Board approves Tuscarora IU budget, multiple personnel actions and hires district accountant; stadium funding reviewed, athletic job description tabled

The Mifflin County School Board took several routine and substantive actions, approving a range of budget and personnel items and reviewing stadium project funding during its public meeting.

The board voted to approve the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit budget for FY 2026–27 in the amount of $3,891,669. It also approved the consent agenda, recommended the Marching Band Cantare spring trip to Baltimore (funded by the Mifflin County Music Boosters), and approved several personnel motions including a 10‑day unpaid suspension (Item G), a three‑day unpaid suspension (Item H), and the hiring of Janae Malliner as district accountant at $63,805 effective April 20, 2026.

Finance briefing: Mrs. Kennett presented the stadium construction and soft‑costs summary (the packet figure cited as "19.7" as of the meeting) and explained funding sources: a $3 million DCED grant, an initial Kish Bank loan just over $5 million, $9.5 million from assigned fund balance, and $2.2 million from fundraisers. She said the district recently used a stadium donation to pay down the Kish Bank principal, leaving an outstanding Kish balance of about $4.6 million; the district has paid about $94,000 in interest to date. Kennett also noted the district earned roughly $129,000 in interest income on the $3 million DCED grant and is not required to return those funds.

Committees and policy: the board approved creation of an evaluation ad hoc committee (March 30, 2026–Nov. 1, 2027) to review appraisal approaches and gather input; four board volunteers were named to serve. A separate, lengthy discussion on proposed changes to the athletic director job description raised concerns about compliance with district policy (policy number 313, supervision and evaluation) and with PSBA recommendations; the board tabled that item and discussed pathways for review (superintendent delegation versus policy committee review and PSBA consultation).

What happens next: Human Resources and administration will proceed with the approved hires and agenda items, and the superintendent and policy/athletics committees will be engaged to clarify supervision and evaluation language before the athletic director job‑description is revisited.