MITCHELL — For the first part of Tuesday night’s Mitchell School Board meeting, the Mitchell High School library looked like an art gallery.
Most of the tables, bookshelves, and other flat surfaces in the library were covered with dozens of works of art in a variety of styles, including sculptures, paintings, drawings, and photographs. The students, along with their parents, sat in the audience as spectators and received recognition and praise for their efforts.
Each of the pieces presented won a Blue Ribbon Award at the South Dakota State Fair earlier this year, and the Mitchell Board of Education is helping celebrate that success by devoting some of its meeting time to the presentations. I did.
“It’s great,” said School Board Vice Chair Brittni Flood, who co-chaired the conference with Board of Education President Deb Olson, who attended the conference call. “We have a lot of talent in our district, but a lot of times the only kids that get recognized are the kids that play sports. So these kids come here and we help them. It’s great to be able to see the results and how well they’ve done. It’s pretty amazing.”
Mitchell High School art teacher Marika Shannon said Mitchell students did well overall. Although she doesn’t have exact numbers for Blue Ribbon awards, she said high school students have brought home about 50 first-place finishes, while middle school and elementary school students each have won Blue Ribbon awards about 14 times.
Mitchell High School also received a sweepstakes award, meaning it has earned the most Blue Ribbon awards in its division. The district has won more than 20 sweepstakes awards over the years, she said.
“This is exciting for the students and that’s why we do this,” Shannon said. “For many families,[state fair art contests]are a reason to go to the fair. They get to enjoy the fair, they get to enjoy finding and celebrating the artwork in the exhibit halls. And They come away with the biggest smiles and a real sense of accomplishment.”
Mitchell School District Superintendent Joe Childs also said he was pleased to see Mitchell students again succeed at the South Dakota State Fair. He said being able to recognize their successes Tuesday night was a great way to celebrate.
“One of the greatest rewards is inviting students and their families to recognize a job well done. Mitchell, like any community, values best efforts. And here we have a lot. It was really fun meeting the people here and celebrating their success,” Childs said.
Ms Shannon said the moment was a great and positive moment for the students, but she also thanked the parents and other adults present for supporting both the children and the program itself regarding art in the classroom. He emphasized the meaning.
“Thank you for inviting us tonight and for honoring all of the amazing students we have the privilege of working with. That can’t happen without the support of all the adults in the room. So, thank you, Thank you, thank you,” Shannon told the audience in attendance.
The board approved several policies on second reading at the meeting, but approval of one policy was brought back to a later meeting to recheck the wording.
The board approved Policy 208, the Board Member Conflicts of Interest Policy, without change, but there were some questions about the other three policies presented.
Policy 209, which deals with board member ethics, passed by a 3-2 vote as originally presented after board member Terry Aslesen suggested changes to the wording. Ultimately, the board approved the policy as originally proposed on second reading, with Flood, Olson and Sean Ruml voting in favor, and Aslesen and Deb Everson voting against.
Approval of Policy 222, which addresses the Open Meetings Act, is pending at a later meeting as the Board consults with the South Dakota Open Meetings Commission to ensure that its language complies with the South Dakota Open Meetings Act. It has been postponed.
The Board also approved Policy 230, which addresses the orientation of new Board members. The policy was approved on a 5-0 vote after minor wording changes agreed to by board members.
Discussions about policy changes can be viewed in a livestream archive on Mitchell Republic’s website.
Also at this meeting, the Board of Directors approved the following personnel changes:
- New certified hires are Hannah Weylander, Drumline, $1,040, and Jesse Dodd, Drumline, $1,040. Both hires will be effective starting in the 2023-24 academic year.
- Mitchell Middle School Dishwasher Rebecca Roster’s new job opening is $12.50 an hour for 2.5 hours per day, effective September 11. Jessica Kremer, Assistant Educator at Mitchell Middle School, is earning $16 an hour for 7.25 hours per day, 9 Effective as of May 14th.
- Longfellow Elementary School paraeducator Alexis Scroggins’ work hours will change from 7 hours to 6.75 hours each day, effective September 7th.
- New hire of Don Everson, Mitchell Institute of Technology, grounds management, 178 days, $37,187.50. Prorated from day 246 of $52,500, effective October 10th.
- Recruitment of fall adjunct instructor Terrance Harms, RTH 202 Radiation Therapy Physics (4 credits), $1,800, effective August 21. Elizabeth A. Ruzak, clinical assistant registered nurse, $6,720, effective Oct. 11. and Janet Nicolaus, BUS 101 Introduction to Business (3 credits) and BUS 120 Marketing Principles (3 credits), $5,400, effective August 21.
- USDA Contract – AccurAg Aerial Solutions, Aaron Sundquist as Precision Agriculture Grant Project Coordinator, $5,000 per month, effective October 1.
- Amiyah Sweat, admissions officer at Mitchell Institute of Technology, will resign effective October 13th.
Also at the meeting, the board stated:
- Declared surplus property. A list of surplus items is included in the meeting agenda packet.
- I heard the director’s report.
- I heard the chief’s report.
The next regular meeting of the Mitchell Board of Education is scheduled for Nov. 13 at Gertie Bell Rogers Elementary School.
Eric Kaufman joined The Mitchell Republic in July 2019 as an education and features reporter. He grew up in Freeman, South Dakota and graduated 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. Contact him at ekaufman@mitchellrepublic.com.