EACSD Board of Directors holds annual re-organizational meeting
by Susan Cantine-Maxson
The annual meeting of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD was held at Kee High School in Lansing Monday, September 19. Since this was the annual organizational meeting of the school board in addition to being the regular board meeting, election of officers took place. Heather Schulte was elected board president. Bobbie Goetzinger was elected vice-president.
Goetzinger will also serve as the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) delegate and the Legislative Action Network (LAN) representative for the 2016-17 school year. Check signing authority and deposit authority was authorized for Heather Schulte, Bruce Palmborg, Janet Heiderscheit and Marian Verdon, and the new athletic director when that person is hired.
The following business items were discussed and acted upon:
The junior high football program was discussed at length in regard to the need for a second paid coach and compensation this year for the person who has filled in as a second coaching position. The volunteer who was helping could no longer do it because coaching endorsements are required. In the past the junior high football program has had two coaches. The Board directed Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier to post the position and then pro-rate this year’s salary to 50% of the position. The Board approved a second junior high football coach for the 2017-18 season.
Ethan Ivey reviewed the band/vocal trip itinerary with the Board and answered questions. The Board approved the overnight trip for the band and vocal departments to Minneapolis, MN March 16-17, 2017. They will be going to Chanhassen Theatre, Mall of America and St. Olaf College.
The administration and Board discussed the need to replace the boiler at the old middle school. A new comparable boiler quote from Winona Controls, Inc. would be approximately $132,000. A forced air furnace quote for the gym and the downstairs classrooms would not exceed $41,401 from Tri-State Heating and AC plus Mauss Electric's proposal of $2,679.77 for wiring. The Board approved the not to exceed quote of $41,401 from Tri-State Heating and Mauss Electric for wiring. The middle school gym would have a roof-top unit that would include air conditioning and the first floor classrooms would have two smaller units that have the capabilities to have the air conditioning added at a later date.
Personnel contract requests were approved for Chad Steckel for fall drivers education instructor: Lisa Steckel for assistant girls varsity basketball coach, Patrick Wagner for junior high girls basketball coach. The resignation of Chad Steckel as activities director was also approved by the Board.
Several annual reports for fiscal year 2016 were received and filed, including the annual transportation report, the certified annual report, and the special education supplement for FY 2016.
The Board approved the resolution for additional allowable growth Supplemental Education Services (SES) deficit. This requests additional allowable growth and supplemental aid payment as calculated by the Department of Management for a negative special education balance on the 2016 SES.
The Board also approved the purchase of Lexia Core 5 software for $5,600 using Microsoft Money. This software will be used in the elementary school to develop fundamental reading skills.
New Albin Elementary School Principal Chad Steckel reviewed the math program that is being used in New Albin Elementary. He also informed the Board that reading assessments for students this year would be varied and different than last year, so evaluation will be more difficult. The students who had good attendance at summer school didn’t have a backslide in reading, suggesting that those students who are not proficient need to be attending the summer school program. Steckel said a huge thank you to the New Albin NAIL group for the extra school materials that was purchased with their donation.
Kee Middle School and High School Principal Mary Hogan informed the Board that the FFA National Convention trip to Indianapolis would be on the agenda next month, and she also gave an update on ALICE training. A team met with Amy Holst from Keystone to review and prepare curriculum. Hogan advised that the team will provide age-appropriate curriculum to all grade levels regarding how to respond and defend in the case of an intruder situation. High school students will use videos as part of the training and a round-table discussion with students will be used to generate scenarios for classroom discussions. At the middle school level, teams of teachers are being trained in literacy strategies to generate multi-tier systems of support for students.
Superintendent Crozier reported to the Board that the property owner next the Fitness Center has contacted the district about building a garage next to the retaining wall between the two properties. At the district’s request, Roger Mohn outlined five options for stabilizing the retaining wall if the garage was built by the property owner.
School funding information was presented to the Board on the inequity of transportation costs for small schools. Dr. Crozier reported that enrollment for 2016-2017 would be down approximately five students and projected that for the 2017-2018 school year the senior class graduates 44 with only 14 incoming kindergarten students. Fewer students translate into less State revenue and creates the concern of using more unspent budget authority. The district will consider options to optimize programs, increase efficiency and reduce expenses for implementation in the future.
