WELLMAN

February 3 was the deadline for Mid-Prairie staffers to give notice if they would not be returning for the 2025-26 school year and receive a $2,000 incentive check. Eight staffers turned in their resignations, six of which work in special education, including middle school special education teachers Amy Johnston and Jenny Riggan-Sexton and high school special education teacher and Special Olympics coach Traci Zahradnek. Three paraprofessionals at West Elementary and Middle Schools rounded out the list.

Board member Jed Seward asked if they should be concerned about filling these vacancies at the school board’s business meeting Monday night.

“I would say that we are always concerned, especially in the SpEd field. It’s a pretty challenging field,” Superintendent Brian Stone said. “As far as getting people to apply for positions, paras, that’s an ongoing challenge as well. It really is a tough job.”

This is not the first year Mid-Prairie has lost special education staff; two teachers and the district director resigned at this time in 2024.

The board agreed to discuss new ways to attract and retain special education staff at a future work session, noting that paras are “very important people,” and “we want to get the best we can get for our students.”

Library Renovation Proposal

During the Hawk Highlight portion of the Feb. 10 meeting, District Librarian Kaitlyn Dodds along with members of the school library renovation committee presented their vision for improvements to Middle School library spaces, something they have been working on for more than a year. Improvements fall in line with the district’s renewed focus on reading and literacy, and the committee would like to make more welcoming and comfortable what many see as “the heart of the school.”

The committee imagines the space refreshed with a black and gold color palette, with new carpet/flooring, relaxed/casual seating, technology, and circulation desk. The outdoor concrete slab would also be maximized with tables and seating.

The project carries an $80,000 price tag, $15,000 to be contributed by the board, the remainder to be provided by a Riverboat grant, should their application be approved.

The board unanimously passed a resolution allowing the WCRF spring grant application to go forward, one of two the district plans to submit. The Middle School library renovation project is contingent on grant funding.

School Calendar

The board approved the 2025-26 School Calendar, which moves early-out days from occasional Wednesdays to most Fridays. The shift is a move toward more “consistency,” which will provide staff with 11 additional hours of professional development time.

“I can’t begin, really, to express the excitement out of staff to . . . spend more intentional time on the work and the professional development that we’re looking at continuing to move forward,” Stone said.

Additional benefits include a straight four days of instruction for preschool and kindergarten students, who currently have a day off in the middle of the week, and less class time missed by students with Friday extracurriculars, such as sporting events, that often require travel.

“This is not, nor do I intend for this to be, a step towards the four-day school week,” Stone stressed. “That’s been a cold and hard no for me, unless I get definite different direction from the board.”

Cellphone Survey

The board considered a draft of a Device Survey that will go out to parents shortly, asking them where they stand when it comes to a “full, partial, or no” ban on cellphone use by students at school. The board is considering a policy potentially more strict than the proposed state mandate and is looking for “some direction” from families.

The board plans to look at data collected by the survey at their Feb. 24 work session.

Board Action

The board approved first readings of board polices on Student Threats of Violence and Incidents of Violence, and Visitors to School Buildings and Sites and Communication with School Personnel.

The board approved second readings of board policies on Meal Charges and the Stock Prescription Medication Supply.

The board set a public hearing for a Flexibility Account Transfer and Spending of HSAP Funds for Monday, Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. The transfer involves moving $350,000 of unspent Home School Assistance Program funds to the General Fund.

Business Manager Jeff Swartzentruber noted that over 700 students are enrolled in the Home School program as of this week, and that the Education Center out on Angle Road is running out of meeting space. The district plans to earmark funds for the next three to four years so that the center can be expanded without need for a bond measure.

The Mid-Prairie school board will next meet on Monday, Feb. 24 at 6:15 p.m. A work session will follow the public hearing.