SCHOOL BOARD CHANGES, OTHER PERSONNEL SHIFTS COMING

The Freeman Public School District is needing to fill a vacancy on the school board following the resignation of Karissa Podzimek, who joined the board in July of 2022 after running unopposed for election.

The board accepted her resignation in regular session Monday, June 10 — the same meeting in which the board approved her contract as assistant volleyball coach. Freeman Superintendent Jake Tietje confirmed that an employee of the district cannot serve on the board, which led to her resignation.

Podzimek will remain on the board until a replacement can be appointed to fill out the final year of her three-year term. The district is accepting applications for the vacancy through June 26 and is expected to appoint Podzimek’s replacement on July 8.

Another change will be coming to the Freeman School Board next month when Chris Sayler begins his first three-year term. Sayler was elected to serve on the board on April 9 and will replace Doug McCune, whom he defeated 277 to 234. Board president Emily Andersen was also re-elected in that same election.

The district has made a number of other notable personnel changes in recent months.

Sherrie Kafka was hired as the activities director and a K-12 business/computer teacher at the board’s May meeting and replaces Kristina Sage, who begins her job as an executive director with the South Dakota High School Activities Association on July 8.

Kafka was also named head volleyball coach at last Monday’s school board meeting, replacing Jesse Ahlers, who left the district at the end of the first semester last school year.

Kafka has 18 years of head volleyball coaching experience and has previously served as the AD at Gregory.

The district is also anticipating the July 1 arrival of Mitzi Wynia, who the board hired last February to step in as Junior/Senior High School Principal. Wynia, a longtime educator from Iowa, has a master’s in curriculum and instruction and this will be her first role in administration. Wynia replaces Katie Juhnke, who is replacing Shane Voss as principal at Freeman Elementary. Voss retired from education at the end of this past school year.

Also on the administrative front, the Freeman School Board voted at its May meeting to give Tietje a one-year extension on what had been a three-year contract, which the board approved last year. That makes Tieje on contract through the 2026-27 school year.

Other personnel shifts that were approved in May include:

• The resignation of Pam Hofer as a paraprofessional;
• The resignation of Sherry Rembold as head cross-country coach;
• The hiring of Jackson Fiegen as assistant golf coach and junior high boys basketball coach;
• The hiring of Nancy Loofbourrow as oral interpretation advisor and Karli Harberts as junior high oral interpretation advisor;
• The hiring of Joyce Hora as quiz bowl advisor;
• The hiring of Bailey Lagge as assistant cross-country and assistant track coach;
• The hiring of Ty Soulek as assistant track coach.

The district is still looking to fill a number of other positions — paraprofessionals and a head cross-country and wrestling coach.