January 17, 2022
The North Mahaska Board of Education met for a work session at 4:30pm under the direction of the University of Northern Iowa. The session goals were an increased understanding of and alignment with the Standards for Effective School Boards, specifically focusing on the Board’s ethics policy. The board dedicated their time to this session in order to ensure a high functioning and highly educated school board to serve the community.
North Mahaska Board of Education in regular session on January 17, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in the high school library in New Sharon, Iowa. Those members present: Dirk Wilkin, Michelle Sampson, Todd Vanderwilt, and Brett Morris. Also present: Angela Livezey, Amber Goemaat, Tim Veiseth, Renee Ferguson, and Sarah McGriff.
Dirk Wilkin called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m.
A motion was made by Sampson and seconded by Vanderwilt to approve the agenda. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Sampson and seconded by Vanderwilt to approve the consent agenda. Motion carried.
COMMUNICATIONS
PUBLIC FORUM
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
UPDATE ON CONSTRUCTION -DCI GROUP
The following written update was provided by Trent Kain of DCI.
Kindergarten epoxy floors are complete. There is still some minor clean-up that the contractor needs to complete, they got some of the epoxy material on the rubber base. Scheduled to happen this week.
Flooring transitions and uneven subfloor at carpet/terrazzo areas have been corrected.
Door hardware changes ongoing – There were a handful of door hardware/keying instances that didn’t fit the needs of the district so some hardware is being replaced and/or rekeyed. This work is scheduled for this week.
Access Control – Majority of the work is installed and ready to go. The final components are scheduled to be installed 1/24. This work got a little messy and delayed due to being mixed between the construction project and a separate contract handled by the school directly but should be wrapped up next week.
Mechanical system - Test and Balance (TAB) and Commissioning are on-going. They have found a good amount of issues in the operations of the units. This hopefully will help explain some of the HVAC related issues we continue to deal with. The contractors spent a lot of time today correcting as many issues as possible and will continue to work with TAB/Commissioning agents to get things working to spec.
Mechanical and Electrical engineers were on-site today to complete their final punch list walks. This information will be passed on to the contractors and we will work with them to get all items corrected.
A couple units that needed parts replaced (Knockel’s room, Ferguson’s room and Preschool area for example) have had those parts installed and should now be operating as expected.
Financials – We are nearing the end of pay applications and getting the project closed out.
OLD BUSINESS
UPDATE ON ROOFING OPTIONS
A written update on roofing options was provided from Neumann Monson to the Board. Mr. Vanderwilt asked if the rubber coating option would risk rusting of the metal roof. Mrs. Livezey will follow up with the architects regarding this question. Mr. Vanderwilt also noted that he had talked to local experts who cautioned against removing the entire roof due to added complications that could occur. His contacts also felt that the Tritoflex option was one of the best options. Mr. Vanderwilt and Mr. Wilkin both gave opinions that they are leaning towards Tritoflex. Mr. Morris asked if we could get a referral from a district or other entity who is using Tritoflex. He felt that the warranty for Tritoflex was good and is also leaning toward that option if others have had a good experience and if the warranty is covering all that we would need. Mrs. Sampson felt that fiscally Tritoflex makes the most sense and also liked that option. Mrs. Livezey will ask for other references and ask if the Tritoflex representative can meet with the board to provide more information. Mr. Vanderwilt also asked for more information regarding the current structure and if it is sound enough for Tritoflex to be applied. Mrs. Livezey explained that the architects did note there were some areas that do need structural support repairs before the product would be applied.
NEW BUSINESS
APPROVE EARLY RETIREMENT REQUESTS
A motion was made by Morris and seconded by Sampson to approve Julie Knoot’s early retirement application. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Vanderwilt and seconded by Morris to approve Terry Malone’s early retirement application. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Vanderwilt and seconded by Sampson to approve Bruce Peiffer’s early retirement application. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Morris and seconded by Vanderwilt to approve Cindy DeGoey’s early retirement application. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Vanderwilt and seconded by Sampson to approve Eleanor Robinson’s early retirement application. Motion carried.
APPROVE AIA CONTRACT W/ NEUMANN MONSON ARCHITECTS
A motion was made by Vanderwilt and seconded by Sampson to approve the AIA contract with Neumann Monson architects for the upcoming roofing project. Motion carried.
APPROVE AHLERS AND COONEY ENGAGEMENT LETTER FOR SERIES 2022 G.O. BOND
A motion was made by Vanderwilt and seconded by Morris to approve the Ahlers and Cooney engagement letter for the Series 2022 G.O Bond. Motion carried.
APPROVE POLICY ON SEAT BELT USE ON BUSES WITH SEAT BELTS
A motion was made by Morris and seconded by Sampson to approve the policy on seat belt use on buses with seat belts. Motion carried.
APPROVE WAIVER FOR WEIGHT ROOM USE
A motion was made by Vanderwilt and seconded by Sampson to approve the waiver for weight room use. Motion carried.
APPROVE FEE STRUCTURE FOR WEIGHT ROOM USE
A motion was made by Vanderwilt and seconded by Sampson to approve the fee structure for weight room use. Motion carried.
APPROVE HOURS FOR COMMUNITY WEIGHT ROOM USE
A motion was made by Morris and seconded by Sampson to approve administration to set hours so that community and student use do not overlap. Motion carried.
APPROVE WEIGHTED GRADING FOR AP COURSES
A motion was made by Morris and seconded by Sampson to approve weighted grading of AP courses. Motion carried.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
STUDENT TRIPS
Mrs. Goemaat provided updates regarding upcoming class trips. The Spanish class trip has been on pause since the summer of 2020 due to COVID restrictions. It was rescheduled for this upcoming summer with only one student remaining who would like to go on the trip. This trip was always meant to be in partnership with another school. Fort Dodge School District has agreed to take the student with their chaperones this summer.
The 2022 senior class has voted to take two trips, one to Kansas City for a MLB game and Worlds of Fun and another day trip to Des Moines for go-carting. This change is due to COVID-19 restrictions that would be in place in Chicago which deterred too many students.
The dance team is going to begin fundraising to plan a trip in three years to attend a bowl game in Florida to dance with other high school teams.
UPDATE ON COMPUTER SCIENCE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Mrs. Goemaat gave an update that computer science is not a course requirement for graduation in the state of Iowa, but the course must be offered with at least one student taking the course in order to remain in compliance.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
DISTRICT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - JANUARY 17, 2022
Mrs. Livezey shared the professional development agenda from the day. The agenda included training around non-violent crisis intervention, IEP resources through SDI training, sharing student interview feedback regarding learning strategy preferences, review of the 2022-2023 draft calendar, and a social emotional leadership presentation.
OPAA REPORT - DECEMBER 2021
A written report from OPAA regarding the school nutrition program was provided to the board.
DRAFT CALENDAR FOR 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR
Mrs. Livezey shared the draft calendar for the 2022-2023 school year noting a change of Martin Luther King Jr. day being recognized as a day off and a corresponding change to a teacher PD day in order to maintain required contract hours. She also noted that parent teacher conferences for next year are the last week of October as well as the first week of November in order to avoid the town Halloween festivities and keep conference attendance high. The day before Thanksgiving will also be a full day off, with a corresponding day off moved from Christmas break. Mr. Morris asked if the number of hours planned being higher than the number required is the same amount that has been done in years past. Mrs. Livezey explained that though there are a few extra early outs built in to next year, these hours are very similar to years past in order to prepare for potential snow days or missed days of school for other potential reasons. Mrs. Sampson recognized the collaboration that happened between administration and school staff in order to create this calendar. Mr. Wilkin asked if North Mahaska has ever had a spring break. Mrs. Livezey answered that the District hasn’t, but has consistently received feedback that students and staff would rather get out earlier in the summer than have a longer spring break. The District has also planned shorter breaks such as Easter weekend and other days off in order to support healthy breaks for students.
NEW STANDARDS FOR SCHOOL LEADERS
Mrs. Livezey shared the new standards for school leaders to the board and that she will provide an update of superintendent goals at the February meeting.
COMMENTS
Mr. Wilkin noted that he and Mr. Morris had a conversation about grading with Mrs. Livezey and Mrs. Goemaat last week. Mrs. Livezey explained that next steps from that conversation include a pre-review of the grading scale in April and approval of the grading scale in May.
Mrs. Sampson mentioned that the fire alarms have gone off a few times due to steam from the showers in the new locker rooms. Mrs. Livezey explained that this is being addressed by the construction team and the fire department has not been dispatched during any of these events because Mrs. Goemaat has called the non-emergency number immediately to inform them of the situation.
Ms. McGriff provided a hard copy of the fiscal year 2021 audit and noted that the auditor would be attending the February meeting via Zoom to provide an update.
THANK YOU
Joette Stout for helping cover Jr./Sr. High office
Mary Jo Steele for helping cover Jr./Sr. High office
Megan Keith for helping cover Jr./Sr. High office
Jil VanUtrecht for helping cover Jr./Sr. High office
Jeff DeWitt for working the wrestling tournament
Randy Moffitt for coming from Newton to drive for us
Marcy Wanders for helping cover Jr./Sr. High office
ADJOURN
A motion was made by Morris and seconded by Sampson to adjourn the meeting at 7:34p.m. Motion carried.
Sarah McGriff
Board Secretary
Dirk Wilkin
Board President
