Staff writer
After 24 years of rounding up elementary school children, Hillsboro Elementary School teacher Rod Just will instead be rounding up cattle on his father’s farm near Aulne.
“It’s something I’ve had in my mind for the past few years,” Just said.
Just said he feels good about the change, and although he will no longer be teaching, he will still be involved with USD 410 as a morning bus driver and bus mechanic.
“I did some bus driving and mechanic work before I started teaching,” Just said, “so it’s kind of going back to some things I’ve done before.”
Farming is also something he has done before.
“He grew up helping here on the farm,” Just’s father, Eugene Just, said. “He has helped with harvesting and everything so he’s not new at it.”
Eugene is excited to have an extra hand to help on his farm, since he is “going to have to slow down a bit here.”
“It’s a blessing,” Eugene said. “There’s a lot of things I can’t do anymore.”
Superintendent Max Heinrichs said that while Rod was a great teacher, he understands why he is leaving his position.
“We don’t want to lose good teachers, but he has a responsibility to his family farm, so we are glad he can do that and come back and serve us as a shop mechanic and bus driver,” Heinrichs said. “We believe it’s a win-win.”