A Mandarin Chinese class will be offered in the district's high school course catalog for the 2012-2013 academic year to see how many students will express interest. Administrators say the school board hasn't approved funds to hire a Chinese teacher yet. They say that China is going to be a major player on the world stage in the next 50 years and Chinese would give Gillette area students an edge in the workforce as mining companies are shipping coal from the Powder River Basin to China.

Associated Press