Board approves MTI alcohol policy

Despite assurances that alcohol use would be highly circumscribed, school board member Neil Putnam on Monday renewed past objections to the serving of any alcoholic beverages on school district property.

Putnam’s lone protest came during February’s first regular board meeting at Mitchell Technical Institute.

The Higher Learning Commission, said MTI President Greg Von Wald, has recommended that MTI, as a postsecondary institution, have policies separate from the district’s K-12 policies. Putnam’s only objection was to policy 1143, which allows restricted alcohol use on the MTI campus; he requested a separate board vote on the issue.

The policy allows the tech school to serve beer and wine only during special school events to people 21 years and older.

Alcoholic beverages will be allowed at events that host dignitaries or that showcase the skills of students in the school’s culinary arts academy. There have been no infractions in the past five years of an identical policy that previously applied to the entire school district, but Putnam said he opposed the original policy and remains philosophically opposed to serving alcohol on school property.

“I commend MTI for trying to implement the policy, but I cannot support it,” he said. “It sends the wrong message. MTI is still a public school.”

Board President Dana Price said it is important to separate MTI and its policies from the district’s K-12 responsibilities. The policy will allow alcohol to be served only at special closed events and it would not allow or promote student drinking.

“We’ve considered every possibility,” Price said. “This is not ‘drink-and-sink night.’ It’s wine with your dinner.”

Putnam was unconvinced, but other board members agreed with Price and voted 4-1, on first reading, in favor of the policy.

MTI President Greg Von Wald said the policy is in harmony with a similar policy in use by the state Board of Regents. Price reminded board members that they may change the adopted policy at any future time if they believe a change is warranted.

In another matter, Price reported on a recent trip to Washington, D.C., that he took with a delegation from the Associated School Boards of South Dakota.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan told assembled educators at the event that a new “Jobs for America” bill could contain about $23 billion for education, said Putnam, but no specific amount was mentioned for South Dakota.

“There was also some support for reauthorizing No Child Left Behind,” said Putnam, “but with adjustments.”

He said the education program, which was up for reauthorization several years ago, has been kept alive by continuing resolutions for the past few years.

Duncan also noted that $20 billion is being set aside for schools in rural states.

“We carried that message to our congressional delegation to let them know that we want to be at the table when that legislation is introduced,” said Putnam.

Putnam said he learned in Washington that Mitchell schools are doing more with less.

In terms of computer initiatives, Smart Board technology in classrooms and higher graduation rates, Putnam said “we’ve already exceeded what districts in other states only wish for,” he said, “and we’ve done it with fewer resources.”

Also Monday, the board:

• Was told by Superintendent Joe Graves that the district on Thursday will request contractor bids for a new stadium at Joe Quintal Field. The bids will be opened March4 and a recommendation will be presented for board consideration on March 8.

• Approved a 176-day school calendar for 2010-2011. Under the new calendar, classes will begin Aug. 23, a starting date four days later than the current school year. The adjustment was made to allow staff more time to ready the new Longfellow Elementary School —which will be ready Aug. 4 — for occupancy, said Graves.

“In past years, we had schools open two weeks before Labor Day,” Graves said, “but this year we’ll need the time to clean up the new Longfellow and to move in.”

• Heard from Board Member Brenda Freidel, who noted that the weekend snack pack program at district elementary schools has grown from 167 to 211 kids.

Freidel said that TV personality Abby Rike, who participated on the television show “The Biggest Loser,” will address district students March 1 in a special program. More details will be made available soon, she said.

• Declared four stationary bicycles as surplus property so they may be sold.

• Approved a supplemental budget of $292,000 for MTI. The money, a grant from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, will be used to purchase training equipment for MTI’s wind turbine technology program. The trainers will cost a total of $332,000. The program also received a $40,000 grant to cover the remaining cost of the specialized training tools.

• Heard from Heather Lentz, director of the MTI Foundation, who thanked the board members for their personal donations to the foundation. The donation amount was undisclosed but Lentz said the money will be added to MTI’s endowment fund.

Lentz also told the board that tickets are still available for Thursday’s “Evening of Romance,” a $200-per-couple fundraiser for the foundation that will feature an eightcourse meal prepared by MTI culinary students and served in the Oak Room at the north campus.

• Approved the following personnel items: New hires: Diana Reiner, full-time secretary, L.B. Williams Elementary, full-time at $10.28 per hour, effective Jan. 1; Kathy Digerness, full-time MTI custodian, at $10 per hour, effective Feb. 9; Deb Flynn, instructor MTI speech language assistant program, $42,000, effective Aug. 1; Dan DeFries, MTI adjunct instructor, AC/DC circuits, $2,040; Ron VanderHeiden, adjunct welding instructor, $120 adjustment to contract for additional teaching time.

Resignation (extracurricular): Lisa Neugebauer, seventh- and eighth-grade assistant girls’ volleyball coach, pending suitable replacement, effective for the 2010-11 school year.

Retirement: Myron Sonne, MTI agriculture technology instructor, effective at the end of the 2009-2010 school year. Sonne is a 40-year veteran of the school district.

Tags: school board, mitchell school district, news, local, education