MITCHELL — The Mitchell Board of Education will consider high school credit waivers and a policy review for Mitchell Technical College when it meets Monday.
The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Room 10 at the Mitchell Career & Technical Education Academy.
According to the agenda for the meeting, the board will consider scheduling a public hearing on waivers that allow high school credit to be earned for certain subjects prior to a student entering their high school years.
Under administrative rules laid out by the South Dakota Department of Education, coursework cannot earn high school credit if that coursework is offered prior to a student’s enrollment as a freshman in high school. This requirement can be waived, however, and Joe Childs, superintendent of the Mitchell School District, said in his agenda notes that this has been the case at Mitchell High School as well.
“This requirement can be waived – and has been waived through the formal waiver process in Mitchell for decades for various courses – should the board approve such a waiver, after a public hearing on such,” Childs wrote. “Currently, we have a small number of students who may like to take high school Algebra II and/or Geometry while still at Mitchell Middle School, typically in the MCL program.”
Examples of such classes would be Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and Civics, Childs said.
Allowing underclassmen to take such courses can give them a leg up as they approach their high school years at Mitchell High School.
“(It) has proven to be a wonderful opportunity for such students to, typically, go on and pursue more advanced coursework in various areas because of the more flexible high school schedule that results. Such coursework might include electives, music and/or postsecondary work once they reach, again typically, their junior year,” Childs wrote. “Therefore, I would ask the board to hold a public hearing on this matter and, assuming we hear no persuasive arguments against doing so at that hearing, approve the waiver for these civics instruction to occur at the middle school for the next five academic years.”
Mitchell Technical College policy review
The board is also expected to review Mitchell Technical College policies from series 400 to series 600.
Both K-12 and Mitchell Tech policies are reviewed and revised as needed on a four-year cycle. Notes from the meeting agenda suggest a number of changes to various policy entries, though most appear to be changes in wording or a change in titles for officials with specific responsibilities at the school.
The policies with recommended changes can be found in the meeting agenda.
The following personnel moves will be considered.
- The new classified hires of Tierra Nighpipe, paradeucator at Mitchell High School, $18.88 per hour, 7 hours daily, effective Aug. 21; Steffanie Cushard, food service kitchen manager at Gerite Belle Rogers Elementary, $20 per hour, 8 hours daily, effective Aug. 14; Katelin Theunissen, paraeducator at Mitchell Middle School, $16 per hour, 7.25 hours daily, effective Aug. 21; Porter Reimnitz, general food service worker at Mitchell Middle School, $16 per hour, 5 hours daily, effective Aug. 19; Rebacca Genzlinger, MS musical, $1,795, effective 2024-25 school year; Ashley Sinkie, general good service at L.B. Williams Elementary, $17.75 per hour, 6.5 hours daily, effective Aug. 19; Ingrid Triqueros Pineda, Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary morning custodial, $19 per hour, 8 hours daily, effective Aug. 7; Sean McQuilllan, volunteer girls soccer coach, $1, effective 2024-25 school year; Keenah Escobin, volunteer assistant dance coach, $1, effective 2024-25 school year, and Angie Iburg, MS paraeducator, $19 per hour, 7 hours daily, effective 2024-25 school year.
- The new certified hires of Amber Hiles, assistant speech/debate and MS yearbook, assistant speech/debate compensation: $4,488; MS yearbook compensation: $1,795; Chris Gubbrud, assistant boys basketball coach, $5,203; Melissa Miller, head oral interp and head debate, head oral interp compensation: $3,122; head debate compensation: $7,804; Parker Grotjohn, assistant football coach, $4,488; Samuel Fosness, 8th grade ELA at Mitchell Middle School, $47,520; Shelby Fray, robotics, $1,795 and Luke Norden, Kernel Club Coordinator, $10,000. All hires are effective for the 2024-25 school year.
- The resignations of Jessie Uher, paraeducator at L.B. Williams Elementary, effective end of the 2023-24 school year; Lisa Vermeulen, paraeducator/computer aide at Longfellow Elementary, effective July 30, 2024; Gabrielle Bell, paraeducator at Mitchell Middle School, effective 2024-25 school year and Jessica Kremer, paraeducator at Mitchell Middle School, effective July 29, 2024.
- The 6th class assignments of Denise Hoffman, Kevin Kelly, Bruce Mastel (first semester), Jordan McKean, Jeff Musser, Alyson Palmer, Mercia Schroeder, Marica Shannon, Kristina Starr and Penny Weisz. All have one 6th class assignment and all are effective for the 2024-25 school year.
- The Mitchell Technical College transfer of Chelsey Plamp, licensed practical nursing instructor from nursing instructional technician, $65,000, effective Aug. 1, 2024.
- The new Mitchell Technical College hires of Benjamin Goeman, student success coach/counselor, $51,200/207 days, effective Aug. 1; Stacey Jensen, instructional support technician, $61,748/217 days (prorated from $70,000 to 246 days), effective Aug. 12; Chandler Baumgart, powerline construction and maintenance instructor, $68,000, effective 2024-25 school year; Tessa Pederson, admission representative, $48,261 ($53,000 prorated to 224 days), effective Aug. 1, 2024; Emma Truebenbach, food service coordinator, $43,750, effective Aug. 1, 2024; Jason Juhnke, heating and cooling technology instructor, $73,574, effective the 2024-25 school year; Leigh Johnson, radiation therapy adjunct instructor, $3,600 – RTH 202 Radiation Therapy Physics (4 credits), effective Aug. 19; Bobbi Brink, speech-language pathology assistant adjunct lab instructor, $4,500, effective Aug. 19; Sara Delaney, speech-language pathology assistant adjunct lab instructor, $4,500, effective Aug. 19 and Rebecca Harvey, speech-language pathology assistant adjunct lab instructor, $4,500, effective Aug. 19.
Also at the meeting, the board is expected to:
- Consider approval of the Mitchell High School student handbook.
- Consider approval of the annual report.
- Hear board member reports.
- Hear the superintendent report.
- Hear public commentary.
The meeting is open to the public. The Mitchell Republic will livestream the meeting on its website www.mitchellrepublic.com.
Erik Kaufman joined the Mitchell Republic in July of 2019 as an education and features reporter. He grew up in Freeman, S.D., graduating from Freeman High School. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1999 with a major in English and a minor in computer science. He can be reached at ekaufman@mitchellrepublic.com.
