New MHS basketball coach expected to be discussed at school board meeting

Talk about it

While it was not on the published agenda, Saturday’s announcement that a search committee picked Tom Young to succeed Mitchell basketball coaching legend Gary Munsen will undoubtedly be a major issue for discussion at today’s Mitchell school board meeting.

The board meets at 5 p.m. in Room 116 at the Capital Street campus of Mitchell Technical Institute. Young — whose 20-year career includes varsity coaching stints at Mitchell Christian High School and Hanson High School — said Saturday that he accepted the job, but his hire is subject to board approval. Munsen retired at the end of the season.

The board will hold a closed executive session at the end of the business meeting, “for the purpose of preparing for contract negotiations or negotiating with employees or employee representatives.”

Other items on today’s agenda include board consideration to:

• Reject bucket truck bids for Mitchell Technical Institute because they did not meet bid specifications.

• Approve a resolution to declare the old bleachers and gym floor at Mitchell High School as surplus property so they may be sold.

• Approve the district’s 2012-2013 membership in the South Dakota High School Activities Association.

• Approve the following personnel items:

Resignations: Cindy Gerlach, family and consumer sciences, MHS; Ruth Manson, language arts, MHS; Justin Zajic, social studies, Mitchell Middle School; and Shawna Zimmerman, sixth-grade language arts, all at the end of current school year.

Aimee Dufek Schaefer, paraeducator, Longfellow Elementary, effective April 5.

Extra-curricular resignations: Danielle Erdmann, assistant eighth-grade volleyball; Julie Van Gorp, MMS jazz band, both effective pending finding suitable replacements.

Retirements: Linda Case, general education, MTI; Jocy Huck and Linda Wosje, paraeducators, MHS, all effective at the end of the school year; and Grant Uecker, financial aid coordinator, MTI, effective June 29.

Transfer: Wendi Schnabel, from third grade to first grade at Longfellow.

New hires: Cindy Gerlach, culinary arts, FACS, MTI, $39,000 a year; Stacy Thomsen, speech and language therapist, $41,725, plus $4,610 for 20 extra contact days; and Erin Olsen, social studies, MHS $36,000, all effective for the 2012-2013 school year. Also, Sue Olinger, custodian, MHS, nine hours daily at $10 an hour, effective March 19.

MTI spring adjunct hires: Ron VanderHeiden, Ag 159, welding, $1,620; Jim Mahoney, Ag 252 construction, $1,800.

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