Mid-Prairie Community School District
Kalona, Wellman, West Chester
Mid-Prairie Central Office Community Room, Wellman, IA 52356
July 13, 2026 – 6:15 p.m.
President Randy Billups called the meeting to order.
Board members present: Mary Allred, Randy Billups, Denise Chittick, Kirah Johnson, Jed Seward, and Jake Snider.
Board members absent: Ryan Schlabaugh.
Also Present: Superintendent Brian Stone, Board Secretary/School Business Official Jeff Swartzentruber.
Pledge of Allegiance
Read the School Mission Statement by Vice-President
Adopt the Agenda
Mary Allred moved to adopt the agenda as presented. Seconded by Kirah Johnson. Motion carried 6-0.
Hawk Highlight – A Custodian Update was provided by Jim Tate, Lead Custodian at the High School, and Mike Ferguson, Lead Custodian at West Elementary to the Board on behalf of all of the District custodians. They focused on their appreciation for their team across the District. Ferguson provided an update on the upgrades within the West Elementary where there is a construction addition and remodeling activities ongoing including some floor replacement projects. Tate discussed the remodeling projects that are on-going this Summer where two to three classrooms are being repurposed as well as some flooring projects. Tate also discussed using a new floor polymer product in place of the wax product used in the past and the noticeable difference. The Board expressed appreciation to the custodian team.
Public Forum
A parent of the District spoke to the Board about concerns of the HF2591 on 8th-Grade High School Sports Participation. The parent believes that the 8th Graders should not be given priority to participate for a variety of reasons.
BUSINESS MEETING
Consent Items
Kirah Johnson moved to approve the following consent items.
Minutes of Previous Meetings
The minutes of June 8, 2026 and June 22, 2026;
Finance Report
The Finance Report for June 2026 Year-to-date;
Payment of Bills
The bills as listed for July 13, 2026, and Prepaid Bills;
Open Enrollment Requests
Open Enrollment In Requests total 8 students;
Open Enrolled Out Requests total 0 students;
Personnel Items
Contract issued to Deidra Baker, High School Student Leadership Sponsor, $657 per annum;
Contract issued to Jeremy Meyers, High School Head Cross Country Coach, $6,396 per annum;
Work Agreement issued to Cheyenne Vawn, High School Custodian, $17.00 per hour;
Work Agreement issued to Emily Grimes, West Elementary Paraprofessional, $15.75 per hour;
Work Agreement issued to Hannah Collins, West Elementary Paraprofessional, $15.75 per hour;
Work Agreement issued to Brandy Christner, West Elementary Paraprofessional, $15.75 per hour;
Work Agreement issued to Beryl Marner, Home School Media Secretary 0.6 FTE, $16.05 per hour;
Work Agreement issued to Jodi Meader, Home School Media Secretary 0.4 FTE, $16.05 per hour;
Resignation of Julie Cole, Route Bus Driver, effective August 1, 2026;
Resignation of Wade Stutzman, High School Assistant Boys Soccer Coach, effective June 29, 2026;
Resignation of Mark Hostetler, High School Head Cross Country Coach, effective June 29, 2026;
Resignation of Jeremy Myers, Middle School Head Cross Country Coach, effective July 8, 2026;
Fundraising Requests
Football approval to raise funds through the team apparel store with Elite Sports from July 22nd to Augut9th for volunteer coach pay, player and coach apparel, equipment, uniforms, supplies, team meals, and Gatorade package;
Mary Allred seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
Student Learning
School Board Policy 505.5 Graduation Requirement Update Regarding Civics Test– Second Reading
President Billups or Superintendent Stone noted the policy passed on First Reading at the June 8, 2026, School Board meeting. He asked if there were any additional questions or discussion. There were none.
Kirah Johnson moved to approve Board Policy 505.5 Graduation Requirements as presented on Second Reading. Denise Chittick seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
School Board Policy 501.11 Student Release Time During School Hours – First Reading
Superintendent Stone reviewed the language discussed at the June 8, 2026, School Board meeting. It is recommended that Policy 501.11 be amended to include the IASB sample policy language. The Board discussed the policy language and asked questions for clarification.
Denise Chittick moved to approve Board Policy 501.11 Student Release Time During School Hours as presented on First Reading. Kirah Johnson seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
School Board Policy 802.4 Capital Assets– First Reading
School Business Official Swartzentruber drew the Board’s attention to the updated policy. After the Fiscal Year 2025 Audit, the auditors had recommended that additional language be added for Bulk purchased assets. A bulk purchased assets is a group of assets that individually do not go above the amount of Capitalization Policy, but as a grouping they do. As there was no official IASB guidance on sample policy, some inquiries across the State were made by Swartzentruber. The recommended bulk purchase level to update the Board Policy is $80,000. A number of levels were considered ranging from $75,000 to $150,000 as compared to other districts that have adopted the policy. A materiality factor is also of consideration. The Board asked questions for clarification.
Kirah Johnson moved to approve Board Policy 802.4 Capital Assets as presented on First Reading. Jed Seward seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
School Board Policy 503.11 Disruptive Behavior– First Reading
Superintendent Stone reviewed the new IASB Policy and the sample policy language. It is recommended that Policy 503.11 be adopted. Stone also reviewed some of the administrative regulations and noted that these have continued to be a bit fluid. The Board discussed the new policy and asked questions for clarification.
Denise Chittick moved to approve Board Policy 503.11 Disruptive Behavior as presented on First Reading. Mary Allred seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
School Board IASB Primer Updates– First Reading
Superintendent Stone reviewed the list of 14 policies from the IASB Policy Primer Update for May 2026. Eight of the 14 require not action. However, the six remaining are either changed or new policies as a result of the recent legislative session. The policies up for consideration and recommended for First Reading are:
- 701.2 Transfer of Funds – this contains specific updated language
- 701.5 Financial Management – this is a new policy
- 704.3 Investments – this contains specific updated language though the content is basically the same
- 705.5 Federal Awards Compliance – this is a new policy
- 706.4 Time and Effort Reporting – this is a new policy
- 707.1 Presentation and Publication of Financial Information – this contains specific updated language
The Board discussed these policies and asked questions for clarification.
Kirah Johnson moved to approve Board Policies 702.1, 701.5, 704.3, 705.5, 706.4, and 707.1 as outlined above and as presented on First Reading. Denise Chittick seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
Board Policy Chapter 100 School District – First Reading
Superintendent Stone reviewed the policies in Chapter 100 of the Board Policies per the standard review table the District uses. There were no changes to any of the policies in this chapter.
Denise Chittick moved to accept the Chapter 100 policies as written and show them as reviewed. Kirah Johnson seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
Board Policy Chapter 300 Administration – First Reading
Superintendent Stone reviewed the policies in Chapter 300 of the Board Policies per the standard review table the District uses. Policies up for amendment and recommended for First Reading are:
- 302.2 – Superintendent Contract and Contract Non-renewal
- 302.4 – Superintendent Duties
- 303.5 – Administrator Duties
The Board discussed Policy 302.5 Superintendent Evaluation in some detail with focus on the timing. No changes were proposed for Policy 302.5. The remainder of the policies in this chapter were reviewed with no changes.
Jed Seward moved to approve Policies 302.2, 302.4, and 303.5 as outlined above and presented on First Reading. Kirah Johnson seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
Kirah Johnson moved to accept the remaining Chapter 300 policies as written and show them as reviewed. Mary Allred seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
School Board Policy 605.4 Technology and Instructional Materials– First Reading
Superintendent Stone reviewed the changed sample policy language. It is recommended that Policy 605.4 be adopted. The Board discussed the new policy and asked questions for clarification.
Kirah Johnson moved to approve Board Policy 605.4 Technology and Instructional Materials as presented on First Reading. Jed Seward seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
2026 2027 Workplace Learning Connection (WLC) Memorandum of Understanding
Superintendent Stone brought the annual agreement to the Board for their awareness and recommended approval to have President Randy Billups sign the document on behalf of the District’s relationship with Kirkwood for the service provided. The annual cost for these services will be $4,644.50.
Kirah Johnson moved to approve the signing of the 2026-2027 Workplace Learning Connection Memorandum of Understanding. Mary Allred seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
2026-2027 College Credit in High School (CCHS) Annual Enrollment Form
Superintendent Stone brought the companion annual agreement of the previous agenda item to the Board for their awareness and recommended approval to have President Randy Billups sign the document on behalf of the District’s relationship with Kirkwood for the comprehensive list of Concurrent Enrollment classes.
Kirah Johnson moved to approve signing of the 2026-2027 Annual District Enrollment Form. Denise Chittick seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0.
Finance-Long Range Planning
AK/Kindergarten Recommendation
Superintendent Stone and President Billups led the discussion on whether or not to have an Alternative Kindergarten class in the 2026-2027 School Year. Superintendent Stone, Principal Kristen Hunter, and Principal Robin Foster have recommended that Alternative Kindergarten class be tabled—not offered—for the 2026-2027 School Year. The Board had requested that the administrators reach out to all families with Kindergarten students to create additional awareness of the Alternative Kindergarten class offering, and this was completed. The current counts are 106 Kindergarteners in total. Currently, 7 students—no change from the June discussion and the communication with parents of Kindergartners—are enrolled as Alternative Kindergarten students. If Alternative Kindergarten is retained for the school year, that would leave Kindergarten classes with 19-20 students per class. The past few years there have been an additional 8 to 10 students late enrolled. If Alternative Kindergarten is disbanded for the 2026-2027 School Year there would be 17 to 18 students in each Kindergarten class. It would be the intention of the District to offer Alternative Kindergarten again for the 2027-2028 School Year and evaluate the enrollment. The Board deliberated and asked questions.
Kirah Johnson moved to approve the recommendation to table the Alternative Kindergarten class for the 2026-2027 School Year unless the enrollment for Alternative Kindergarten increases to double digits by August 3rd. Mary Allred seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-1 (Snider voted no).
Additional Information
Board Policy Review of Chapter 400 Employees
Board tabled this agenda item until August due to the length of the Policy Chapter.
Update on the Storm Insurance Protection Pool Fund (SPF)
SBO Swartzentruber provided a verbal report to the Board on the results of the first year of the SPF. The District participated in the pool with 254 other Iowa Schools to cover the gap between a $10,000 deductible per occurrence and a 1% of market value of the District’s buildings. The District paid $36,540 to cover the gap for the past Fiscal Year and has paid $38,354 for the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year. With the hail storm damage to the Kalona Buildings in April of 2026, the claim payout was $185,100 versus an exposure of $175,100 had the fund not been in place. The overall results of the fund are extremely positive as first year losses to the fund were 31% of a reserved loss of $5million. The positive results provide assurances for a solid second year for the fund.
HF2591 Guidance: 8th Grade High School Sports Participants
Superintendent Stone provided an update on the guidance that has been released on this new law that can potentially allow an 8th Grade student to participate in their district’s high school sports programs. There are a number of trust resources that are providing input. Stone noted the fluidity of the situation as guidance continues to be developed and policy language. Additionally, the River Valley Conference schools are discussing the need for similar processes and approaches to determine when this is allowable was shared with the Board. The information provided is to help the Board review the information and process.
IASB Workshop Reflection
Superintendent Stone noted the prompt from Tammi Drawbaugh of IASB to ask the Board to reflect on the June 22nd Board Workshop session. President Billups thought it would be good to do the book study as a Board. Would like this discussed at the August 24th Work Session
MP Evaluation Tools
This is tabled to the August 24th Work Session
Board Highlights
- Allred thanked Jim Tate for their Custodian Hawk Highlight and the professional
- Billups reflected on meeting a former student athlete and their development as an adult, very gratifying.
Announcements and Suggestions for Next Agenda
The next regular Board meeting will be on Monday, August 10, 2026, at 6:15 p.m. at the Central Office Community Room, it is possible that the meeting could be at West Elementary depending on the readiness of the building. Agenda items to include: Second Reading of Board Policies, Board Policy Chapter 400 review, 2027 Legislative Priorities,
The next Work Session will be on Monday, August 24, 2026, at 6:15 p.m., at the Central Office Community Room. Agenda items to include: Evaluation Tool review; IASB Workshop Book Study discussion, Potential First or Second Readings on the Chapter 400 Board Policies; Determine the responses by the Board for outside inquiries.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m.