ACSD Board of Directors addresses variety of matters during recent series of special and regular sessions
by Brianne Eilers
The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors has held a series of special and regular sessions within the past week or so, addressing a variety of matters. Coverage of all sessions appears below.
DECEMBER 28 WORK
The ACSD Board met for a work session Thursday morning, December 28 for a conference call with Grundmeyer Leadership Search to discuss the district's superintendent search. The board also met briefly with Waterville Mayor Dave Monserud regarding preservation of Waterville School memorabilia.
Monserud is working with an advisory committee to form a plan to preserve and display the memorabilia. More details on the plan will be available in future editions of The Standard.
JANUARY 5 SPECIAL
The ACSD Board also met for a special meeting Friday morning, January 5. The board accepted the resignation of nine teachers due to early retirement at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. Ben Rausch and Ken West were hired as driver's education instructors for the spring season. John Fretham was also hired as a high school social studies teacher for the remainder of the 2017-2018 school year, having taken the place for the late Dave Schoeberlein.
The board also approved Sunday practices for the boys basketball team and bowling teams, if needed. The board also adopted a resolution supporting the Iowa Public Employee's Retirement System (IPERS), as well as a resolution of confidentiality.
JANUARY 15 REGULAR
The ACSD Board met for its regular session Monday night, January 15. During the Superintendent's Report, ACSD Superintendent Dave Herold informed the board that the district received a $1,000 donation from Norplex. Herold noted that this is the sixth year in a row that the district has received the donation, which is designated for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities. Herold thanked Norplex for its generosity, and said that donations like this allow for schools to have equipment and programs that can help students be ready to enter the workforce.
Herold then moved on to the subject of making up missed school days. He said that the district has missed four days out of this school year so far. He noted there are two make-up days that are built in to the school calendar, but they will still have to make up a few more hours to reach the required 1,080 hours of attendance.
Herold also noted that the district will need to use all the available days during the summer break in order to get classrooms switched around and get the teachers moved to the schools in Waukon from Waterville Elementary School. They will also need to allow for time to get items ready to sell from the Waterville Elementary School. Herold made a point to note that any Waterville memorabilia will not be included in items for sale. He asked for a special meeting to be held February 6 to discuss make-up days and other issues, including voluntary transfers of staff.
East and West Elementary Schools Principal Joe Griffith gave his update to the board regarding the progress of the Student/Parent Transition Committee in regard to the closing of Waterville Elementary School. Griffith explained that surveys had been sent home to Waterville parents with their students this past Friday. The survey is to help guide the efforts of the transition committee. Griffith also informed the board that students in Pre-Kindergarten through second grades will be taking a trip to Luther College in Decorah in the near future to see a live performance of "Nugget and Fang."
Waukon Middle School Principal Jennifer Garin noted that the Middle School held an award ceremony for the end of the first semester of the school year. She noted that students participated in the Patriot's Pen essay contest awards ceremony January 9 at the Vet's Club in Waukon and that seventh and eighth grade boys basketball are "in full swing." She also noted that practice for the spring play "Cooking Can Be Murder" is underway. The performance is scheduled for Friday, March 2.
Waukon High School Activities Director Brian Hilsabeck informed the board that he is putting together information for a proposal on an annual golf tournament in the name of former high school teacher, the late Dave Schoeberlein. He said he should have the information for the board's approval at its next regular meeting.
Waukon High School Principal Dr. Mike Hardy announced that Waukon High School student Sean Liddiard is among the finalists for the Iowa Voice of Democracy contest. Dr. Hardy said that if Liddiard would win the state competition, he will then go on to Washington D.C. and would be the first student from Waukon High School to do so. He also reported that the house project being built by Waukon High School Construction class students is moving along.
During the Curriculum Report, Gretchen DeVore discussed the most recent professional development day. During the Buildings and Grounds report, department head Bill Hennessy noted that the heating systems have been keeping up during the cold weather. He also noted that they have been compiling a list of summer projects, and he will be meeting with architects on the upcoming electrical project and the East Elementary kitchen project.
During the Technology report, director Shawn Gordon said that they will be collecting data from surveys of parents, students and staff. The principals and technology leads from each of the buildings will also be looking at software needs for next year.
During the Foodservice Report, Julie Magner said that 2018 has started out well for her department. Transportation Director Randy Nordheim noted that they have also had a good beginning to 2018, with little or no issues with buses starting or fuel problems in the recent cold weather. He praised the drivers for being diligent with using the fuel additives to prevent those problems.
During the 21st Century report, Barb Winters-Kelly highlighted the Fishing Club and Cross Stitch Club. She noted that members of the Cross Stitch Club made gifts for family for Christmas. She also noted that while the Fishing Club has had to cancel events, they are hoping to get a fishing trip in soon.
During the Communications time in the meeting, the board was presented with a mileage report. The report, compiled by Pat Klinge, notes that from July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017, mileage for a total of five suburbans, a car and a van totaled 13,099 miles. The district has traded one of these vehicle off and two of the suburbans were new as of December 11, 2017.
Herold then spoke about the Needs Assessment that was done with the help of the Iowa Association of School Boards. The results of the 2017-2018 IASB Needs Assessment are available to the public on the ACSD website. Herold noted that the results are representative of peoples' perceptions and opinions. Surveys were completed by teachers, staff, students, parents and community members. The results of this survey can help the district see how staff, students, parents and community members feel on a variety of topics and what topics they feel are important or they feel the district should be giving more attention to.
Herold also spoke on the Iowa School Report Card results. These results will also be available on the district website. Results are also available on the Iowa School Report Card website. Herold briefly touched on the East, Waterville, Middle School and High School report cards. He noted that they are unable to rate West Elementary, but there is still a data page for West. East Elementary is rated as "acceptable", Waterville Elementary is rated as "high performance", the Middle School is rated as "commendable" and the High School is rated as "acceptable."
Traci Byrnes, Kelli Olson and Michelle Pladsen gave the Teacher Leader Compensation (TLC) report. They discussed the different aspects of the TLC program, how teachers learn from other teachers and some of the tools they use and some of the projects and programs that the students have been involved in.
Under New Business, the board accepted the resignation of Randy Nordheim from his Transportation Director position, due to retirement, effective June 30, 2018. Superintendent Herold thanked Nordheim for his work and noted that there are other transportation entities in the community that will also miss him. The board also accepted the resignation of Amanda Eggerichs from her elementary teaching position, effective at the end of the 2017-2018 school year.
The board approved the involuntary transfer of Lisa VanderKolk from her current Waterville Elementary position to Kindergarten at West Elementary for the 2018-2019 school year. They also approved the involuntary transfer of Amanda Voight from her current position at Waterville Elementary to Second Grade at West Elementary for the 2018-2019 school year. The board also approved the involuntary transfer of Julie Connor from her current position at Waterville Elementary to Third Grade at East Elementary for the 2018-2019 school year. Bryce Bahr was also approved as a substitute bus driver, pending meeting all requirements.
The board then approved an Early Retirement Agreement with Superintendent Herold. After he retires - effective June 30 of this year, Herold has agreed that in exchange for two years of single health monthly insurance, he will provide consultations to the new superintendent and district; however, Herold noted that he will not be making any decisions. He said he could also consult on Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) matters, Wellness Center matters and agreements with the City of Waukon.
The board approved pre-school tuition rates for the 2018-2019 school year. The rate will stay the same as last year's rate: $1,400.70 for the school year. In a letter to the school board, Principal Griffith noted that the fee is not enough to eliminate the need to have additional funding from the district, but he said he did not feel comfortable asking for more from preschool families.
The board approved PIC and Contracted Classes for the second semester. The board also approved a bid from Turf and Landscape for $14,348.39 for an irrigation system. Hennessy noted that they have worked with this company before and he felt they do good work. The final matter of the meeting was to approve a Sunday field trip for State FBLA matters.
