Emporia High School now has a new athletics director — somebody familiar to people across the district.
Beau Welch, currently a physical education teacher at Emporia High and the boys basketball coach, will now serve as both the AD and assistant principal at the high school. Welch will assume his new duties effective July 1. Mr. Welch called being selected as the next Assistant Principal and Athletic Director a great honor.
Welch said it is the next step he would like to take in his career.
Welch started with Emporia Public Schools in 2007 when he was hired as a health teacher at Emporia Middle School. He then moved to his current position at EHS in 2010.
Welch has a bachelor’s degree in K-12 physical education and health, as well as a master’s degree in education administration, both from Emporia State. Because of his new duties, he will give up his duties as boys basketball coach and will be part of the decision-making process for his replacement.
Welch replaces Curtis Simons, who initially planned to retire at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year this past June but agreed to continue in his current role after the district initially planned to hire Corey Wiltz away from USD 251 North Lyon County. The USD 253 Board of Education, however, rescinded the agreement after a Kansas Association of School Boards report cited Wiltz in part for a delayed response to family members of a student who was suspended from riding a bus to and from school for saying she was a lesbian. Simons will continue as Emporia High’s athletics director through June.
