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 16, 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: Elizabeth Dolezal via Google Hangouts, Penny Tyynismaa, Clint Werner, and Beth Wiese. Quorum Present. Mandy Lekin was absent. Also present were: Superintendent John Cain, Board Secretary Katie Mathern, Marilyn Rippy, Heather Garrett, Carmella Garrett, Elementary Principal Brad Schweppe, Middle School Principal Ben Adams, Assistant Elementary Principal Kris Collins, Joy Schirmer, Emmet Schirmer, Jenson Schirmer, Kelly Smith with WCF Financial Bank, and members of the community through Google Hangouts.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Wiese, to approve the agenda with moving Discussion Items A. Elementary Student Presentation and C. Partner in Education - WCF Financial Bank to the beginning of the agenda. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Mandy Lekin joined the meeting at 5:01 p.m.
Heather Garrett and students demonstrated how the elementary students use robots to combine the learning of computer science and literacy. The students write an algorithm for a task for the robot to complete.
Mr. Schweppe presented a plaque to Kelly Smith, Senior Vice President of WCF Financial Bank, welcoming the bank to be the 23rd member of Partners in Education (PIE).
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Wiese to approve the following consent agenda items: minutes from the January 3, 2023 regular Board meeting, minutes from the January 6, 2023 special Board meeting, minutes from the January 11, 2023 work session, bills for payment as presented, Tyler Technologies quote for two tablet kits for student transportation, Walsh Door & Security proposal/quote for a new camera for the high school, and Johnson Controls quote to install a cellular communicator for the new middle school site. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Public Comments – None.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Werner to approve the following personnel requests. All Ayes. The motion carried.
New Hires: Nate Doran - Weight Training Spring (25%) and Ashley Raue - Assistant Middle School Girls Wrestling Coach
Transfers: Denise Crawford - From Part-time Preschool Special Education Paraeducator to Full-time K-4 Special Education Paraeducator
Officials: Patrick Kopsa - Middle School Girls Wrestling, John Bartello - Middle School Girls Wrestling, and Kory Staff - Middle School Boys Basketball
Middle School After School Program Second Semester Teachers: Molly Ramirez, Michelle Weigand, Carla Coates, Kristen Ebel, Leti Babinat, Amy Stotts, and Paula Graves
Judges for Speech Contest (January 21, 2023): Morgan McFate, Regina Gill, Mary Fasse-Shaw, Jo Irvin, Jon Huebner, Mikaela Reth, Debbie Iverson, Missy Jesina, Emily Friedman, Payton Jaeger, Micki Stonewall, Sarah Gilchrist, and Jeff Emrich
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Wiese to approve the first reading of the following policies: Policy 103 - Long-Range Needs Assessment, Policy 400.01 - Equal Employment Opportunity, Policy 500 - Objectives for Equal Education Opportunities for Students, Policy 502.01 - Student Conduct and Discipline, and Policy 502.01 R1 - Suspension. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second Wiese to approve the ISG invoice in the amount of $137,937.50 for schematic design. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Wiese, second by Werner to approve the ISG invoice in the amount of $52,734.3.8 for design and development. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Werner to approve the Christie Door Company estimate in the amount of $5,290.00 to make repairs to existing doors and install a new door at the maintenance shop at the new middle school location. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Wiese, second by Tyynismaa to approve the middle school writing teacher position for the 2023-2024 school year. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Wiese to approve the School Budget Review Committee application request for modified supplemental amount of $268,239 for the At-Risk and Drop Out Prevention Program. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Tyynismaa, second by Werner to appoint Mandy Lekin as the STC School Board representative for the Tama County Conference Board. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Motion by Werner, second by Wiese to approve the change of sign-on bonuses from over three/four years to over two years. All Ayes. The motion carried.
Mr. Schweppe gave a presentation on elementary school. He is happy and pleased with the direction the elementary school is headed. At the elementary, the staff has been working on recovering learning loss from COVID. Currently there are 592 students in the elementary, with approximately 100 students per grade level. Growth is measured with FAST reading and math proficiency. The elementary building has a goal of 500 or less student behavior referrals. Thus far in the school year, they have had 213 student behavior referrals.
Mr. Cain gave a middle school update based upon the budget information provided from ISG at the work session on January 11th. The Board requested financials with the Bond/Middle School Project be updated and reviewed at each meeting.
Mrs. Mathern reviewed the upcoming 2023-2024 budget timeline with the Board and stated the budget will be discussed at the Board level over the next several meetings.
Mrs. Mathern reviewed the organization of the Board agenda/board packet and suggested using a Google Doc and linking in the documents associated with the agenda within the actual agenda. The current method and this new method will be provided for the next meeting to get Board feedback.
Mr. Cain and President Lekin reviewed the District’s Strategic Plan. The Board and Administration are currently focusing on Anchor 2: Guarantee Exceptional Learning Opportunities with negotiations occurring in the next month or so and Anchor 3: Emphasize Data and Measure Progress is showing in the classrooms, with staff and the Board using this data for decision making.
Superintendent Cain showed the Board posters that were created of students who have experienced great achievements. These posters will hang in the school buildings and also throughout businesses in the community. Superintendent Cain reviewed topics that will be taken to legislation and encouraged Board members to reach out to legislators on topics affecting public schools. On February 6th, there will be a SIAC meeting at the beginning of the Board meeting.
Motion by Wise, second by Tyynismaa to adjourn the meeting at 7:06 p.m. All Ayes.
Mandy Lekin, Board President Katie Mathern, Board Secretary