Belle Plaine, Iowa
July 13, 2022
A regular meeting of the Belle Plaine Community School District Board of Education was held on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in the board room at Longfellow Elementary, Belle Plaine.
Members Present: Val Coffman, Ben Reineke, Steve Beck, Alicia Jacobi, Rima Johnson
Members Absent: None
Administration Present: Chad Straight, Todd Werner, Heather Coover
Board Secretary Present: Stacey Kolars
Visitors Present: Interested Patrons
Press Representative: None
The meeting was called to order by President Coffman at 6:30 p.m.
AGENDA
Motion Beck, second Reineke to approve the agenda with the addendum items as Business Item H.1 and H.2. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
DELEGATIONS
There were no delegations.
CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS
The consent agenda items were considered. There was motion by Reineke, second by Jacobi to approve the consent agenda items. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried. The consent agenda items that were approved are listed below:
- Approval of the minutes of the June 8, 2022 regular meeting.
- Approval of bills, payroll, financial statements.
- Personnel/Business Items:
- Acceptance of resignations-there were no resignations.
PRINCIPAL REPORTS-Secondary Principal, Todd Werner and Elementary Principal, Heather Coover gave their respective reports to the board on the following topics:
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Superintendent Straight gave his report to the board
COMMUNICATIONS
Board Secretary Kolars informed the board of recent donations to the school district. Thank you to the Mansfield Trust, Brad Cook and Mike Kolars for their generous donations to the STEM Fund and School Housing Project Fund.
OLD BUSINESS
- Action/Discussion on PPEL/SAVE Projects-Discussion took place regarding plans to move forward with the old JH demolition, and future priorities for the district. No action was taken on this item.
- Action/Discussion on Branding-There was no new information regarding the branding process for the district’s mascot. Local artists are invited to submit their versions of “Plainey” to the district.
BUSINESS ITEMS
H1. Action/Discussion of Old JH Land After Removal of the Building-Greg Johnson was in attendance to discuss the future of the land behind the old junior high building after the demolition of the building. Johnson presented his ideas for the possibility of making the land into a recreational facility and renovated ball fields for the youth sports programs.
H2. Action/Discussion on Resolution of Intent and Establishment of Public Hearing for the Continuation of the Instructional Support Levy-
The following Resolution of Intent was introduced and approved to establish a public hearing for the continuation of the district’s Instructional Support Levy:
RESOLUTION OF INTENT
Director Beck introduced and caused to be read the Resolution hereinafter set out and moved its adoption; seconded by Director Johnson; after due consideration by the Board, the President put the question upon the adoption of said Resolution and, the results of the roll call vote were:
Aye On roll call vote: Beck, “aye;”Johnson, “aye;” Jacobi, “aye;” Reineke, “aye;” Coffman, “aye.”
DIRECTORS
Nay
DIRECTORS
Whereupon the President declared said Resolution duly adopted as follows:
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the Board deems it necessary and desirable to provide additional funding for the Belle Plaine Community School District pursuant to the Instructional Support Program; and
WHEREAS, in order to consider continued participation in an Instructional Support Program, the District must hold a public hearing on the question of participation, setting forth its proposal following publication of the notice of the time and place of such hearing; and
WHEREAS, the Board wishes to set forth in a Resolution its proposal specifying the method and amount to be used to fund the Instructional Support Program, the purposes within the general fund for which the Instructional Support funds will be used, set a date of public hearing, and direct the Board Secretary to publish notice of the time and place of hearing;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Board of Directors of the Belle Plaine Community School District, in the Counties of Tama, Benton, Poweshiek, and Iowa, State of Iowa, as follows:
Section 1: A public hearing on the question of the Belle Plaine Community School District’s participation in the Instructional Support Program is hereby set for August 10, 2022 at 6:30 o’clock p.m. in the board room of Longfellow Elementary, 707-7th Street, Belle Plaine, Iowa, and the Secretary of the Board is hereby authorized to give notice of the time and place of the public hearing by publishing said notice in the Hometown Current not less than ten (10) nor more than twenty (20) days before the date of the public hearing.
Section 2: At the public hearing the Board will announce the date, no longer than 30 days after the hearing, on which it will take action to adopt a resolution to participate in the Instructional Support Program. At the public hearing the following proposition, as may be modified as a result of discussion and input, shall be considered for inclusion in the resolution to participate in the program, to wit:
The Board of Directors of the Belle Plaine Community School District in the Counties of Tama, Benton, Poweshiek, and Iowa, State of Iowa, does hereby resolve to participate in the Instructional Support Program for a period of five (5) years, to levy annually, as determined by the Board, an instructional support property tax which will be levied annually upon the taxable property within the District, commencing with the levy of property taxes for collection in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and an instructional support income surtax imposed annually for each budget year, the percent of income surtax (not to exceed twenty percent (20%)) to be determined annually by the Board for each budget year to be imposed upon the state individual income tax of each individual income taxpayer resident in the District on December 31, 2024, and each year thereafter.
The funds thus collected, when combined with Instructional Support State Aid shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the regular program district cost, including the budget adjustment pursuant to Iowa Code section 257.14 for any budget year. Instructional Support Program funds may be used for any general fund purpose.
Section 3: All resolutions or orders or parts thereof in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Passed and approved July 13, 2022.
3. Approval of the Employment of Personnel-There was motion by Jacobi, second by Reineke to approve Julie Mantz as the Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach for the 22-23 year. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
4. Action/Discussion on Emergency Action Plan-
There was motion by Jacobi, second by Johnson to approve the Emergency Action Plan for the 2022-2023 year after the discussed changes. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
5. Action/Discussion on Handbooks for 2022-2023-After review, there was motion by Johnson, second by Jacobi to approve the student handbooks with the discussed changes for the 2022-2023 school year. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
6. Action/Discussion Regarding Establishment of School Depositories and Maximum Deposit Amounts-There was motion by Beck, second by Reineke to approve the following depositories and maximum deposit amounts for the 2022-2023 year:
Midwestone Bank-$3,500,000
Chelsea Savings Bank-$5,500,000
UMB Bank-$4,000,000
All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
7. Action/Discussion on Provisions of Bonds for the Belle Plaine Board Secretary and Treasurer-There was motion by Reineke, second by Jacobi to approve the existing blanket bond for the Board Secretary and Treasurer for the 2022-2023 school year. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
8. Action/Discussion on APR Goals for Next Year-There was motion by Jacobi, second by Reineke to approve the APR goals presented for the district for the 2022-2023 school year. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
9. Action/Discussion on School Policy on Pets at Activities-After discussion, there was motion by Reineke, second by Johnson to develop a new policy regarding a no pet policy for indoor activities, but allowing pets at outdoor summer activities (softball and baseball) if pets are leashed and attended. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
10. Action/Discussion on Teacher Shortage and Plans-Discussion took place regarding the current shortage of teaching staff for the 2022-2023 school year. A plan was presented to the board for the TLC Instructional Coach to teach 3rd grade, a combination of the art teacher, Title I teacher and principal would be teaching 2nd grade, kindergarten will be combined into one class (25 students) and will have one teacher with two associates. Prep-K will remain a separate class. There was motion by Johnson, second by Beck to approve the plan for the elementary teaching staff for the 2022-2023 school year. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
11. Action/Discussion on Raising Adult Meal and Milk Prices for the 2022-2023 Year- There was motion by Reineke, second by Johnson to approve increasing the adult meal prices to $4.13 and the milk prices to $0.40 for the 2022-2023 year. Superintendent Straight reminded parents that the State is no longer paying for school meals, and to please remember to fill out paperwork for free/reduced meal eligibility. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
There was motion by Beck, second by Reineke to adjourn the meeting at 8:18 p.m. All voted, “aye.” Motion carried.
Valerie Coffman, Board President Stacey Kolars, Board Secretary
Jim Magdefrau 