The Mabel-Canton School Board held a regular meeting on August 21. Members present were Mark Weidemann, Jason Marquardt, Chris Miller, Chris Loppnow, Diane Wilder and Liz Hershberger; Board Chair Cristal Adkins, Principal Michelle Weidemann, Superintendent Gary Kuphal, and high school secretary, Lynette Donald. Business Manager Aimee Lake was absent. No student board representative was in attendance, but Superintendent expects to have a new representative from the student body to start attending the meetings beginning in October at the latest. No members of the public had requested to address the council.
Kuphal proudly talked of the great turnout and participation at the recent “volunteer clean-up day” August 12. He said there were a total of 55-60 volunteers, including about a dozen students. He said the crew accomplished everything that was hoped for, and that the event went very well, including a lot of painting, pressure-washing, cleaning out the shed, landscaping, and moving items from third floor storage. He said that several volunteers had enthusiastically asked about having another clean-up day soon, and it will likely be held in October. He summarized, “A big thanks to everyone involved.” Cristal Adkins agreed, saying, “Everybody that I heard from said it was smooth, People just did things; they just jumped in.”
The board discussed the evaluation of the superintendent. He was given the option of having the information shared in a closed or open meeting, and he chose open. Cristal Adkins shared the summarized feedback from board members. The board expressed appreciation for the work Kuphal has done since coming to Mabel-Canton. Kuphal also shared that there is an upcoming meeting of the Decorah Area Interim School Board, which some M-C Board members will attend, since it may involve decisions regarding open enrollment that would impact some Mabel-Canton students.
Kuphal gave public thanks to donors, including an anonymous donation of $1,955 for football headsets, American Legion Post 400 Canton ($300 for Cougar History-Weight Room Supervision), Canton Fire Department ($100 for cheerleaders), M-C Booster Club ($200 for prom and $400 for HUDL filming), and American Legion Post 299 Mabel ($200 for Cougar History-Weight Room Supervision).
Melissa Miller addressed the board on behalf of the Booster Club. She shared information about the 2018-2019 membership drive, which included a summary of the club’s donations totaling over $4,000 in 2017-2018, including weight room equipment, gym banners, post-prom, two senior scholarships, elementary playground equipment, Community Night Out, Mabel Summer Rec, and items for several of the Mabel-Canton sports teams. She added that the club now has a presence on Facebook.
The board discussed the possibility of pursuing a communication tool for the website, but after discussion, Kuphal said, “I’m not ready to recommend this.” The board chose to table the issue for now, and Kuphal will ask the company to provide more information to address some of the board’s questions and concerns.
Kuphal told of the upcoming opportunity for Mabel-Canton to apply for a School Safety Grant. He said it’s a very competitive process but that M-C will most likely submit a request for $500,000 (the maximum amount). Michelle Wiedemann reminded the board that an open house will be held on Wednesday, August 29, 3:30-6:30 p.m., and will include a “Hidden in Plain Sight” walk-in display to teach parents where drug paraphernalia may be hidden by youngsters nowadays. The meeting adjourned at 7:50. The next regular board meeting will be Tuesday, September 18 at 6 p.m. in the Media Center. The public is welcome.