Glenwood Community School District
Public Hearing, Special Meeting &Work Session of the Board of Directors Central Office Conference Room - 103 Central, 3rd Floor, Glenwood, IA 51534 Monday March 25, 2024
Public Hearing – 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm
The public hearing for the FY25 Proposed Property Tax Levy began at 5:30 p.m. Several comments from the community members in attendance were received. Tad McDowell, Kris Thompson, Christopher Ferreti, Cindy Morrical, Ann Staiert, Nicholas Cook, Jay Anderson, Mark Hughes, and Darin Mellor all spoke to share their respective views.
Special Meeting
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Call to Order, Roll Call &Agenda Approval – President Matt Portrey called the Special Meeting to Order at 6:00 p.m. Upon roll call the following Board of Education (BOE) members responded as being present: Matt Portrey, John Zak, Elizabeth Richardson, Kellie Stewart, and Tony Winton. J Zak made a motion to amend and approve the agenda. E Richardson seconded the motion. All voted “aye”. Motion carried.
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Consideration of Action on Consent Items – K Stewart made a motion to approve the consent agenda including items 2A through 2H. T Winton seconded the motion. All voted “aye”. Motion carried.
2A. Approval of Board Policies - Second Reading Approvals:
POLICY #
DESCRIPTION
500.16
Truancy-Unexcused Absences
500.16E1
Letter to Parent/Guardian(s) Regarding Attendance
500.16E2
Attendance Cooperation Agreement
500.16E3
Compulsory Attendance Medication Agreement
505.4
Graduation Requirements
506
Parent and Family Engagement Title I
2B. New Hires - Contingent upon completion of pre-employment requirements &favorable background check results
NAME
POSITION
SALARY
Elias Belt
Building Custodian (Pending High School Diploma)
$14.50 per hour
John Corcoran
Summer Mower
$12.00 per hour
Hailey Crawford
BSP Associate
$14.00 per hour
Sophia Kohls
$59,188.40 (23-24)
Contingent upon receipt &review of official transcripts
Sophia Kohls
Business Professionals of America
$2,900 (23-24)
Hannah Smith
Teacher (CADRE)
CADRE Teacher - No Salary
Zachary Spieler
Summer Mower
$12.00 per hour
2C. Transfers
NAME
FROM / TO
WAGE
Terry Hirst
From Building Custodian @ Middle School to Lead Custodian @ West
$15.50 per hour
Eric Johnson
From 3:00 - 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 - 10:00 p.m.
No Change
Mariana Watson
From Student Worker to Childcare Associate
$11.50 per hour
2D. Separation from District - Coaching positions are contingent upon finding a suitable replacement.
NAME
POSITION
REASON
DATE
Ekho Backes
Substitute Nurse
Resignation
March 4, 2024
Jeffrey Mitts
Auditorium Coordinator
Resignation
June 30, 2024
Marcus Parker
Building Custodian
Resignation
March 13, 2024
Meagan Quinlan
Accompanist
Termination
March 18, 2024
Dan Schoening
Teacher
Retirement
End of 2023-2024 SY
Marisa Schoening
Bus Associate
Resignation
March 7, 2024
Jerry Schumacher
Teacher
Resignation
End of 2023-2024 SY
Reagan Whitehill
CADRE Teacher
Resignation
End of 2023-2024 SY
Alex Williams
Middle School Girls Wrestling Coach
Resignation
End of 2023-2024 SY
NAME
DISTRICT REQUESTED
REASON
RESIDENT DISTRICT
APPROVE OR DENY
FUNDED
Zander B.
Shenandoah
Glenwood
Approve
Yes
2F. Approval of Financial Reports
Approval of financial reports as of February 29, 2024.
2G. Fundraising Requests
GROUP
DESCRIPTION
PURPOSE
AMOUNT
DATES
Northeast
Elementary
American Heart
Association
Biannual fundraiser for the American Heart
Association
AMAP
March 12 - April 10,
2024
6H. Out of State and Overnight Travel
REQUESTED BY
ACTIVITY
DESTINATION
DEPARTURE DATE
RETURN DATE
Shamani Langille
Worlds Robotics Tournament
Dallas, TX
04/27/2024
04/30/2024
Heidi Stanley
Worlds Robotics Tournament
Dallas, TX
04/27/2024
04/30/2024
Ericka Lang
Teaching &Learning Conference
New Orleans, LA
10/26/2024
10/29/2024
Tami Bertini
Teaching &Learning Conference
New Orleans, LA
10/26/2024
10/29/2024
Megan Sheeder
Teaching &Learning Conference
New Orleans, LA
10/26/2024
10/29/2024
Eric Rasmussen
Teaching &Learning Conference
New Orleans, LA
10/26/2024
10/29/2024
Chris Visser
Kansas Relays
Lawrence, KS
04/19/2024
04/20/2024
Chris Visser
Drake Relays
Des Moines, IA
04/25/2024
04/27/2024
Chris Visser
State Track
Des Moines, IA
05/15/2024
05/18/2024
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Announcements and Communications
3A. Comments from Public – Board Policy 204.11 – Public Participation in Board Meetings
Several comments from the community members in attendance were received on a variety of topics including: the Proposed Revenue Bond, the March 5, 2024, Revenue Purpose Statement vote, Kids Place and the community support for the school district. Dave Warren, Derrica Hutchings, and Brittany Rockwell spoke favorably. Tad McDowell, Nicholas Cook and Matt Codney spoke unfavorably.
3B. Comments from Board of Education – Board of Education members made comments on a number of topics including thanking all in attendance for investing the time to attend, the March 5, 2024, RPS vote, requested improvements for the district website, prioritizing working together as a community for the benefit of all GCSD students. Additionally Social Media use by the community was addressed. The BOE requested that social media posts be kept focused on issues, positive in nature, solution oriented, and to please stop grandstanding, bullying, and making personal attacks on BOE directors and GCSD staff.
3C. Legislative Update – Superintendent Dr. Embray provided an update on recent legislative activity.
3D. Presentations –
Chief Financial Officer Tim Reinert provided a presentation on the FY25 proposed property tax levy, components of the school district property tax rate, the city consolidated tax rate and the new certified budget twostep process.
Nutrition Director Terry Marlow gave a presentation on the Community Eligibility Provision program.
3E. GRC Campus Update – Superintendent Dr. Embray provided an update on the GRC Campus closing.
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New Business
4A. Approval to set a Public Hearing for April 8, 2024, for Issuing a $5M Revenue Bond
K Stewart made a motion for approval to set a Public Hearing on April 8, 2024, for consideration of Issuing a
$5M Revenue Bond utilizing Sales Tax Revenue funding as presented. E Richardson seconded the motion. J Zak voted “aye”. T Winton, E Richardson, K Stewart, and M Portrey voted “Nay”. Motion failed 1 to 4.
A new motion was made by K Stewart to set a new Public Hearing on April 15,2024, to create a new revenue bond for constructing a building for programming on the GRC campus, less Kids Place childcare. T Winton seconded the motion. T Winton, E Richardson, K Stewart, and M Portrey voted “Aye”. J Zak voted “Nay” Motion carried 4-1.
4B. Approval to Levy Tax for Prepayment of General Obligation Bond
J Zak made a motion for approval to levy tax for partial early optional redemption of GCSD General Obligation School Refunding Bonds, Series 2020, on the first call date of May 1, 2025. The levy will be a portion of the proposed FY25 Budget that will be discussed and approved at the April 23, 2024, Special Board Meeting and Work Section. The lower debt service levy will be realized in the fiscal year 2026budget year. T Winton seconded the motion. All voted “aye”. Motion carried.
4C. Approval to Accept Bids from Western Iowa Network for
E Richardson made a motion for approval to accept bids from Western Iowa Network for broadband service as presented. K Stewart seconded the motion. All voted “aye”. Motion carried.
Work Session
FAST Benchmark Assessment Data - Administrators Ashlie Salazar, Julie McMullen, Kara Huisman, and Heidi Stanley gave a presentation on the Winter 2024 FAST Benchmark Assessment Results.
Winter Activity Surveys – Activities Director Jeff Bissen gave a presentation on the Winter High School Activities Survey Results with data from Students, Parents and Coaches.
Closed Session
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A. Closed Session
T Winton made a motion to go into Closed Session to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose performance is being considered to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation, as that individual has requested a closed session, as provided in Section 21.5(1)(i). K Stewart seconded the motion. Matt Portrey, John Zak, Elizabeth Richardson, K Stewart, and T Winton all voted “aye” to move to Closed Session.
The Board of Education went into Closed Session at 8:57 p.m. 5B. Return to Open Session
K Stewart made a motion to return to Open Session. T Winton seconded the motion. Matt Portrey, John Zak,
Elizabeth Richardson, K Stewart, and T Winton all voted “aye” to return to Open Session.
The Board of Education returned to Open Session at 10:17 p.m. 5C. Action
The Board of Education accepted Dr. Devin Embray’s retirement effective June 30, 2024.
Adjournment
As there was no further business to come before the Board at this time, a motion was made by J Zak and seconded by E Richardson to adjourn the meeting at 10:25 p.m. All voted “aye”. Motion carried.