Tennell re-elected Southwestern school board president

Derrek Tennell will continue in his role as Southwestern Consolidated Schools school board president.

On Wednesday, at Southwestern’s first school board meeting of 2025, newly-elected board members Daryl Thomas, John Blue and John Deater were sworn in which was followed by the election of officers.

Tennell was unanimously retained as board president with a 7-0 vote.

Blake Newkirk was elected vice-president and Dustin Simpson was elected secretary.

Brad Stamper was voted to be the school system’s representative for Blue River Career Programs.

In board business Wednesday, the board approved an overnight stay for Southwestern’s Future Farmers of America group on Jan. 31 for a leadership development workshop at the Indiana FFA Center in Trafalgar, Indiana.

Superintendent Jamison Wilkins (photo) informed the board that the school system’s three e-learning days are now used up. Southwestern students were out of school Tuesday and Wednesday this week due to difficult road conditions resulting from last weekend’s snowfall. E-learning was used for both of those days.

The students returned to school on a two-hour delay today.

The third e-learning day is already assigned to the Friday before spring break – March 14.

Any other school closure days must be made up, according to Wilkins. The school system has built-in days on its calendar to do so on Feb. 17 (President’s Day) and April 18 (Good Friday).

The next school board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 12.

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