Shoup Leaving Board To Teach

Matt Shoup resigned his position on Kimball School Board, only to be hired as Kimball's 7-8 grade social studies teacher. Shoup resigned his school board position effect July 11, which will end a six-year career on the board.

His resignation letter stated, “I have been so pleased to work with each and every one of the current and former board members. In those years, we have struggled and fought to make our school the best it can be, and I have complete faith in the future ahead for our school system.” said Shoup, who currently works for the city of Kimball in the electrical department. “This has been something that I have looked forward to as a goal for many years. I am very excited to be in a school district that is dedicated to the future of our youth.”

The board has 45 days from Shoup's last meeting to fill the position. There are four different methods by which the vacancy can be filled. Shoup's term ends in December so it is expected that the replacement will only serve from August to December.

The board approved the certified teaching contracts for Shoup (with Shoup abstaining), Meredith Christiansen and Kristina Segreaves. Christiansen will teach 7-12 science, and Segreaves will be 5-6 ELA teacher.

Physical education instructor Ben Aarestad submitted his resignation effective at the end of the 2022 school year, and the board approved his resignation. Aarestad also served as coach of the football team, which didn't field a team last season due to lack of players.

Football is on the horizon again for the Kimball Longhorns, with more than 27 individuals expressing interest and attended a meeting according to activities director Ken Smith. The next AD, Darrell Howitt, will be the head football coach, and Gene Mohr and Ty Neal will be assistants.

Smith reviewed the percentage of students participating in activities.

Seniors participating in activities were at 61%, 76% of the juniors participated in one or more activities, 69% of the sophomores were involved, and 76% of the freshmen were active in sports, music, plays, FFA or speech.

The seventh and eighth grade students have the highest numbers for participation. The seventh grade has a 96% participation rate, and 97% of the eighth graders participated in sports, music, and/or FFA.

The board recognized the success of the students in academics, music, FFA and track and field.

Superintendent Trevor Anderson reported that the district would no longer have an early release on Wednesdays for professional development. His report said, “We have lost instructional hours this year due to heat, power issues, and snow. By going full days on Wednesdays, we will meet the 1,032 and 1,080 instructional hours requirements for our elementary and secondary students.”

The Kimball district will receive $51,679 in State Aid for the 2022-23 fiscal year; Anderson's report said that “State aid typically constitutes approximately 0.7% of our general fund revenues.”

Mary Lynch Principal Jamie Soper said she was pleased with the NSCAS ELA/Math results from Winter 2021 to Spring 2022. She said that the staff had worked very hard to help the students meet their needs and also thought that Beyond Textbooks and the Wednesday Professional Days helped tremendously. Math results were most impressive, with third graders improving by 35%, and fourth graders test scores improved by 31%. The fifth graders went from 25% to 63%, and the sixth graders improved from 25% to 61% by springtime.

The next regular school board meeting will be Monday, June 13, at 6:30 p.m. in the mMeeting room at Kimball County Transit Service.