On December 17, immediately prior to the regular Mabel-Canton School Board meeting, the board met in a special closed session to consider appropriate action to take regarding a student who allegedly acted in violation of Mabel-Canton guidelines. When the board opened the regular (public) meeting at 7 p.m., Superintendent Kuphal stated that it is up to the board to decide how to proceed. He said the administration’s recommendation is for an expulsion for the remainder of this semester, with the student being eligible to return to school on January 20. He said the student’s name and details of the infraction are not being made public. The board voted unanimously in favor of the expulsion as described by Kuphal. The board also held the annual Truth in Taxation meeting, beginning at 6:01p.m.
All board members were present at the meeting (Mark Wiedemann, Jason Marquardt, Dustin Tollefsrud, Traci Livingood, Chris Miller, Principal Michelle Weidemann, high school secretary Lynette Donald, Superintendent Gary Kuphal, Diane Wilder, and Board Chair Cristal Adkins). The board welcomed and formally accepted two (non-voting) student representatives, Sarina Stortz and Colton Heintz-Kuderer. Sarina is a senior, while Colton is a junior. Kuphal explained that, going forward, the board plans to have one junior and one senior on as student representatives, and that each year, applications will be accepted, with the board making selections from among those who apply. Generally, juniors will be asked to serve a two-year term as student representative on the board.
Another matter of significant discussion was whether or not seniors who have not accumulated enough credits to graduate should be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony. Kuphal said some schools allow this, and he suggested that if the board wishes to allow this, it would be helpful to set a clear limit of how many credits short the student could be.
Kuphal also explained that some schools allow students who are within one credit of graduation to participate, because they may have family and friends who have made travel arrangements to come watch the student walk across the stage and receive a diploma. Kuphal said generally, when schools allow this, the student receives only an empty folder, without any diploma until it has been fully earned.
Adkins shared her opinion that, “I will support the board’s decision either way. I personally am not in favor of them walking if they’re not graduating… I think it’s disrespectful to those that have earned it.” The board and Principal Wiedemann discussed that any seniors who are in jeopardy of not meeting the credit requirement would definitely be well aware of this situation many months in advance, so they would have the opportunity to make up the credit(s) if they desire. Superintendent Kuphal said his main goal in bringing up this issue was to avoid any students and their families having a “last minute” surprise that the student would not be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony.
The board voted (four to three) in favor of requiring that students meet 100% of the Mabel-Canton credit requirement in order to be eligible to participate in the graduation ceremony, effective immediately. Kuphal thanked the board for deciding upon a clear procedure, stating, “Now we have a standard.”
The next regular board meeting will be Tuesday, January 21 at 6 p.m. in the media center. As always, the public is welcome at all open meetings.
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