REGULAR SESSION
OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE
SOUTH TAMA COUNTY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Board of Directors of the South Tama County Community School District met in Regular Session on February 7, 2022 at the Elementary School, 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, Clint Werner, Elizabeth Dolezal, Beth Wiese. Absent: Penny Tyynismaa. Quorum Present. Also present were: Superintendent Jared Smith, Board Secretary Randy Denham, Activities Director Anthony Jahr, Seth Koch, and several members of the community.
Motion by Wiese, second by Dolezal to approve the agenda as presented. All Ayes.
Motion by Dolezal, second by Wiese to approve the following consent agenda items: Minutes from the January 24, 2022 regular meeting and February 2, 2022 special meeting; Bills for payment as presented; and an early graduation request for Kyrien DeSorbo. All Ayes.
Vice President Tyynismaa joined the meeting through Google Hangouts at 5:01 p.m.
Public Comments – None.
Motion by Dolezal, second by Wiese to approve the following personnel requests. All Ayes.
Resignations: Miranda Moen – HS Science Teacher effective at the end of the 2021-22 school year; Maria Cervantes – Partnership Para
Officials: Brando Dufoe – HS Boys Wrestling; Andrew May – HS Boys Wrestling
Sites Council Member (3 Year Term): Sarah Dostal
After School Program for 2021-2022 Second Semester: Approve list of teachers at $30/hour and paras at their regular hourly rate as presented.
Activities Director Anthony Jahr presented information and requested permission for students to attend an overnight trip for the International Thespian Fesival in Bloomington, IN from June 20-24. Motion by Wiese, second by Werner to approve the overnight trip for the International Thespian Festival in Bloomington, IN from June 20-24. All Ayes.
Mr. Jahr shared the potential number of students from Meskwaki CSD that would be participating in baseball and softball if the Board were to approve a sharing agreement. Head Baseball Coach Seth Koch provided an estimated number of current students that are expected to play baseball and softball this spring. Motion by Werner, second by Dolezal to approve sharing baseball and softball with Meskwaki CSD for the 2021-2022 season. Ayes: Lekin, Tyynismaa, Werner, Dolezal. Nays: Wiese. The motion carried.
Randy Denham presented the agreement from Grundmeyer Leardership Search for services related to the search for a new Superintendent to replace Dr. Smith. Mr. Denham explained the costs of the services provided would be based on the amount of services the Board would utilize and would not be more than $12,981.60. Motion by Wiese, second by Werner to approve an agreement with Grundmeyer Leadership Search to assist with the search for a new Superintendent for a max amount of $12,981.60. All Ayes.
Mr. Denham provided information on the 2022-2023 budget and explained that the District would be on the budget guarantee for the 2022-2023 budget year due to the decline in enrollment last fall along with the low amount of State Supplemental Aid. Mr. Denham explained that the budget guarantee is fully funded through property tax. Motion by Dolezal, second by Werner to approve to levy property tax for fiscal year 2022-2023 for the regular program budget adjustment as allowed under section 257.14, Code of Iowa. All Ayes.
The Board discussed that the second February Board meeting had been moved to Tuesday, February 22 due to no school originally on February 21. The Board discussed whether to have the second February Board meeting on February 21 or 22 and decided to stay with February 22. The Board will resume meeting on the first and third Monday of each month for their meetings starting in March.
Dr. Smith shared a proposed 2022-2023 calendar with the Board. The Board discussed the option of including a spring break in the calendar and stated that when the committee meets to discuss the 2023-2024 school calendar that two options be provided: one with a spring break and one without.
Dr. Smith provided the most recent COVID dashboard numbers to the Board. The Board discussed the guidelines staff and students must follow when they test positive. Dr. Smith brought up the idea of potentially giving two days of hazard pay for all staff. The Board asked administration to calculate the amounts and to bring that data back to the Board at a future meeting. Mr. Denham shared and reviewed the District’s ESSER fund budget with the Board.
Dr. Smith provided an update to the Board on the upcoming community forums for the Middle School Bond vote with the next meeting taking place virtually on February 10 at 7:00 p.m. Dr. Smith recapped the last community meeting held and stated that there had been a lot of positive feedback from the visuals that were shared. The Board discussed the possibility of doing satellite voting for the March 1 bond vote and stated that they would like to see an additional informational mailer go out to the community closer to the vote. Dr. Smith stated that he will continue to push information out to the community. Mr. Denham provided a sample Request for Proposal (RFP) for architect services as was previously requested by the Board. The Board reviewed the RFP and gave the administration the go ahead to move forward with sending the RFP for architect services out to the list of architects that was provided.
Mr. Denham reviewed a list of Board policies that need to be reviewed annually by the Board and explained that all policies must be reviewed by the Board at least once every five years. The Board discussed the process to use going forward for review of Board policies.
Mr. Denham provided an update on the search for a new Superintendent and shared a list of dates for the Board to meet with Grundmeyer Leadership Search. Mr. Denham will coordinate the dates given by the Board with Dr. Grundmeyer to set up a work session to discuss the Superintendent search in the near future.
Motion by Dolezal, second by Wiese to adjourn the meeting at 6:37 p.m. All Ayes.
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Mandy Lekin, Board President Randy Denham, Board Secretary