The Mabel-Canton School Board held a regular meeting on October 16. Present were Mark Weidemann, Jason Marquardt, Chris Miller, Business Manager Aimee Lake, Principal Michelle Weidemann, Board Chair Cristal Adkins, high school secretary Lynette Donald, Chris Loppnow, Diane Wilder and Liz Hershberger. Superintendent Gary Kuphal was absent due to a family commitment. No members of the public had requested to address the council. Although no student representatives were in attendance at the meeting, Principal Weidemann shared that, “The high school staff voted, all the names of the juniors are put into a form, and the representatives this year will be Payton Danielson and Brayden Gjere.”
There was discussion of a large number of the school policies that have yet to be posted on the school’s website. Principal Weidemann will follow up with Superintendent Kuphal on the best means to get them uploaded. Cristal Adkins suggested that, in the meantime, it might be wise to have a statement on the website saying that not all of the school policies are currently available online.
The board acknowledged donations from a variety of sources, including Scheie Rebecca Circle ($200 to be used for students that cannot pay for field trips of school fees), Kevin Fowler ($500 for Cougar History account), Scheie Lutheran Church WELCA ($1,065 for elementary milk break), Mabel Telephone Company ($10,000 for new student laptops and teacher smart projectors), First Southeast Bank ($385 for elementary milk break), Big Canoe Lutheran Church ($100 for elementary milk break), Mabel-Canton Booster Club ($200 for library materials), Vacation Bible School ($110.77 for K-12 students in need), Thomas P. Wunderlich ($350 for Ms. Vatland’s fourth grade classroom), and Mabel-Canton Booster Club ($250 for hotel rooms for volleyball team trip). It was mentioned that the bank donation funds are raised through their “$5 to wear jeans on Friday” ongoing event. Chris Miller made a motion, which the board unanimously passed, to accept these donations, “With many thanks to all the businesses and people who donated to the school.” It was also pointed out that the Tackle Cancer fundraiser netted $1,680.68 in September.
The board approved maternity leave for Abby Henry. The board also approved the 2018-2019 budget and activity accounts. The board then discussed, and approved, the hiring of Paula Snell for the district assessment coordinator position.
Principal Weidemann informed the board that Mabel-Canton is looking into having training on de-escalation techniques to use with students when agitated. She said the training offered by CPI includes physical and non-physical techniques, but that Mabel-Canton would not use the physical techniques (holds).
The meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m. The next regular board meeting will be Tuesday, November 20 at 6 p.m. in the media center. The public is welcome. Other upcoming regular meetings of the school board include December 18 and January 15.