Southwest Dubois board honors teachers, plans bond hearing for projects
Bond hearing, teacher honors and a 31-year retirement marked a Southwest Dubois board meeting as middle school plans and enrollment growth moved forward.
Southwest Dubois County School Corporation moved its middle school improvement plans one step forward by opening a first public hearing on a preliminary determination to issue bonds for projects that could affect Southridge Middle School, where enrollment is expected to keep climbing. Superintendent Chip Mehaffey addressed concerns tied to the work, no action was required at that stage, and the board scheduled a second public hearing for June 18.
The discussion comes as the corporation serves more than 1,900 students in four buildings, Holland Elementary, Huntingburg Elementary, Southridge Middle School and Southridge High School. At Southridge Middle, enrollment was 395 last year, rose to 430 this year and is projected to reach 496 by the 2028-29 school year. District officials also said most building systems there have not been upgraded since the 1980s and the school still lacks a secure entrance. Possible improvements could include a corridor with lockers and accessible classrooms, updated finishes and classroom equipment, new HVAC and replacement of aging roof surfaces, along with more buses, bus parking and maintenance space as the district grows. Southridge Middle’s 2025 attendance rate was 80.5 percent, with ILEARN English-language arts proficiency at 46.6 percent and math proficiency at 52.7 percent, numbers that underscore the stakes for any upgrade.
The board meeting also recognized the people who keep the district running day to day. Southridge High School math teacher Nicole Hopf and Holland Elementary teacher Lindsey Sickbert were named this year’s honorees, while Christina Qualkenbush, a fifth-grade teacher at Huntingburg Elementary, is retiring after 31 years in the classroom. That mix of recognition and transition landed at the same time Southridge High School and the Southridge Alternative Learning Center were wrapping up the school year, with Southridge High School’s commencement set for 7 p.m. Friday, May 22. Southwest Dubois says its overall graduation rate is 96 percent.
Student support work was also on the agenda. Tiffany Beckley, the district’s director of student services, presented on WEDA and the IREAD Summer School program, which had 52 students enrolled. Taken together, the bond hearing, the retirement of a longtime teacher, the district honors and the summer school numbers showed a corporation balancing immediate needs with long-range planning. The board’s next hearing in June will show how far it is prepared to go in paying for the changes that could shape Southridge Middle School for years to come.
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