By DEB GRUVER

Staff writer

After less than a year on the job, Peabody city clerk Taylor Ensminger has resigned.

Her last day will be March 24.

Ensminger started working as clerk in May 2022. She said she resigned after taking a few days off to attend a concert in Kansas City.

“I realized that I’m simply just not happy here anymore,” the Peabody native said. “I decided that I’m still young enough to plant my roots somewhere where I will be infinitely happier.

“If you would have asked me two weeks ago what my plans are for the future, I would have told you that I plan to retire from the City of Peabody and live out the rest of my life here.

“I think I got so caught up with the idea of being able to give back to the community that watched me grow up, that has supported me, and given so much to me throughout my life that I was unaware of how unhappy I truly have become.”

Ensminger’s background is in music. She received a bachelor’s degree in music with a concentration in French horn performance in 2015 from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in music with the same concentration in 2018 from the University of Oklahoma.

“I was independently contracted by Oklahoma City metro area public schools to teach their horn players,” she said. “I performed in small chamber groups, churches, and in musicals all over the OKC area, and I taught private music lessons out of my home. The pandemic shut music down completely. I guess people didn’t like all of the spit flying around.”

When she lost her music job, she returned home to Peabody.

Her decision to leave surprised even her.

“I resigned without a backup plan, which is extremely unlike me,” she said. “I just needed to make a decision to choose myself for once, and that’s exactly what I did.”

She said she would like to return to music even though most full-time orchestras haven’t recovered from the pandemic.

“It has proven to not be the most stable career in recent years, mostly because of the pandemic but also because of a lack of support and funding,” she said.

Ensminger still performs — with the Salina Symphony, the Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony, the Hutchinson Symphony, and the Wichita Grand Opera. She also plays for Tabor and Hesston colleges.

She is considering moving to the Kansas City area, which she believes would “open up a lot of performance opportunities for me.”

Peabody is advertising for a city clerk at a pay rate of $15 to $15.50 per hour.

At its Feb. 13 meeting, the city council approved a $1.25 per hour raise for Ensminger — from $15.50 to $16.75.

Council members formally accepted her resignation Monday — though Richard Baker tried to talk her out of it in a joking fashion.