REGULAR SESSION AND WORK 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 August 1, 2022 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, Penny Tyynismaa, Elizabeth Dolezal, and Beth Wiese. Absent: Clint Werner. Quorum Present. Also present were: Superintendent John Cain, Board Secretary Randy Denham, and members of the community.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to approve the agenda as presented. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Wiese, second by Tyynismaa to approve the following consent agenda items: Minutes from the July 11, 2022 regular session; bills for payment and financial statements as presented; a lease renewal agreement with Pitney Bowes for District postage and folding machines; and a rental agreement with the Reing Center for an Admin retreat. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Public Comments – None.
Motion by Wiese, second by Tyynismaa to approve the following personnel requests. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Resignations: Seth Koch – Varsity Baseball Coach
New Hires: Devin Hoskey – Middle School Writing Teacher
Following Mentor Teachers for 2022-2023: Heather Wanatee, Dawn Henley, Travis McBride, and Melissa Jesina.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to approve the following individuals as Level I Investigators for the 2022-2023 school year: Brad Schweppe, Kris Collins, Leah Founa, Anita Townsley, Ben Adams, Scott Bolen, Crystal Hass, Blake Wedeking, Robert Boley, Amy Karg, Dan Lopez, Dina Keahna, Ali Galvez, Samantha Peska, and John Cain. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to approve the first reading of the following Board Policies: 203 Board of Directors’ Conflict of Interest; 402.02 Child Abuse Reporting. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Dolezal, second by Wiese to approve the second and final reading of the following Board Policies: 710.02 Free or Reduced Costs Meal Eligibility; 710.04 Meal Charges; 102 Equal Educational Opportunity; 102-R1 Equal Educational Opportunity-Grievance Procedure; 102-E1 Equal Educational Opportunity -Annual Notice of Nondiscrimination; 102-E2 Equal Educational Opportunity-Continuous Notice of Nondiscrimination; 102-E3 Equal Educational Opportunity-Notice of Section 504 Student and Parental Rights; 102-E4 Equal Educational Opportunity-Discrimination Complain Form; 102-E5 Equal Educational Opportunity-Witness Disclosure Form; 102-E6 Equal Educational Opportunity-Disposition of Complaint Form. All Ayes. The motion carried.
The Board discussed concerns received about the Juvenile Home property not being mowed and that the issue had been resolved. Mr. Cain stated that the District is working to schedule some time in the near future with the architects to tour some different sites to get design ideas for the new Middle School.
The Board reviewed the Iowa Association of School Board (IASB) Legislative Priorities for the 2022-2023 year. The Board will select their top four priorities at the next regular Board meeting to be submitted to IASB.
The Board discussed Board Policy 200.01 – Code of Ethics. President Lekin had the Board review the policy and select portions of the policy to be discussed in more detail at the work session on August 9th.
The Board reviewed the 2022-2023 Board Goals/Strategic Plan. President Lekin and Mr. Cain stated that the plan would be reviewed in more detail at the August 9th work session and that the Strategic Plan would be tied to the Superintendent’s entry plan and would serve as the basis for the Superintendent’s evaluation. Mr. Cain reviewed the organizational chart with the Board and discussion around chain of command was had.
The Board discussed different options to offer incentives for retaining substitute teachers. The Board asked Administration to gather information on the options to present at a future Board Meeting.
Mr. Cain gave his Superintendent’s Report to the Board on the following items: Preparing for back to school kickoff later in August; Administrative Team will have a welcome back meeting on August 2nd; District Administrators would be attending the SAI Conference on August 3rd and 4th; Registration will be on August 4th.
The Board took a break at 6:05 prior to entering into closed session.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to go into closed session at 6:09 p.m. pursuant to Iowa Code 21.5(1)(j) of the open meeting law to discuss the purchase or sale of particular real estate where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the school district would have to pay or lower the price the board would receive for that property. Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to come out of closed session at 6:32 p.m.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to adjourn the meeting at 6:33 p.m. All Ayes.
After the Regular Meeting Adjourned the Board entered into a work session at 6:38 pm.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Dolezal to approve the agenda. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Mark Becker and Nick Brown from Gallagher gave a presentation to the Board reviewing the District’s current health insurance plans. The Board discussed the District’s current insurance benefit plans and provided the Gallagher Team and Administration guiding parameters to move forward with insurance plan design.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Wiese to adjourn the work session at 8:08 pm.
Mandy Lekin, Board President
Randy Denham, Board Secretary