Long time career and technical education teacher Walter Love has resigned from Homer High School. He left at the beginning of the school year for medical reasons and officially resigned at the end of January.
Love taught the high school’s welding, auto shop, construction and computer aided design and drafting classes.
Substitute teachers have taken over the welding and construction classes this year, but others were canceled. Principal Doug Waclawski says it’s been disappointing for students.
“They're definitely kind of bummed like, this, this year,” he said, “we couldn't do auto shop. We had a plan for the second semester, and there's just no way that we could do it with the, with the subs who we had.”
Waclawski says the classes give students a well rounded education. They also teach important trade skills for Homer’s main industries.
“We need welders, you know, we need mechanics, we need people in construction,” he said, “so, you know, if we can't serve as our students, we're not servicing the community either.”
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District has hired Rand Seaton as a substitute for the rest of the school year. They are currently looking for a teacher to fill Love’s position for the next school year. Love was not available for comment.