Board of Education Public Hearing
Southeast Webster-Grand Community School District Prairie Valley Community School District
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Southeast Valley Central Office
A public hearing was held at 6:25 PM to present and discuss the Fiscal Year 2022 Budgets as published.
Board of Education Regular School Board Meeting
Southeast Webster-Grand Community School District Prairie Valley Community School District
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Southeast Valley Central Office
The joint regular meeting of the Boards of Education of Prairie Valley and Southeast Webster-Grand met in regular session. President Miller called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM, following the public hearing.
Roll Call: PV: Shannon Miller, Joni Hefley, Jim Carlson, Kathy Carlson, and Heidi McGuire Absent: Gary Welter and Joe Harrison
Roll Call: SWG: Alan Wicklein, Katie VanSickle, Chad Lambert, Sean Stewart, AJ Blair, Alison Swanson and Lindsay Eslick. Absent: None
Prairie Valley: Motion by Hefley, seconded by K. Carlson to approve the consent agenda items, including the agenda, minutes and bills.
Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire Nays: None
Motion carries 5-0
SWG: Motion by Stewart, seconded by Lambert, to approve the consent agenda items, including the agenda, minutes and bills.
Ayes:, Wicklein, VanSickle, Lambert, Stewart, Blair, Swanson, Eslick Nays: None
Motion carried 7-0
Facilities and Grounds – Nothing to report at this time
Public Relations – Superintendent Johnson is working with the AEA and other local superintendents to put together a group for kids of diversity.
SIAC – The SIAC meeting was March 2nd at the Middle School. Students did presentations as well.
Finance and Negotiations – The committee will meet following the board meeting to discuss negotiations. At this time there has been not communication from the ISEA representatives.
Prairie Valley: Motion by Hefley, seconded by J. Carlson to approve the financials as presented. Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire
Nays: None Motion carries 5-0
SWG: Motion by VanSickle, seconded by Swanson to approve the financials as presented. Ayes:, Wicklein, VanSickle, Lambert, Stewart, Blair, Swanson, Eslick
Nays: None Motion carried 7-0
Farnhamville Elementary – Principal Jim Duncan
Jaguar Jubliations: PVE’s Parent Teacher Conferences were very well attended with many classes having 100% attendance! Good communication took place between parents and teachers to help our students! GO JAGS!
Planning continues for our Transitional Kindergarten & Kindergarten Round-Up for the upcoming 2021-22 school year. The Round- Up date is set for Fri. – April 9th, 2021. This is the same date for both elementary schools, but each school will then run their own specific round-up day’s events. Students must be 5 years old by Sept. 15th, 2021 to register for TK or kindergarten. Prairie Valley Elementary’s annual “Soup-er Bowl Food Drive” for The Community Pantry was successful in donating hundreds of food items to help our area’s communities! 4 Year Old Preschool Registration is currently open. Students must be 4 years old by Sept. 15th, 2021 to register for Four Year Old Preschool. Prairie Valley Elementary’s annual Read Across America / Dr. Seuss Reading Celebration was a success. It was a week of celebrating literacy with many fun events thanks to all of our students and staff! A special “Thank You” to Samantha Gutshall and Andrea Walsh for the planning of the week’s events! ISASP Testing will start the week of April 12th, for 3rd & 4th grade PVE students. (These may be somewhat described as the recent version of standardized assessments similar to the former Iowa Assessments.) The annual Conditions for Learning Survey will be given to 3rd & 4th grade students during the week of April 5th!
Dayton Elementary School – Principal Dan Grandfield Jubilations
Congratulations to Chelsey Danielson on being named Principal of the Dayton Elementary starting the 2021-2022 school year. Read Across America/Dr. Seuss Day was a huge success with both the teachers and the kids. Thank you to Chelsey Danielson and Andrea Walsh for all of their efforts to make the entire week memorable and special for the kids.
Anniversary
To All Southeast Valley Staff, Students, Parents, and Communities:
One year ago today, on a Friday the 13th that also featured a full moon, we had our last day of school. No one knew it at the time, but when we found out that weekend - many of us thought it would only be a two or three week break. Nope! We were done for the year. I was in the building pretty much every day during that time, and couldn't get over how it reminded me of when they explored the wreckage of the Titanic for the first time. Everything was preserved exactly as it was left - it was like it was frozen in time. The lockers were full of belongings, coats were hanging on the doors, boots and gloves were scattered on the floor, and the classrooms were full of desks with perfectly preserved papers, books, and pencils - all just waiting for the kids to return to read them and hold them and love them. If buildings could show emotion, this one would have been sad and weeping because what was once so full of energy, laughter, and life - was suddenly dark, empty, and silent. I know this year has been a long year, but when you put it in perspective - it's been one of our GREATEST YEARS YET! The kids have worked so hard and come so far, and all of you are the reason for that. Here's to finishing what we started this year, and here's to all of YOU! So, Happy Anniversary everyone! Jag Strong and Jag Proud!
Southeast Valley Middle School – Principal Greg Slininger
Wrestling has finished at the middle school, and the student athletes had a successful
learning season! Time for track! Speaking of athletics, we also have three students participating in a Virtual Special
Olympics this spring. The athletes are taped competing here in our gym and those results are then sent on to compete against other athlete’s results. It is out-of-the-box thinking, and I am excited we will be a part of it! Our winter Fastbridge testing is over. Overall our scores remained steady. An overview of our Fast scores are included later in the report. We had our yearly SIAC Meeting at the middle school at the beginning of this month. It was good to showcase our middle school students and highlight some of the things they have been successful with! Conferences are this week. They will be managed much the same as the fall conferences were. ISASP testing will be next month, and will start the week of our next board meeting. We will be doing the paper and pencil version of the testing here at the middle school. 100% In-School vs. Hybrid vs. 100% Online. Our face-to-face student numbers continue to rise. Last month we had 14 hybrid students and 19 100% online students. Currently we have 12 hybrid students and 17 100% online students. With a current population of 325, our hybrid and online population has dropped 2% to 10%. That is four more students back in school with us 100% this month. That is always a good thing!
Southeast Valley High School – Principal Kerry Ketcham Jubilations
Congratulations to Coach Jeff Miller on being named the 2020-21 Twin Lakes Conference Wrestling Coach of the Year.
Congratulations to these boys’ basketball team members for all-conference honors: Kolson Kruse, first team all-conference, Aaron Graves, second team all-conference, and Sam Hanson, third team all-conference.
Congratulations to the JagWIRE robotics team for getting the second place Motivate Award and qualifying for the Super Qualifier Tournament! Both the JagWIRE and Gear Head teams competed successfully on Saturday 2/27 with high scores. They represented Southeast Valley very well. Congratulations to the Southeast Valley Speech Team on earning a superior rating on every entry at the District Individual Speech competition at Manson Saturday 2/27. Marisa Jepsen and Jubilee Cunigan each earned two superior ratings, and Teighan Osborne and Alyssa Speck each earned a superior rating. They will all compete again at the State Competition on March 13th. They went on to state competition at Fort Dodge Senior High. Marisa Jepsen earned ones in two speeches. Alyssa Speck earned a one. Jubilee Cunigan earned a one and a two and Teighan Osborne earned a two.
General
We feel very fortunate to live and work where we do. The fact that we have been able to have our kids at school all year while others are trying to figure out how to get back to school is nothing short of amazing. We know this is due to multiple factors: where we live, the decisions of the board and district leaders, the efforts and actions of teachers and support personnel, and families who have been open and honest about exposures and cooperative with quarantine efforts. While all of that is a huge positive, it has not come without a cost. The weight of dealing with Covid on top of all the regular stresses we normally feel has put a lot of strain on staff. Staff continue to deal with the regular stresses of family illnesses, and sometimes deaths, the things that go wrong at home or with automobiles, their own illnesses and regular appointments, etc. Second trimester grades were due on 2/22 and third trimester classes began the same day. Parent-teacher conferences are the week of March 15. They are handling it as well as they know how. They are working to keep their energy levels up to give their best to students every day. Many have their eyes on the end of the school year as a way to motivate them to keep up their efforts, knowing that the days are winding down and a much-needed rest is coming. And staff continue to offer stability and normalcy to students both in the classroom and through the many activities they sponsor or coach. Right now, students can choose to participate in track, golf, tennis, mock trial, speech, robotics, and the spring play. Student council has also arranged a Senior Survivor Challenge for the week of March 21. The music department is planning the first concert of the year for March 25. And students will sign up for next year’s classes this month. College representatives are coming to the school and Danielle Balk continues to promote FAFSA, the common application, and other scholarship opportunities for seniors. These are the “normal” things that demonstrate that life continues to go on in spite of the pandemic. I do not share any of this to say that staff members are feeling sorry for themselves. Quite the opposite is true. Staff are behaving as professionals in spite of all the stressors. The teacher leaders have met and reviewed our Self-
Assessment of MTSS Implementation and decided to amend our literacy goal. We started an effort to promote academic vocabulary in all classes and grade levels two years ago. We haven’t been able to see if those efforts have had a result on standardized assessments, but we know students are
using the vocabulary in classes more often. We decided to add a goal of having writing exemplars for every curricular area and grade level to promote the teaching and learning of solid written communication specific to the setting. So, we are continuing to reflect on what we are doing and the results we are getting with students and use that information to improve our processes and outcomes. Part of the results of that reflection and review can be seen in the changes being made to course offerings for next year. Physical Science is being revised to become Integrated Science so it can include some of the Next Generation Science Standards that are currently missing from our offerings. These formerly missing standards include areas of earth science and space. The Social Studies department is reviewing course materials for US History and Government classes and will be ordering new materials. The current texts are worn out and outdated. There will also be a return of a couple social studies electives and several new offerings. History through Film, Current Events, and Contemporary US History will return. Holocaust Studies and History of Sports will be added. New English offerings are being considered as well.
Prairie Valley: Motion by J. Carlson, seconded by McGuire to approve the hiring of Keaton Marin and Aaron Swieter as volunteer football coaches, as well as Gary Balk as assistant HS Football coach. .
Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire Nays: None
Motion carries 5-0
SWG: Motion by Stewart, seconded by Eslick to approve the hiring of Greg Slininger as assistant HS Softball coach as well as Andrew Dorage as assistant HS Baseball coach.
Ayes:, Wicklein, VanSickle, Lambert, Stewart, Blair, Swanson, Eslick Nays: None
Motion carried 7-0
SWG: Motion by VanSickle seconded by Lambert to approve the hiring of Lori Huen as a Nutrition empoloyee. Ayes:, Wicklein, VanSickle, Lambert, Stewart, Blair, Swanson, Eslick
Nays: None Motion carried 7-0
Prairie Valley: Motion by McGuire, seconded by K. Carlson to approve the 2021-2022 Budget as published and presented. Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire
Nays: None Motion carries 5-0
SWG: Motion by Lambert, seconded by Stewart to approve the 2021-2022 Budget as published and presented.
Prairie Valley: Motion by McGuire, seconded by K. Carlson to approve the 2021-2022 Budget guarantee.
RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of Prairie Valley Community School District will levy property tax for fiscal year 2021-2022 for the regular program budget adjustment as allowed under section 257.14, Code of Iowa.
Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire Nays: None
Motion carries 5-0
SWG: Motion by Lambert, seconded by Stewart to approve the 2021-2022 Budget guarantee. RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of Southeast Webster Grand Community School District will levy property tax for fiscal year 2021-2022 for the regular program budget adjustment as allowed under section 257.14, Code of Iowa.
Ayes:, Wicklein, VanSickle, Lambert, Stewart, Blair, Swanson, Eslick Nays: None
Motion carried 7-0
SWG: Motion by VanSickle, seconded by Eslick to approve setting a public hearing for the next board meeting on April 21, 2020 regarding a Resolution Fixing Date for a Hearing on the Proposed Issuance of Approximately $3,200,000 School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Refunding Bonds
Ayes:, Wicklein, VanSickle, Lambert, Stewart, Blair, Swanson, Eslick Nays: None
Motion carried 7-0
Prairie Valley: Motion by McGuire, seconded by K. Carlson to approve the bid from Walsh Doors for replacement of locks on inner doors at the high school in the amount of $20,283.11.
Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire Nays: None
Motion carries 5-0
SWG: Motion by Swanson, seconded by VanSickle to approve designate General Fund dollars in the amount of $750,000 to be used for the demolition of property. This will be reviewed annually until the completion of the project.
Ayes:, Wicklein, VanSickle, Lambert, Stewart, Blair, Swanson, Eslick Nays: None
Motion carried 7-0
Prairie Valley: Motion by Hefley, seconded by J. Carlson to approve the bid from Grell Roofing for the Farnhamville Elementary building replacement of Roof C for $35,000, Roof D for $18,000 and Roof E for $39,000.
Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire Nays: None
Motion carries 5-0
Prairie Valley: Motion by J. Carlson, seconded by McGuire to approve the bid from Grell Roofing for the Farnhamville Elementary building replacement of Roof C for $35,000, Roof D for $18,000 and Roof E for $39,000.
Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire Nays: None
Motion carries 5-0
Prairie Valley: Motion by J. Carlson, seconded by McGuire to approve the bid from Flooring America for the replacement of carpet at Farnhamville Elementary for $9,600.
Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire Nays: None
Motion carries 5-0
SWG: Motion by VanSickle, seconded by Blair to approve the bid from Artistic Concrete for the epoxy floor finish at the Middle School for the East (Rooms 9, 11, 13) for a project total of $24,219.00 and the West (Rooms 12, 15, 18, 20, 22) for a project total of
$24,834.00.
SWG: Motion by Swanson, seconded by Stewart to approve the bid from Kastendieck Construction to replace the 2 main entrance doors in Burnside to create an entryway vestibule for $59,045. Burnside is the only remaining building that does not have this.
Ayes:, Wicklein, VanSickle, Lambert, Stewart, Blair, Swanson, Eslick Nays: None
Motion carried 7-0
Prairie Valley: Motion by J. Carlson, seconded by Hefley to approve Pay App #7 to Jensen Builders in the amount of $152,123.80. Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire
Nays: None Motion carries 5-0
SWG: Motion by Lambert, seconded by Blair to adjourn.
Ayes:, Wicklein, VanSickle, Lambert, Stewart, Blair, Swanson, Eslick Nays: None
Motion carried 7-0
Prairie Valley: Motion by K. Carlson, seconded by J. Carlson to adjourn. Ayes: Miller, J. Carlson, K. Carlson, Hefley, McGuire
Nays: None Motion carries 5-0
Meeting Adjourned