WELLMAN

Deteriorating fixtures in the high school cafetorium have been inconvenient to deal with, as well as cause for safety concern for Mid-Prairie’s fine arts students and staff when putting on performances. But these conditions will soon be resolved, as the school board approved estimates for new track and theatre curtains, as well as auditorium seating on Monday night.

The roughly $185,000 expenditure is made possible thanks to savings on recent construction projects and interest earnings.

Also topping the agenda at the April 8 business meeting was Activities Director Pete Cavanaugh’s proposal that the district add a head girls wrestling coach to its paid positions. Currently the wrestling program is managed by a head coach and two assistants; Cavanaugh suggested a head boys coach and head girls coach would be more appropriate as the two teams often compete in different locations at the same time.

“We had over 20 girls on the wrestling team this year, so it makes sense to move in this direction,” he said.

The board approved the new position and it will be posted on Teach Iowa.

Transportation Director Teresa Hartley reviewed the bids received for two new busses with the board and recommended against going with the lowest bid, mainly for service reasons. The board took her recommendation to heart and accepted the bid from Hoglund Bus Co. for $302,000. The two busses will be purchased for the 2025-2026 school year.

The board approved 28E sharing agreements for the upcoming school year. Mid-Prairie’s Curriculum Director, HR Coordinator, Social Worker, and Buildings and Grounds Director will be shared with Clear Creek Amana, and the district’s Transportation Director will be shared with Lone Tree, as in previous years.

In the past, Mid-Prairie shared its Special Education Director with Lone Tree Schools; this will not be the case in 2024-2025. A new Special Education Director will be joining the district, and administration, staff, and teachers “are very excited about what she’s bringing to Mid-Prairie,” Superintendent Brian Stone said.

The Mid-Prairie school board will next meet on Monday, April 22 at 6:15 p.m. at the Central Office Community Room. Three public hearings will be held before the work session: one for parking lot improvements at West Elementary at 6:20 p.m., one for parking lot improvements at East Elementary at 6:25 p.m., and one for the 2024-2025 Certified Budget at 6:30 p.m.