WELLMAN

In their relatively short business meeting Monday night, which was followed by a tour of construction progress at East Elementary and Middle Schools, the Mid-Prairie school board voted to extend Superintendent Brian Stone’s contract through the 2025/2026 school year. Prior to this decision, Stone would have entered the final year of his 3-year contract this fall.

The board’s decision followed two closed sessions in which they evaluated Stone’s performance, held on May 21 and June 8.

In addition to extending the superintendent’s contract by one additional year, the board approved his compensation package for the 2024/2025 school year, which includes a 3% raise, the same as that given to staff and administrators. This bumps his salary to $160,715, with a total package value of $211,095.

The board also discussed making changes to their superintendent evaluation policy. The revised policy would require the board conduct two evaluations a year, an informal one to be made in October, and a more formal, summative evaluation as outlined by IASB in April. In May, the board would decide if the superintendent’s contract will be extended an additional year, thus working with a rolling 2-year contract.

Asked about how he felt about the changes under consideration, Stone replied, “It’s pretty typical.”

Other board action at the June 10 meeting included a second reading of Chapter 200 policies, excluding one on social media, which are being updated, and permission for the high school choir to travel to Augustana College in October, which is just across the state line in Illinois. The board approved both items.

Kirkwood Culinary Classes

Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Glenda Seward gave a short presentation to the board in which she outlined how the high school’s culinary lab will be used this fall for adult continuing education classes offered by Kirkwood Community College. She will be the instructor for these classes, which include Knives and Fire: Introduction to Stir Frying with a Wok on Sept. 18; Handmade Asian Dumplings/Potstickers on Oct. 16; and Exploring the Art of Sushi on Nov. 20.

Registration for each class is available through Kirkwood Community College (Kirkwood.edu); tuition is $39 with an additional $12 materials cost. The classes are on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Class size is limited to 12 adults.

Seward noted that providing space for these classes is good for Mid-Prairie in that it provides visibility for the district and its culinary program. When the lab was originally built with the help of a Riverboat grant, one of the district’s stated missions was to host community education classes, and this opportunity with Kirkwood “fulfills that mission as well,” she said.

Kirkwood assumes all liability risk for the classes and will provide the district with proof of insurance.

“Awesome,” and “sounds great,” were the board’s reaction to the collaboration with Kirkwood.

The Mid-Prairie school board will next meet on Monday, June 24 at 6:15 p.m. in the Central Office Community Room.