Superintendent: Antigo reports multiple teacher vacancies, low applicant rates and CTE schedule shifts
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Summary
Superintendent Kelly Oginski told the board the district has multiple open teaching positions, cited low applicant numbers and candidates withdrawing after public controversy; administrators described course-scheduling changes in CTE and a partnership with NTC for welding and a spring firefighter academy.
Superintendent Kelly Oginski told the Antigo Unified School District Board of Education that the district is working to fill multiple vacancies for the 2025–26 school year and that community controversy has deterred some applicants.
"Currently, we have the following positions open: three elementary classroom teachers (one pending acceptance), two elementary principal positions, one elementary music position, two middle school teacher positions (one pending), two middle-school special education positions, two high school ELA positions, two high school math positions, one Spanish position, and three high school special education positions (one pending)," Oginski said during her superintendent's report.
Oginski said some candidates who had been hired or were willing to interview later declined because of the “turmoil in the community.” She reported two high-quality applicants declined interviews and said one principal/head basketball-coach candidate who toured the district ultimately decided not to take the job after citing negative impressions during local visits.
Board members pressed for concrete vacancy numbers. A board member asked publicly whether the district had received applicants since the last meeting; Oginski said the district had received about three applicants for roughly a dozen posted openings since the last meeting.
On career and technical education (CTE), school leaders described schedule and staffing adjustments made after reviewing student course requests and enrollment trends. Administrators said metals/welding enrollment had fallen because of students opting into Northern Technical College (NTC) welding offerings; this year NTC seats (welding) required about three class periods at the high school building. A new spring dual-credit firefighter academy with NTC was described as accepting about eight students and resulting in industry certification on completion.
The board and staff described steps taken to keep CTE offerings viable: moving carpentry fully back to the high school to create a full-time FTE, reallocating a 0.5 metals FTE to cover middle-school sections, and monitoring enrollment annually to adjust staffing. Officials said some electives are offered every other year (e.g., Metals FAB) and that small-section course decisions are driven by student requests during course-selection cycles.
Administrators said they rely on the district’s course-selection system and outreach (counseling visits, eighth-grade rotations) to promote CTE pathways; they encouraged continued local support and recruitment to fill classes and sustain programs.
No formal hiring votes were recorded during the public superintendent report; the board moved later to approve the consent agenda items that included the report of new hires, retirements and resignations.
