MIFFLINTOWN — It’s not usual for the Juniata County School District Board of Directors to approve the hiring of new administrators, teachers or other support staff.

At its regular monthly meeting on Thursday night at the administration office in Mifflintown, the school board hired a head coach for the girls’ wrestling program at the Juniata High School.

Katie Krepps was approved to serve as the Indians’ first-ever head coach, at a stipend of $2,000 for the 2024-25 school year.

In order to hire Krepps, the school board also approved a memorandum of understanding with the Juniata County Education Association in regard to creating the girls wrestling coaching position.

The PIAA officially sanctioned girls wrestling as a sport on May 17, 2023, as Pennsylvania became the 38th state in the country to do so.

Contracts and agreements

The school board approved the following contracts and agreements:

• One-year contract with the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit No. 11 for special education services, effective Sept. 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, at a cost of $82,253.

• A to Z Yard Care LLC, 384 Bunkertown Road, McAlisterville, maintenance at East Juniata High School athletic fields, at a cost of $1,308.57.

• Central Penn Education Associates, Inc., of Mechanicsburg, for psychoeducational evaluations by a certified school psychiatrist, effective Oct. 16, 2024, at a cost of $1,500 for each evaluation.

Facility use requests

The school board approved the following facility use requests:

• Stephanie Bonnell, East Juniata High School boys soccer, East Juniata High School cafeteria, banquet, Oct. 20, 2024, with no fee.

• Jennie Seigler, East Juniata High School volleyball, East Juniata High School cafeteria and gymnasium, banquet, Oct. 27, 2024, with no fee.

• Joseph Arbogast, Arbogastit, Tuscarora Junior High School facilities, Dec. 13-14, 2024, at a rate of $500 per day plus custodial fees.

Field Trips

The school board approved the following field trips:

• East Juniata FFA, Ag Day, Millwork Farm, Thompsontown, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.

• East Juniata High School woodworking students, tour, Alderfer Lumber and Live Edge, Mount Pleasant Mills, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.

• East Juniata High School media studies students, National Association for Literacy Education and MediaWise seminars, Penn State University, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.

• Five Juniata Elementary School students, community-based instruction, Weis Markets, Mifflintown, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.

• 12 to 14 Juniata and East Juniata high school students, Poetry Out Loud competition, Newport, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.

• Juniata High School FFA and veterinary science students, FFA event with Dr. Temple Grandin, Danville, Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

•*East Juniata High School class of 2025, senior class trip, Philadelphia and East Earl, Pa., Thursday, April 17, 2025.

*Indicates trips for which transportation is not district-funded.

Donations

The school board approved the following donations:

$500.00 from the American Legion Post No. 298, Mifflintown, to be used to offset negative student meal accounts.

$221,050.01 from the estate of Thomas R. Shope, for the establishment of the Thomas R. Shope Scholarship Fund at Juniata High School.

Personnel

The school board approved the following personnel-related matters:

Hiring Levi Fisher, Rebekah Fuller, Christina Jones, Mitchell Rice and Mark Ward as drivers.

Established the position of assistant to the school psychologist; replaced one school psychologist with the new position; and transferred Diann Gray to the new position, effective Oct. 1, 2024, at a salary of $78,000.

Hiring Lindsay D. Myers, autistic support classroom teacher, Juniata Elementary School, effective Oct. 14, 2024. This is a new position.

Hiring Molly Heckendorn Picketts, Juniata Elementary School, effective Oct. 14, 2024. She replaced Diann Gray, who transferred.

Hiring Trisha C. Hoffman, school counselor, East Juniata Elementary School, effective Oct. 18, 2024. She replaces Rachael Loy, who resigned.

Resignations of Brittini N. Fultz, LPN/secretary, Juniata High School, effective Sept. 21, 2024; and Karissa R. Fahnestock, paraprofessional, Juniata Elementary School, effective Oct. 14, 2024.

Kelly Beward as a mentor for Molly Heckendorn Picketts and Lindsay Myers.

Reclassified positions held by Dorothy J. Boreman, Jennifer E. Shutt and Sara E. Brackbill, from Level 1 paraprofessionals to Level 2 paraprofessionals, effective Oct. 21, 2024, and contingent upon completion of Safe Crisis Management training.

Hiring Nancy Quigley as a substitute school nurse.

For information purposes, the board heard that Catherine Durst will transfer from the learning support teaching position, at East Juniata Elementary School, after serving half days at East Juniata High School and half days at East Juniata Elementary School, effective Oct. 28, 2024; Tiffany J. Peck will transfer from a Level 2 paraprofessional position, Juniata High School to a Level 2 paraprofessional position, Juniata Elementary School, at a date to be determined. She will replace Fahnestock.

Conference requests

The school board approved the following conference requests:

Jennifer Hund, Pennsylvania Department of Education, Educational Theatre Association and Pennsylvania Thespians Theatre Workshop, Altoona, Nov. 5, 2024.

Marcus Brothers, Pennsylvania Songbirds Educator Workshop, Newport, Nov. 12, 2024.

Danielle Zimmerman, Pennsylvania Business Education Association Conference, Grantville, Nov. 22, 2024.

Next Meeting

The school board’s next workshop is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

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Additional information from Thursday’s meeting will be published in Saturday’s edition of The Sentinel.