Valentine School Board approves new 1st grade teacher, administrative tuition reimbursement

VALENTINE, Neb. - The Valentine School Board has approved the hiring of a new first grade teacher and a tuition reimbursement policy for administrators pursuing advanced degrees.

Elise Wheeler will take over Jamie Elliott’s first grade classroom. Wheeler previously worked in the Bennett County and Todd County school districts.

“She’s a younger teacher and has a good attitude and great mindset,” said Superintendent Mike Halley at Wednesday’s school board meeting.

Elliott will move into an interventionist role, while current interventionist Kate Minford-Major will transition to Simeon School, a rural school in the district.

Board members also discussed the possibility of hiring a full-time speech pathologist instead of continuing to contract out the position, though no decision was made.

The board did approve reimbursing administrators for continuing education related to education specialist classes, such as school administrative or doctorate programs. Under the new policy, administrators may be reimbursed for up to five courses or 15 credit hours per calendar year — capped at $6,000 annually and 50% of tuition costs — for a maximum of three years.

Halley said investing in leadership development could help the district avoid costly superintendent searches in the future.

“That would be a good alternative,” Halley said, “because it would cost us $5,000 to $10,000 to do a superintendent search.”