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Resident asks board for data on graduates, absenteeism and horticulture pathway during public comment
Summary
A resident used public comment time to ask seven specific questions covering class cohort size, out‑of‑district students, virtual academy graduates, honors counts, anticipated remediation enrollments, chronic absenteeism rates and plans for a high‑school horticulture pathway.
Mishawaka — During the public comment period of the School City of Mishawaka board meeting on May 7, resident David Strahan asked seven detailed questions seeking district data on the class of 2025, absenteeism and plans for a horticulture career pathway.
Strahan identified himself as a local property owner and said he had no affiliation with the district. He asked for specific metrics the board did not provide during the meeting and requested follow‑up from district staff.
His questions were: the size of the Mishawaka High School class of 2025 cohort; how many graduates are nonresident or out‑of‑district students; how many students will graduate through the Caveman Academy of Virtual Excellence; counts of graduates with academic or technical honors (excluding subject honor societies); the number of students anticipated to enroll in one or more credit remediation courses after May 29, 2025; the expected chronic absenteeism rate for the 2024–25 year (he noted the district previously reported a 45.2% chronic absenteeism rate for 2023–24 at Mishawaka High School); and the status, timeline and planned use of Room 246 and a greenhouse for a prospective high‑school horticulture pathway.
Strahan also offered positive remarks about the EV team and a staff member he saw representing the school earlier that day. Trustees accepted the public comment; no immediate data or responses were provided on the questions during the meeting. The district did not answer those metrics on the record at the meeting and staff members present indicated they would follow up afterward.
