Minutes - 2020.05.11

May 11, 2020

 

The Board of Directors of the Webster City Community School District in the counties of Hamilton, Webster and Wright, State of Iowa, met in regular session, via ZOOM Meeting, Monday, May 11, 2020, in the School Administration Building, Webster City, Iowa.

ITEM 1. – Call to Order – The Board Vice President called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m.

ITEM 2. – Roll Call – Members answering roll call were Mr. Patterson, Mr. Stroner, Mr. Pruismann and Ms. Williams.  Also present, via ZOOM, were members of the media and other interested parties.  Ms. Van Diest was absent.

ITEM 3. – Approval of Agenda – It was moved by Mr. Pruismann, seconded by Mr. Stroner, to approve the agenda with three additions.  Motion carried.

ITEM 4. – Open Comment to the Board – There were none.

ITEM 5. – The month of May is School Board Appreciation Month.  Ms. Hildebrand told the Board that their certificates of appreciation were emailed to them, and she thanked them for their service.  Dr. Ross also thanked the Board for their hard work and dedication to make our District better. 

ITEM 6. – Discussion Items

  1. Tentative 2020-2021 Graduation List - Dr. Ross presented the Board with the tentative graduation list of 117 seniors for the class of 2020.  A motion was made by Ms. Williams, seconded by Mr. Pruismann, to approve the list of 2020 graduates.  Motion carried.

ITEM 7. – Action Items

  1. Principal and Interest Payment Authorization – A motion was made by Mr. Pruismann, seconded by Mr. Stroner , to approve a principal and interest payment in the amount of $886,681.26.  Motion carried.
  2. Propane Bids – A motion was made by Mr. Pruismann, seconded by Mr. Stroner, to approve the Propane Bid by Innovative Ag Services for 2020-2021 school year.  Motion carried.
  3. Non-Bargaining Salaries – A motion was made by Ms. Williams, seconded by Mr. Stroner, to approve the Non-Bargaining salaries for 2020-2021 school year.  Motion carried.
  4. 2020-2021 Lunch Prices – A motion was made by Mr. Stroner, seconded by Mr. Pruismann, to approve the 2020-2021 lunch prices as presented.  Motion carried.
  5. 2020-2021 Student Fees – A motion was made by Ms. Williams, seconded by Mr. Stroner, to approve the 2020-2021 student fees as presented.  Motion carried.
  6. June and July, 2020 Board Meeting Dates – A motion was made by Ms. Williams, seconded by Mr. Stroner, to approve June 8, 2020 and July 13, 2020 Board Meeting Dates.  Motion carried.

ITEM 8. - Personnel

  1. Contract Recommendations - A motion was made by Mr. Pruismann, seconded by Ms. Williams, to approve the following:
    • Recommendation for Marsha Halbach, 5th Grade; Danyell Artley, Hamilton High Teacher; C.J. Clabaugh, 5-12 Language Arts/Social Studies Instructional Coach; and Carrie Turner, Regional Business Office Accountant.
    • Resignation of Lance Baetsle, High School Science; Tiffany Landrum, ELL; Sarah Holm, 2nd Grade, Middle School Track, 8th Girls Basketball; Elise Kesten, Middle School Vocal Music; Diane Riedemann, Preschool; Brandi Martin, Sunset Heights Para/Secretary.

Motion carried.

ITEM 9. – Other

  1. Item from Dr. Ross
    • Dr. Ross reported she and Dan Johnson, High School Principal, have met with seniors to discuss graduation.  Tentative plans are to hold a traditional graduation on June 28th or July 26th
    • Plans are in process for vinyl banners with pictures of each graduate and would be displayed on 2nd Street prior to graduation.
    • Mr. Johnson and the high school staff are working on a “virtual” awards ceremony which will be aired on WCTV on May 19th.
    • Dr. Ross reported incoming calls have been returned back to each building.  When the public calls a building, someone at that building will be answering the call instead of someone at the Administration Building.
    • The Administration Building has started summer hours.  The building is open Monday through Thursday and closed on Fridays.
    • Dr. Ross attended a Zoom meeting with the Iowa Department of Education on Friday explaining the “Return to Learn” plan that has to be submitted to the DE by July 1st.  The administrative team is starting to look at options.  The plan will be presented to the Board in June.  The Board may need to amend the school calendar as part of that plan.
  2. Items from the Board
    • Mr. Stroner reported the Legion will be taping their Memorial Day Celebration and it will be played on KQWC and suggested a similar plan could be used for senior graduation?
    • Mr. Pruismann suggested we look into putting decals on our bleachers for fall sports to address social distancing.  Those in attendance would only be allowed to sit where the decals are.
    • Mr. Stroner asked if there were any updates from the Governor.  Dr. Ross reported there have been no school related updates at this time.

ITEM 10. – Consent Items – It was moved by Mr. Stroner, seconded by Ms. Williams, to approve the minutes of the April 27, 2020 Board Meetings, payment of the bills and claims as listed at the close of these minutes, to approve General, Schoolhouse, Lunch and Activity Fund Reports, approve the interfund transfer, and approve the fundraising report.  Motion carried.

ITEM 11. - Superintendent Evaluation – Closed Session 21.5 (i) To Evaluate the Professional Competency of an Individual Whose Appointment, Hiring, Performance or Discharge is Being Considered When Necessary to Prevent Needless and Irreparable Injury to That Individual’s Reputation and That Individual Requests a Closed Session – A motion was made by Mr. Stroner, seconded by Mr. Pruismann, to go into closed session at 6:56 p.m..  Roll was called, members answering aye: Patterson, Stroner, Pruismann, and Williams.  Members answering nay: none.

The Board came out of closed session at 7:59 p.m.

ITEM 12.  – Superintendent Contract – Mr. Stroner made a statement to the public that Dr. Ross had offered to take a salary freeze due to the current pandemic situation, however, he made a motion, which was seconded by Mr. Pruismann, to award a salary increase of 3% to Dr. Ross for the 2020-2021 school year.  Motion carried.

ITEM 13.  – Adjournment - A motion was made by Mr. Stroner, seconded by Ms. Williams, to adjourn the meeting at 8:03 p.m.  Motion carried, all members present voting aye.

The next Regular Board Meeting will be Monday, June 8 at 6:00 p.m. at the School Administration Office Board Room.  Board Meetings are subject to change dependent upon need.

Attest:

Cathi Hildebrand, Secretary                                        Eric Patterson, Vice President