REGULAR SESSION
OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE
SOUTH TAMA COUNTY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Board of Directors of the Community School District of South Tama County met on January 3, 2023 for a Regular Session at the Partnership Center, Tama, Iowa at 5:00 p.m. with members of the community attending electronically through Google Hangouts.
On call of the roll the following were present: Mandy Lekin, Elizabeth Dolezal, Penny Tyynismaa, Clint Werner, and Beth Wiese. Quorum Present. Also present were: Superintendent John Cain, Board Secretary Katie Mathern, Marilyn Rippy, Sam Peska, Travis Sandler with Piper Sandler, and members of the community through Google Hangouts.
Motion by Dolezal, second by Wiese, to approve the agenda. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Public Hearing - Proposed Issuance of Approximately $6,500,000 School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds: President Lekin opened the Public Hearing for Proposed Issuance of Approximately $6,500,000 School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds at 5:01 p.m. President Lekin asked for public comments. Hearing none, President Lekin asked for a motion to close the Public Hearing.
Motion by Wiese, second by Tyynismaa to close the Public Hearing at 5:02 p.m.
Motion by Dolezal, second by Wiese to approve the resolution supporting the Proposed Issuance of Approximately $6,500,000 School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds. Ayes: Lekin, Dolezal, Werner, and Wiese Nays: Tyynismaa The motion carried.
The regular session was called to order at 5:03 p.m.
On call of the roll the following were present: Mandy Lekin, Elizabeth Dolezal, Penny Tyynismaa, Clint Werner, and Beth Wiese. Quorum Present. Also present were: Superintendent John Cain, Board Secretary Katie Mathern, Marilyn Rippy, Sam Peska, Travis Sandler with Piper Sandler, and members of the community through Google Hangouts.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to approve the agenda. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Wiese to approve the following consent agenda items: minutes from the December 19, 2022 regular meeting, December 20, 2022 work session, December 21, 2022 special meeting, and bills for payment as presented. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Public Comments – None.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to approve the following personnel requests. All Ayes. The motion carried.
New Hires: Jennifer Benner - Elementary SPED Paraeducator
Resignations: Andrea Rutledge - 8th Grade Girls Basketball Coach and Jennifer Benner - PK Midday Bus Route
Officials: HS Boys Basketball - Rod Kolder, Mike Schmidt, Michael Gruetzmacher, Robert Hoffert, Wayde Blumhardt, Kyle Clark, Sam DeVilder, Brett Swalve, Michael Federer, Mark Murphy, Caleb Nuehring, David Nee, Collin Freesemann, Eugene Ubben, Dave Nitz, Tom Kemper, and Daniel Thomas; HS Girls Basketball - Randy Reindl, Mark Watts, David Mohr, Daniel Schofield, John Miller, Taberie Van Boening, Randy Vorland, Tracey Williams, and Thad Espenscheid; HS Boys & Girls Basketball - Kevin James, Michael Spurlin, Jay Gruenwald, Deidra Mohr, Patrick Bolte, Randy Dieken, and Dick Shindelar; and HS Wrestling - Jordan Bleil, Brantly Bagby, Benjamin Ogle, Justin Brand, Andrew May, Bob Yilek, Dave Litterer, Brandon Dufoe, Bryan Foster, and Joe Fontenot.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Wise to approve the second and final reading of the Post-Issuance Compliance Policy 804.36R1. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Dolezal, second Wiese to approve the second and final reading of the Disclosure Policy 804.36R2. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Wiese to table the ISG invoice and bring back after the work session on January 11, 2022. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Wiese, second by Tyynismaa to approve the overnight request for the Meistersinger Honor Choir Festival at Wartburg. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to accept the Early Retirement Requests meeting Board Policy 401.07R1 for Teresa Hofer - Elementary Special Education Teacher; Cynthia Backen - Middle School Secretary; and Bette Scheid - Middle School Cook. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Wiese to approve the quote from Pressure Point Cleaners, in the amount of $6,510.95, for high school roof cleaning. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Mrs. Peska reviewed the proposal to approve offering additional classes at the High School. Mrs. Peska explained that this proposal would provide more options for students to choose from. Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to approve the following new class proposals for the High School as presented: Spanish Language and Concepts for Spanish Speakers 2, Veterinary Science, Landscape Design and Construction, Food & Meat Science, and Social Media Marketing. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Travis Squires with Piper Sandler presented the Financing Plan for the Middle School Project with the project budget numbers presented by ISG. He explained the issuance of School Infrastructure Sales, Services, and Use Tax Revenue Bonds will not impact property taxes and will close the anticipated project gap. The district has strong valuation growth for this year, which is a positive for this scenario as well.
Mrs. Peska gave a presentation to the Board on the district’s FAST Progress Monitoring.
Mrs. Mathern gave the Board an update on the balance of ESSER funds and the plan for the usage of ESSER funds. The utilization of the ESSER funding may need to be re-prioritized based on variables in future funding.
President Lekin presented a Board Table Discussion Tool - Simplifying School Finance. True and false questions were asked and discussed among the Board over different pieces of School Finance the Board should be aware of.
Superintendent Cain reported the professional development sessions following break were great. The district is nearing negotiations, and there will be an exempt session following the next Board meeting to discuss negotiation strategy. The Wednesday early dismissal change starts January 11, 2023.
Motion by Dolezal, second by Wises to adjourn the meeting at 7:04 p.m. All Ayes.
Mandy Lekin, Board President Katie Mathern, Board Secretary