled for 1:00PM that day.

Following last night’s Board of Education meeting, we would like to share an update regarding the interim superintendent search. Shari Becker from NASB presented the interim superintendent candidates, and the Board has selected two highly qualified individuals with superintendent experience to move forward in the interview process on Monday, December 22.

The candidates are Dr. Ronald Hanson, former Superintendent of North Platte Public Schools, and Dr. Donald Johnson, former Superintendent of Fort Calhoun Community Schools. Both candidates stood out during the selection process and bring strong leadership experience.

We will continue to keep our community informed and will share additional updates as more information becomes available.

12/18/2025

PRAISE: Thank you, Mrs. Grabbe, for showing love for our schools! We need to celebrate all that we get right and give attention to what needs improvement. I personally want to see all of our stats, awards, involvement with the community, happy moments in the school, etc. which is one of the reasons I started this page. I'll be sure to share more of what I find. Thank you for the reminder to never lose sight of all of the good that happens every day.

12/17/2025

RESIGNATION: Shane Keeling, Director of Special Services, has resigned according to the upcoming board meeting agenda

https://meeting.sparqdata.com/Public/Agenda/134?meeting=722586

12/17/2025

PRINCIPAL UPDATE: Mr. Gutschow has accepted the position of Blair High principal. Congratulations!

12/16/2025

FYI: They're deciding on who to interview during a Special Meeting this Thursday at 5:30PM but discussion will be during a closed session. https://meeting.sparqdata.com/Public/Agenda/134?meeting=722586

Glad to see an update coming from the district on the superintendent search!

Following the resignation of Dr. Randy Gilson, the Blair Community Schools Board of Education (BOE) is actively working to fill the leadership role. We have partnered with the Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB) to lead our search process.

The NASB will be assisting us with both the search for an Interim Superintendent and the subsequent search for a Full-Time Superintendent.

Interim Superintendent Search: This is our immediate priority to ensure a smooth transition and continuous leadership. Interviews for the interim position are currently scheduled for 12/22.

Full-Time Superintendent Search: The interim position is planned for 18 months, covering the remainder of this school year and the next. The full-time search will take place during this time for a leader to start in the 2027-2028 school year.

The Administration, BOE, and staff have outlined key priorities for our candidates to ensure we find the best fit for our district. We are committed to a transparent and thorough search process and will continue to share updates with our community. Thank you for your continued support!

12/09/2025

SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE: Shari Becker from NASB presented regarding the search for the interim superintendent at tonight's working session. I've got two full pages of notes, if anyone wants more details but here's the highlights.

12/07/2025

MTG NOTES: Full Finance Committee meeting notes are attached to the 12/8/25 agenda but here a few things they talked about:
- Accessing more resources for the 18-21 transition program
- Touring schools with an architect for major projects
- Follow up on swim team fees with Fremont
- Adding a robotics coach
- Extending contract days for the agriculture teacher
- Renewing agreement with Ralston for hearing impaired students
- New accounting system software
- Financial audit review (no issues)
- Labor negotiations
- Coach professional development
- January Professional Development Day presentation
- Annual software fee for teacher evaluations
- Reviewed Food Service Advisory Committee meeting notes
- Chromebook buyback
- Retirement contribution rate changes save $125k

https://meeting.sparqdata.com/Public/Agenda/134?meeting=719599