EACSD Board of Directors approves variety of personnel matters, hears Superintendent’s concerns with district’s Financial Health Report

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) Board of Directors held its regular meeting Monday, November 10 at Kee High School in Lansing. All board members were present, including Heather Lutz, Director District #2; Vice-President Joe Manning, At-Large Board Member; Tommy Martin, Director District #1; Melanie Mauss, At-Large Board Member; and President Arla Wagner, Director District #3. Also in attendance were Superintendent Jay Mathis, Board Secretary/Financial Clerk Michele Martin, Grades PK-12 Principal Donna Thomas, Special Education Director/Associate Principal Liz Hill, and Technology Director Dave Ellefson.

The meeting agenda was approved, and there were no public comments received during that portion of the meeting. The board further approved the consent agenda, which included previous meeting minutes, bills, the secretary’s financial report, the student activity report, the food service report, and the district’s student teaching agreement with Northwestern College.

BOARD POLICIES
A second and final reading of a large set of board policies - including policies in the 300, 400, 500, 700, and 700 series - was approved. A first reading of additional board policies, covering topics in several other sections was also approved.

Superintendent Mathis explained after the meeting that districts pay the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) for their policy recommendations. All policies are to be reviewed no less than every five years. IASB sends out quarterly policy primers where they look for outdated information. In addition, a list of policies is sent out to districts each summer that need to be revised to reflect legislation changes.

Mathis stated, “IASB reviewed Eastern Allamakee’s policies and recommended updates to hundreds of them, so I have been working to bring them up-to-date. Board policy states that each revision gets two separate readings prior to adoption.”

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