Highlights From The September 24th Board Meeting

Below are highlights of the September 24th Board of Education meeting.
Please remember, these are just highlights and should not be considered the official minutes.

During the work session, Associate Superintendent Nathan Wear presented a report highlighting student achievement data from the 2017-18 school year. The district’s FAST Assessment scores, Iowa Assessment proficiency, and NWEA Assessment metrics were all shared with the board. “Our teachers are doing fantastic work and we have students performing at a high level of proficiency,” Wear stated. “We need to help teachers use this data in a meaningful way and look at what impactful practices we can implement moving forward.” Wear also indicated that administrators are working with the Technology Department to create a data warehouse to store the information.

Chief Financial/Operating Officer J.T. Anderson reviewed district financials for the 2018 fiscal year and provided a complete financial summary for each of the district’s governmental and proprietary funds. The overview included revenue, expenditures and ending balance.

The metrics reviewed by Associate Superintendent Wear and CFO Anderson can be viewed in the meeting’s combined exhibits.

Before concluding the work session, Board Secretary J.T. Anderson presented information from the Linn County Board of Supervisors regarding the canvass of votes for the bond campaign. A total of 8,248 votes were cast in the special election held September 11th. There were a total of 5,470 yes votes (66.32%) and a total of 2,777 no votes (33.67%). This year’s election saw 2,399 more ballots cast than the 2017 special election and, most importantly, 2,382 more yes votes cast! The district thanks everyone for their efforts in supporting the bond campaign. Superintendent Bisgard discussed the district’s next steps with the passage of the bond indicating that work has already begun to design and develop the two 5th-6th grade intermediate buildings.

During the annual meeting, Sondra Nelson was elected Board President for a one-year term and George AbouAssaly was elected Vice President, also for a one-year term.

   

 

Additional appointments approved by the Board of Education:
• J.T. Anderson, COO/CFO, as Board Secretary/Treasurer
• Karla Christian, Chief Human Resources Officer/Executive Director of Public Relations, as Metro Interagency Insurance Program Representative

The board also approved the following:
• 2017-18 Certified Annual Report
• 2017-18 Depository Banks’ Affidavit Reports
• FY18 SBRC Allowable Growth Request – Special Education deficit
• FY18 SBRC Allowable Growth Request – Limited English Proficiency deficit
• Board Operations Manual
• 2018-19 Board Meeting Dates
• Designation of Board Representatives to District Committees/Advisories
• Board Legal Council
• Designation of Depository Banks for FY2019
• Approval of Architect for the 5th-6th grade intermediate buildings project (OPN Architects)

President Nelson read a letter from Board Member Bob Anderson announcing his resignation from the board. The board shared words of thanks to Mr. Anderson for his service to the district and wished him well in his new endeavors. Information on applying for the vacant board seat is available on the district website. Applications are due by 4:00 PM on Friday, October 12th.

The next board meeting will be held on Monday, October 8th at 5:00 PM. To view the full agenda and exhibits, visit the Board/Policy website.