DeKalb board approves extra pay and stipends as Mitchell Elementary readies to open

The DeKalb CUSD 428 Board of Education voted to approve differential stipends for staff at the new Mitchell Elementary and authorized up to eight additional contractual days for the school’s principal to finish preopening work.

The board approved stipends for MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) Tier 1 and Tier 2 coaches, a communications liaison and a choral director for Mitchell Elementary, and later approved a motion to grant the principal up to eight extra contractual days to complete punch-list items tied to opening the new building. The motion for additional days passed in a roll-call vote with one board member voting "no."

District officials said the building was turned over to the district on June 1 and that the principal’s work includes classroom setup, inventorying and organizing instructional materials, coordinating signage and security settings, and scheduling. Director of Teaching and Learning Billy Guaramo described the scope of the principal’s…