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The retirement of Strodes Mills Elementary School Principal and Federal Programs Coordinator Frank Miller was discussed on Thursday, Feb. 19, during the Mifflin County Board of Directors’ meeting.

LEWISTOWN — The Mifflin County School District Board of Directors met Thursday, Feb. 19, to discuss the openings for the Federal Programs Coordinator and the Strodes Mills Elementary School Principal positions, as well as other business.

Frank Miller, the current federal programs coordinator and principal of Strodes Mills Elementary School, will retire from both positions on June 30, 2026.

Chief Academic Officer Steven DeArment led the discussion regarding options to fill Miller’s position at the Committee of the Whole meeting.

DeArment said, “Step one in all of the options that I’m going to present is going to be to bring federal programs back into central administration.”

This elimination of the combined position of principal and federal programs coordinator places the responsibility of federal programs in DeArment’s hands.

One of the main responsibilities of a federal programs coodinator is grant writing.

Before DeArment laid out the options to fill Miller’s position, he explained the existing principal roles at the District’s elementary schools.

He stated that Indian Valley Elementary Center has a dedicated principal and assistant principal for its 540 students.

Lewistown Intermediate School, with 481 students, shares a principal and assistant principal with East Derry Elementary School, with its 245 students.

The principal and assistant principal often alternate roles between the two schools while Lewistown Intermediate School sometimes has both the principal and assistant principal on the same day.

Lewistown Elementary School has both a principal and an assistant principal for its 443 students and Strodes Mills has a combined principal/federal programs coordinator for its 273 students.

DeArment shared three options to fill the Strodes Mills principal role while he assumes the federal programs responsibilities.

Option 1

• Replace the Strodes Mills principal;

• Eliminate the shared principal/assistant principal roles at Lewistown Intermediate School and East Derry;

• Add a principal to East Derry.

This option provides Lewistown Intermediate School with a principal and an assistant principal for its larger student population and ensures a principal role at East Derry.

Chief Financial Officer Melinda Kenepp said the added principal at East Derry may cost the district around $160,000.

Option 2

• Maintain the shared assistant principal at Lewistown Intermediate School and East Derry;

• Replace Strodes Mills principal;

• Share Strodes Mills principal between East Derry and Strodes Mills;

• Share Indian Valley assistant principal with Strodes Mills.

This option adds no new positions and is budget-neutral.

Option 3

• Implement option one’s structure;

• Eliminate principal position at the Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology to offset costs.

Directors eliminated option 2 for their voting meeting on Thursday, but did not reach a consensus between options 1 and 3 due to differing concerns with each.

Director E. Terry Styers said of the Academy, “They’ve got the needle going in the right direction. We go with option three, it’s going to slow down.”

Director Erin Barlup then added to Styers’ statement.

Barlup said, “Our primary concern is the students and their education and their achievement. And I think that going with option three slows that.”

The board plans to vote to choose an option to fill Miller’s position on Thursday at the district’s administration building.