Mid-Prairie Community School District
Kalona, Wellman, West Chester
Mid-Prairie Central Office Community Room, Wellman, IA 52356
November 25, 2024– 6:15 p.m.
President Jake Snider called the meeting to order.
Board members present: Mary Allred, Randy Billups, Denise Chittick, Gabrielle Frederick, Ryan Schlabaugh, Jed Seward, and Jake Snider.
Board members absent: None.
Also Present: Superintendent Brian Stone, Board Secretary/School Business Official Jeff Swartzentruber.
Pledge of Allegiance
Read the School Mission Statement by Vice-President
Mary Allred moved to adopt the agenda as presented. Seconded by Gabrielle Frederick. Motion carried 7-0.
Hawk Highlight – Instructional Coaches – Kristan Hunter and the Instructional Coaches: Erin Cavanagh (HS), Kelsi TeBockhorst (MS), Emily Davis (West Elem), and Sarah Ihde (East Elem) provided the Board with an update on the Induction Coaching Program for FY2025; and the Beginning Teacher Network and Communication goal. The latter is an expansion of the FY2024 goal and includes new teachers and second year teachers. Topics are aligned with the Iowa Teaching Standards. They are also engaged in their Instructional Coaching duties. The Board asked questions about the program and approach to their duties and an expansion to the program.
Business Meeting
Consent Items
Ryan Schlabaugh moved to approve the following consent items.
Payment of Bills
The bills as listed for November 25, 2024 and prepaid bills;
Open Enrollment Requests
Open Enrollment In Requests total 4 students;
Open Enrolled Out Requests total 3 students;
Personnel Items
Work Agreement issued to Grace Baetsle, High School Special Education Para Professional, $15.29 per hour;
Work Agreement issued to Jennifer Riddle, High School Special Education Para Professional, $15.29 per hour;
Resignation of Jane Blieu, High School Paraprofessional, $15.35 per hour, effective 11/27/2024;
Resignation of Mark Craft, West Elementary Custodian, $16.53 per hour, effective 11/21/2024;
Fundraising Requests
Girls Wrestling requests approval to raise fund through the sale of poured candles and t-shirts from November 18th to December 3rd to purchase new uniforms and warm up and to take the team to the state meet in Iowa City;
Boys Basketball requests approval to raise funds through a Donation Campaign to family and friends of the program from November 18th to December 2nd for the purchase of player/coach apparel, equipment, supplies, and volunteer coach pay;
Mary Allred seconded the consent items. Motion carried 7-0.
Business Item
East Elementary Paraprofessional 0.5 FTE Proposal
Superintendent Stone brought the proposal to add a 0.5 FTE Paraprofessional to East Elementary due to an Individual Education Plan Change. This position would work every morning for 4 hours. The expenses would be allocated to Special Education. The Board briefly discussed the proposal noting past practice.
Jed Seward moved to approve a half-time paraprofessional position at East Elementary as presented. Gabrielle Frederik seconded the motion. Motion carried 7-0.
Work Session
Recap from the IASB Convention
Board President Snider and Superintendent Stone led a discussion about the takeaways by the 5 Board Members that attended the IASB Annual Convention from November 20th to November 22nd in Des Moines. Each Board member in attendance noted some highlights. Board Members in attendance at IASB were: Jake Snider, Ryan Schlabaugh, Mary Allred, Jed Seward, and Denise Chittick. Superintendent Stone also provided thoughts and impressions on the Friday morning session.
Cell Phone Conversation and a Sample IASB Policy
In the continuing conversation about Cell Phone Policy and approach to cell phones in the High School and Middle School Buildings, the Board reviewed the IASB Sample Policy on Cell Phones. Superintendent Stone shared the Sample Policy 503.9. The Board discussed the policy and the State’s position in Senate File 2044 from the 2024 Session. Principals Banks (HS) and Tim Bartels (MS) were present for this agenda item and provided additional context. Discussion also centered on student health, social interaction, consistency, and enforceability. The Board asked for a survey of all staff as the next step.
Grade-A-Like Attendance Centers Discussion
Principals Banks (HS), Tim Bartels (MS), Robin Foster (West Elementary), and Greg Jergens (East Elementary) were present for this agenda items. Superintendent Stone introduced this topic and reminded the Board of earlier conversations. The thought process would be for changes to take place in the 2026-2027 School Year. The current thought process is Prekindergarten to Grade one in East Elementary, Grade Two to Grade Four in West Elementary. The planning process for space at West Elementary will be begin on Tuesday, November 26th with CANCO staff and OPN staff. The Board generally agrees the above changes make sense.
Funding Amount for an Auditorium
President Snider and Superintendent Stone continue to bring this to the Board for discussion and consideration. The goal is to provide a dollar amount the Board would allocate to a future bond referendum to the Fine Arts Boosters. Stone noted that he is still trying to work with outside parties to gather information toward determining a construction dollar amount. The Board then discussed some preliminary amounts and very high level ideas on bonding capacity. There would be other fundraising sources that would need to be utilized. It is recognized that the work of the Community Facilities Committee is important to the process in setting priorities and direction.
State Report Card Update
Superintendent Snider provided a snapshot and insight into the State Report Card for the District. There are conversations on-going about a strategic plan with the Administration Team, Grant Wood AEA, and Specialists. Stone shared two different high-level Strategic Plan—one a five-year, the second a ten-year—as examples and noted work that is underway with intention of sharing something with the Board at the Work Session in January. The Board discussed the data approaches to the Report Card and the next steps to the address the issues.
Other Topics of Interest: Consistency of Behavior Plans, Evaluation of Staff and Coaches; Alternative On-line meeting option for Board and or Community
Due to the lateness of the hour, these topics were tabled to a future Work Session. It was asked the concurrent enrollment and the trades be added to this list. Also, asked for Board Highlights to be added.
Board Highlights
Next Meeting and Suggestions for Next Agenda
The next regular Board meeting will be on Monday, December 9, 2024, at 6:15 p.m. at the Central Office Community Room. Agenda items to include: SBRC Resolution, and Budget Guarantee Resolution.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:37 p.m.