Mifflin County SD officials weigh options after welding instructor resignation; ninth-graders paused from enrollment

Mifflin County School District staff updated the board on efforts to fill a vacated welding instructor position and said they will not admit ninth-graders to the program for the coming year while recruitment continues.

District and career-technical staff reported they have been advertising the position, reaching out to Penn State instructors, other career-technical centers and local partners, and notifying parents of currently enrolled students. “Ultimately, my goal is to not shut the program down and still be able to give the current students that are currently enrolled in the program the ability to get through the program and have certifications,” the CTC administrator said.

The update matters because the program feeds credentialing and workforce pathways for students in the region and because schedule and application deadlines at home high schools come earlier than general course scheduling, staff said. The district estimated 19 students attend the morning session and 20 attend the afternoon session of the welding program; administrators said they want to avoid giving families false hope while protecting students’ access to credentialing.

School staff described their plan and timeline: because the instructor role requires an…