Board Minutes - 2023.03.30 - ITA EXCHANGE

Independence Community School Board

Special Meeting

March 30, 2023

                                                                              

Public meetings were held at the Administration Office,1207 1^st St West, Independence, IA, starting at 4:00 pm on March 30, 2023.  Attending:   Sue Henry, ITA Chief Negotiator; Paul Upmeyer, Kelci Jahnel, Director of Finance Morine, and Board President Hansen. Vice President Gina Trimble joined via Zoom.  Supt Reiter was out of the district.

FIRST MEETING:

Sue Henry from the Independence Teacher’s Association (ITA) presented an opening statement. The ITA believes that public money is for public schools only.  The ITA then presented their initial proposal to the Independence Community School Board for the 2023-24.  

The ITA’s initial proposal stated:

• An interest in continuing to develop a compensation system which attracts and retains quality employees and recognized the ever-changing school environment while staying within district budget constraints.
• An interest in continuing to develop a compensation system which advances the salaries for the sponsors and coaches for extra and co-curricular activities in order to attract and retain employees.
• An interest in participating in training for Interest Based Problem Solving (IBIS) designed to address mutual needs and concerns while fostering and maintaining respectful communications among the parties.
• An interest in protecting and preserving teaching and planning time within the school day to better serve students.

SECOND MEETING: (held immediately following the first)

Board President Hansen presented the district’s opening statement.

Board initial proposal to the Independence Teacher’s Association (ITA):

• An interest in continuing to development of a salary compensation model that attracts and retains the finest educators and professionals while staying within today’s budgetary constraints. 
• An interest in continuing to develop a compensation model that is fair and appropriately compensates sponsors and coaches for extra and co-curricular activities.
• An interest in participating in the “Interest Based Problem Solving” (IBPS) process to address mutual concerns among both parties. We believe that by working together and gaining a shared experience, we can continue to build trust and maintain a respectful working relationship.

The committee set the next meeting date for April 12^th at 5:00 pm.  Meeting ended at 5:20 pm. Full disclosure of all the initial proposal documents may be reviewed at the Administration Office.

 

_____________________________                    ___________________________________

Kim Hansen                                                     Laura Morine

Board Chair                                                     Director of Finance/Board Secretary