A friendly face at the USD 107 office

Board clerk and business manager of USD 107 Rock Hills, Janet Higer, attended school mostly in Mankato. She went to Jewell for one year. After a period of time living elsewhere, Higer moved back to Jewell County to be close to family. She wanted to live in the town where her children would go to school, so she chose Mankato.

Higer and her husband, Dan, met in Mankato. She has five sons, Bret Engel, Travis Novak, Tycen, Mason and Nick Higer. She also has a daughter, Amanda Cudney. Higer has a daughter-in-law, Arianne Engel, and a son-in-law, Matt Cudney. She is a grandma to four grandchildren, Madi and Kason Engel, and Lilah and Archer Cudney. Higer's grand puppy, Luna, lives with her.

In her free time, Higer enjoys sewing, crafting, reading, gardening and flowers. She said she is inspired by many things. "Change inspires me," Higer said. "My family inspires me. The beauty of God's creation inspires me!"

Higer has worked in the business management field for approximately 35 years. Her current responsibilities include taking care of the business of the school district. She is the human resource officer and handles payroll and benefits. Another task she is responsible for is taking care of accounts payable, accounts receivable and ordering for the district.

When asked what she enjoyed most about her job, Higer said, "I really enjoy everything I do. I love numbers, spreadsheets and payroll. I love to balance accounts and actually enjoy if I do not balance and have to look for the culprit! I am not good at sitting still. I thrive on being busy, so this job is perfect for me! I will never die of boredom!"

Higer said COVID has put a pin on things at her job. "There are so many things that have to be tracked and reported separately. There are new government regulations that changes the way I do my job and the way certain things are reported for payroll." Higer needs to keep up on the continuous changes for payroll and state reporting. Because of receiving federal and state funding, it is important for her to keep up with all of the government policy and procedure changes so something doesn't get missed or reported incorrectly.

In her personal life, COVID has affected Higer's ability to travel to see family and friends. She has become more cautious about getting together with others. "I am definitely thankful for FaceTime," Higer said.

Higer's favorite part of living and working in a small community is that everything is a 'minute away' and she knows most everyone she sees. "I feel safer in a small town," Higer said. "And it was important to me to raise my children in a small community."

"I am very happy to be in this community and extremely grateful the USD 107 Board of Education gave me the opportunity to work for them!" Higer shared.