Mitchell Board of Education votes down dual credit policy

Apr. 22—MITCHELL — The Mitchell Board of Education voted down a proposed policy relating to the district dual credit program Monday at its most recent regular meeting.

The policy was defeated 3-2, with board members Terry Aslesen and Deb Everson voting in favor and Deb Olson, Shawn Ruml and Brittni Flood voting against the measure.

The discussion Monday of a policy related to the district dual credit program was an extension of another discussion held by the board at a previous meeting two weeks ago. During that meeting, board members asked various district officials in attendance about their feelings on the program, with nearly all speaking in favor of the program and the benefit it brings to students and the school district itself.

Joe Childs, superintendent of the Mitchell School District, brought forth a proposed policy Monday at the request of Aslesen. Childs said the policy essentially outlined the program as it is currently being administered at the district, though he said he was unsure a specific policy on the program was needed.

"This is a sample policy, although I don't necessarily think that a policy is required. We've done it for nearly a decade now without incident," Childs told the board. "But I did include the policy and it's written similarly to how we operate our dual credit program currently."

The full text of the proposed policy can be found in the April 22 meeting agenda.

While discussing the proposed policy, Aslesen said he would like to see a specific list of student requirements to take the courses be included in the language, perhaps in an all-in-one location and in a form that could be changed as requirements change without a full review of the board of education.

He also noted that there were other district policies that appeared to contradict dual credit guidelines that could conceivably prevent students from taking dual credit courses.

"I think the job of the board is to create policies, rules and regulations for the district," Aslesen said. "Currently we have policies that don't allow what we're currently doing."

He cited

Board Policy 994,

which reads in part, "If a particular course is not offered by the district, and the student has exhausted the course offerings within the department, a qualified high school student may enroll in a college-level course offered by an approved nearby college or university, and may be released from high school attendance for such hours as are required for the college course(s)."

He noted the "exhausted" portion of the policy could interfere with students' plans if they had not taken every class option in the district. He estimated that a proper policy dealing with dual credits could help alleviate that confusion.

Brittni Flood, another member of the board, said she felt that a specific policy related to the program was not necessary as the program had run smoothly for years without one.

"I personally feel like we don't need a policy because what we have and what we're doing is working," Flood said. "I don't see a problem, so why create a policy that makes it more difficult for students or possibly deters a student from taking part?"

Shawn Ruml, another member of the board, asked Justin Siemsen, principal of Mitchell High School, his thoughts on the proposed policy. Siemsen said he had no opposition to the policy the way it was originally presented, but he didn't feel any particular need to implement one since the dual credit process was doing what it was intended to do right now.

"I think all the things we have in place have set us up to be successful and allow us to grow," Siemsen said.

Siemsen also suggested that perhaps the policies cited by Aslesen that contradicted current practice be reviewed and reworked, if necessary.

The program in question gives qualified high school students an opportunity to enroll in public universities in South Dakota to earn credits for both their high school diploma and college degree. Through the program, students only pay one-third of the total cost per credit hour if they meet the System General Education requirements.

The Mitchell School District also has agreements with both Dakota Wesleyan University and Mitchell Technical College that offer dual credit options.

The board unanimously approved a $1.2 million budget supplement that will go toward upgrading technology in the district.

The supplement, which comes out of the general fund, is part of a necessary spend down of district cash reserves as required by state law, said Theresa Kriese, business manager of the Mitchell School District.

"State law requires us to spend in line with not having more than 25% cash reserves in the general fund," Kriese told the board during the meeting. "We received direction earlier this school year on things that we could spend that money on."

Among the upgrades on which that funding will be spent, Kriese cited replacing machinery in the district Mac lab, the purchase of elementary and staff laptops as well as touch screen televisions, which will be used at the high school level, primarily, but can also be used in other areas if needed. The purchase of the student and staff laptops will be a switch for the district, which had previously leased the laptops for that group.

High school laptops will still be leased by the district, Kriese said. All warranties and service agreements on the new purchased laptops will be in effect with the new arrangements.

"It's coming out of cash, so it's not new money and it's money we have to spend," Kriese said.

The board also approved adding three full-time equivalent literacy coaches at the three district elementary schools via a 5-0 vote.

Childs said that literacy coaches can be described as a reading specialist dedicated to offering professional development for teachers and delivering direct instruction to small groups of students. During class and planning periods, literacy coaches would assist in devising and implementing various instructional strategies.

Additionally, such coaches may pull small groups of students for intervention.

Childs was recommending bringing in the coaches for one year at each school. The cost of such a move would come to about $70,000 each, or $210,000 in total.

"We have discussed this and feel like this is something the teachers are recognizing that they need to help themselves and help their students," Childs said. "We've had different kinds of FTE that were kind of like this, and this is a more direct step and I hope a more permanent step."

Aslesen asked if the program was a replacement for any other programs, such as the Reading Recovery program. Childs said it was not.

"We're not replacing anything we have," Childs said.

Following an executive session, the board approved the following salaries for district administration.

* Cory Aadland, activities director, $105,430

* Leann Carmody, food service director, $83,430

* Joe Childs, superintendent, $183,750

* Chris Gubbrud, middle school assistant principal, $89,870

* Lisa Heckenlaible, Longfellow Elementary principal, $96,770

* Levi Hohn, technology director, $76,970

* Theresa Kriese, business manager, $147,420

* Bobby Reindl, high school assistant principal, $91,250

* Rebecca Roth, L.B. Williams Elementary principal, $103,755

* Allison Pierson, Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary principal, $85,000

* Justin Siemsen, high school principal, $126,000

* John Sieverding, director of building grounds, $87,710

* Shane Thill, high school assistant principal, $99,925

* Sarah Timmer, curriculum director, $89,250

* John Tyler, middle school principal, $103,090

The salaries reflect a 5.2% increase in compensation for administration. That follows board action at the previous meeting that saw the board give a $3,000 raise to teachers, which accounts for an approximate 5% increase across the board.

Also at the meeting, the board approved the following personnel moves:

* The new certified hires of Elizabeth Kiner, L.B. Williams Elementary special education, $56,000 and Allison Pierson, elementary principal at Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary, $85,000. Both hires are effective for the 2024-25 school year.

* The resignations of Brynn Hartje, paraeducator at Longfellow Elementary; Laura Bakhtiari, third grade teacher at Longfellow Elementary and Nick McGraw, vocal music/choir teacher/show choir director and Friend de Coup. All resignations are effective at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

* The transfer of Sabra McCarty, first grade teacher at Longfellow Elementary to third grade teacher at Longfellow Elementary, effective for the 2024-25 school year.

* The retirement of Sharon McNary, food service worker at Mitchell Middle School, effective the end of the 2023-24 school year.

* The new Mitchell Technical College hire of Kara Stange, 0.5 speech-language pathology instructor, $35,390, 180.5 days, effective Aug. 1, 2024.

* The Mitchell Technical College resignation of Jason Junke, heating and cooling technology instructor, effective the end of 2023-24 academic year.

In other business, the board:

* Approved the elementary school handbook for the 2024-25 school year.

* Declared a pair of exercise bikes as surplus.

* Heard board member reports.

* Heard the superintendent report.

The next meeting of the Mitchell Board of Education is scheduled for May 13 at the Mitchell Career and Technical Education Academy.