Central Lee Community, Parents, and Staff,
This report is not intended to be official minutes or documentation of the proceedings of the board. It is a narrative of the board’s actions and my interpretation for our stakeholders. It is purely meant as a communication tool. As always, please contact me if you have any questions regarding board meetings.
The Central Lee Board of Education met for their regular board meeting on August 14, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. in the District Office. The board was joined by the administration, Central Lee FFA members, media and one member of the CL community.
Our board meeting began with a presentation by the Central Lee FFA. The FFA currently has part of the farm ground in our test plot as CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) ground. This plot of ground’s CRP contract is near expiration and the FFA requested the board allow them to continue to use the ground as CRP. Since the item was not on the agenda for the board to take formal action, the board gave me (Superintendent) the executive power to approve the CRP contract for the FFA. CRP is a strategy by the state of Iowa to conserve soil, protect natural habitats, and improve water quality.
The FFA also shared with the board their plan to use cover crops this Fall. The FFA will be starting the process of seeding these areas this month. FFA students updated the board on summer leadership events, Lee County Fair activities, and the Iowa State Fair. The board thanked the FFA members and their sponsors (Tom Boeck and Brent Koller) for the presentation.
In the Superintendent’s report, I reported on the following items:
- One on One Laptop Rollout Night – August 17, 2017 @ 5:30pm – Beginning this year, only parents of freshmen and new students are required to attend the presentations. All other students are allowed to sign forms, pay their laptop fee, and take their computer home.
- Staff Inservice Breakfast – August 18, 2017 @ 8am – We welcome teachers back on August 18. The board is invited to attend the breakfast with our staff on the first day.
- Beginning of the Year Picnic – August 21, 2017 @ 6 pm – Our beginning of the year picnic for all staff will be August 21 at 6pm. This event is only for Central Lee staff.
- IASB Convention – November 15-17, 2017 – A reminder was given to the board about the annual IASB convention.
- Master Facility Planning Update – The board received a quick update on our master facility planning process. We are currently inviting members of our Facility Advisory Committee and hope to meet in early September to officially kick off our engagement process.
- September Board Meeting – September 18, 2017 @ 7pm – Due to the school board election taking place on September 12, our usually second Monday of the month meeting will be backed up one week to accommodate our new board members.
In new business, the board approved our 2017-2018 school hours as:
- Elementary – 8:25 a.m. to 3:25 p.m.
- Middle School – 8:20 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- High School – 8:24 a.m. to 3:23 p.m.
The board approved the 2017-2018 teacher listing. The board annually approves the listing of all teaching assignments prior to the beginning of the school year.
The board approved the administration as the board’s teacher quality committee representatives. The teacher quality committee meets a minimum of twice per year to determine how to best use district professional development funds. The Central Lee teaching staff also nominate teachers to serve on the TQ committee. There is equal representation from both administration and teaching staff on the committee.
The board completed a first reading of the following policies. A summary of policy changes can be found here.
- Policy 302.2 – Superintendent Contract and Contract Nonrenewal
- Policy 303.3 – Administrator Contract and Contract Nonrenewal
- Policy 405.4 – Licensed Employee Continuing Contracts
- Policy 405.9 – Licensed Employee Probationary Status
- Policy 410.2 – Summer School Licensed Employees
- Policy 505.2 – Student Promotion, Retention, Acceleration
- Policy 603.2 – Summer School Instruction
The board listened to a concerned parent regarding a late request for open enrollment. All open enrollment requests (in or out of the district) need to be completed by March 1. The board voted to deny the open enrollment.
The board approved the modification of the employee handbook. Administration requested the board remove/modify the following schedule B roles:
- Remove – 2nd Show Choir
- Remove – Fine Arts Department Chair
- Modify 7th/8th Instrumental/Vocal (9%) to 7th/8th Instrumental (4.5%) & 7th/8th Vocal (4.5%)
The district has not had a 2nd show choir for many years. The administration also requested the removal of the department chair as no other department receives compensation for a head/chair. 7th/8th instrumental/vocal was modified to better reflect our current responsibilities. This was packaged together for many years when 7th/8th grade music was a single position covering vocal and band. Now, the district has a separate teacher for both areas.
The board approved a 28E agreement with Keokuk for a shared music teacher. Donna Dahl will be at Central Lee for 0.5 of her contract. She will be teaching K-2 music. This added FTE to the district provides more stability and structure for our fine arts department. We are excited to have Mrs. Dahl join us this year.
I reminded the board about the 900 board policy series review which will start next month.
Administrative Reports
- Middle School – Kim Ensminger
- High School – Nicole Herdrich
- Elementary – Heather Fuger
- Curriculum – Gary Steffensmeier
#Proud2bCL
Staff Changes for August
Resignations:
- Alex Belloma – Elementary Instructor, Middle School Football Coach, Assistant Girl’s Basketball Coach, Co-Head Softball Coach
Volunteer Coach Approvals:
- Al Sonnenberg – High School/Middle School Football
Contract Approvals:
- Tiffany Barton – Sign Language Interpreter
- Andrea Hopp – Middle School Girls’ Track
- Lane Weirather & Nadine Weirather – Co-High School Assistant Girls’ Basketball
- Deena Parker – High School Assistant Track
- Abby Hoenig – 1:1 Special Needs Associate
- Lauren Steffensmeier – 1:1 Special Needs Associate
- Kirstin Royer – Elementary Instructor
- Brent Koller – Added Contract Days (Ag/FFA)
Crozier's Corner 