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Regular Meeting A regular meeting of the Independence Community School Board was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chair Eric Smith at the Administration Office, Independence, Iowa on March 15, 2021. Board members present: Eric Smith, Kim Hansen, Matt O’Loughlin, Jennifer Sornson and Gina Trimble. Also attending: Superintendent Reiter, Board Secretary Morine, building administrators and Jenna Cooksley. Due to the CDC’s social distancing recommendations in-person attendance was limited to the School Board members, administrators and presenter. Members of the public were able to view the meeting via a live stream on the Independence Community School’s Facebook page. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. APPROVAL OF AGENDA – Sornson moved to approve the agenda, Trimble second, motion carried 5-0. CONSIDERATION OF ACTION ON CONSENT ITEMS – Trimble moved to approve the consent items. Hansen second, motion carried 5-0. A. Approval of the minutes of the public hearing and regular meeting on February 15, 2021. B. Approval of Board Policies (*changes noted) Second Readings: |
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C. Approval of Resignations |
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D. Approval of New Hires (pending acceptable background checks) |
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E. Approval of Financial Reports 1. Bills – Director Smith reviewed the bills – Sornson - April 2. Budget Report |
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ANNOUNCEMENTS, COMMUNICATIONS and PRESENTATIONS A. Comments from the Public. None. B. Comments from the Board/Superintendent – Smith, Hansen and Sornson stated they were judges for the District FFA Contest that the chapter hosted this past weekend and all were impressed with the organization and talent of the students. Congratulations to those members that participated in the District FFA contest and also the students that participated in the State Speech Contest. Sornson wanted to thank the Buchanan Co Public Health and all the organizations that helped with the COVID vaccinations this past Friday, as it was such a smooth process. Superintendent Reiter also thanked Public Health for the clinics and working with the schools to schedule the vaccinations for Fridays. There will be one more clinic to finalize the second round. The annual budget will be published in this week’s paper with a public hearing on March 29th at 6:00 pm at the Administration Office. The school’s tax rate will have a significant drop from $15.14 to $13.92. The decrease is due mainly to refinancing the bonds and a decrease in the management levy. Reiter and Morine have been working on a tentative budget for the ESSER II funds. The ESSER III funds could be significant, so reseach will be done into possibly upgrading ventilation and air filtration systems. For the March 29th meeting, a walk thru of the West Construction project will start at 5:30, followed by public hearing at 6 pm and a zoom meeting with Nick Brown from Becker & Associations on health insurance. C. Presentations 1. English Language Learners (ELL) Program – Jenna Cooksley and Erin Burmeister REPORTS A. Building Administrator Reports 1. Junior-Senior High School Principal 2. Junior-Senior High School Assistant Principal 3. West Elementary Principal 4. East Elementary/Early Childhood Center Principal B. District Director Reports 1. Activities Director Report 2. Director of School Improvement Report 3. Director of Technology Report 4. Director of Food Service Report 5. Director of Buildings & Grounds Report 6. Director of Transportation Report OLD BUSINESS A. Return to Learn Plan Update – The district is starting to adjust integrating students in to larger cohorts. Monday, March 15th was the districts first virtual learning day due to weather. Information will be gathered to see how it went. B. Review East/West Elementary Construction Project – Currently construction is a bit ahead of schedule. The new band room is taking shape as well as the locker rooms. Smith asked that the board recognize that change orders will need to be approved by the board and he hopes that we can schedule some virtual meetings on the first Mondays of the month as needed, in addition to the regular board meetings. NEW BUSINESS A. Consider Approval of the Cooperative Agreement by and between University of Northern Iowa and Cooperating Educational Agencies for the 2021-2022 Academic Year – Sornson moved to approve the Cooperative Agreement by and between University of Northern Iowa and Cooperating Educational Agencies for the 2021-2022 Academic Year. O’Loughlin second, motion carried 5-0. B. Consider Approval of the Agreement of Service between Timberline Billing Service and Independence Community School District for the term of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2024 – Trimble moved to approve the Agreement of Service between Timberline Billing Service and Independence Community School District for the term of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2024. Sornson second, motion carried 5-0. C. Consider Approval of the Purchase of Acer Chromebooks from CDWG for 2021-2022 – Hansen moved to approve the Purchase of Acer Chromebooks from CDWG for 2021-2022. Trimble second, motion carried 5-0. ADJOURNMENT – O’Loughlin moved to adjourn the regular meeting. Trimble second, motion carried 5-0. Meeting was adjourned at 6:35 pm. Exempt Session The board discussed negotiation strategies. Session ended at 7:45 pm.
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