The Lynnville-Sully School Board Annual Meeting was held Monday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m. prior to the regular meeting. President Tim Dunsbergen called the meeting to order. Board members in attendance were Jer Schnell and Tammy Vos. Gerry Van Dyke and Steph Young were absent. The agenda was approved, however the treasurer’s report was delayed until next month. Board secretary Karla DeCook shared the canvass of the Sept. 12 election results. Schnell received 36 votes and Van Dyke received 39 votes and were both elected for four-year terms. Dunsbergen received 39 votes and will fill the two-year vacancy originally left by Duane Rozendaal. The annual meeting adjourned at 6:32 p.m.
In the regular board meeting, Dunsbergen called the meeting to order with Schnell, Vos, DeCook, Faye Brand, Darrell Veenstra, Ryan Doschadis, superintendent Shane Ehresman, preK-8 principal Teri Bowlin, and high school principal Shane Wheeler present. De Cook was appointed as temporary chair. She asked for nominations for president. Dunsbergen nominated Schnell. Schnell nominated Dunsbergen. Nominations ceased. In a roll call vote, Dunsbergen received two votes, Schnell received one. Dunsbergen was elected president. Nominations for vice president were sought, and Vos nominated Schnell. Nominations ceased. In a roll call vote, Schnell receive two votes and was named vice president. De Cook swore in the newly-elected board president and vice president.
Amendments to the agenda included open enrollment and LOI waiver. The amended agenda was approved. The consent agenda including the Aug. 21 meeting minutes, secretary's monthly financial report, and September bills was also approved. No one spoke during open forum.
Doschadis, with the Pella School District, presented on the custodial and maintenance agreement Pella Schools and Lynnville-Sully have. In year one, Doschadis was able to streamline custodial carts/chemicals and procedures. Yearly training plan for all custodians was implemented. The paper products and chemicals were changed to be more price efficient through a new vendor. Doschadis thanked the district for investing in new equipment including a Kaivac, vacuums, 24- inch floor scrubber, and Windsor clipper duo. The custodial hours were also changed to maximize cleaning time. The school was also audited and recognized as a “Green” school by the State of Iowa, something that was a push by the state in previous years. The maintenance crew from the Pella School has also saved the district money by helping fix items that may have needed to be outsourced to other contractors, costing more money and trip charges. Doschadis did ask the board to consider adding a 20-hour position to help on event nights. When activities are held at the school, the current custodial staff is stretched thin and doesn’t always get all their regular responsibilities done on game/event nights. Dunsbergen inquired of Ehresman if possibly there are other needs within the district for staffing to make it a full-time position, which Doschadis acknowledged would be easier to fill. No action was taken, but will be visited at a possible future meeting.
Reports
In the preK-8 principal report, Bowlin shared the new voice level system K-5 and all common areas are using to help create some consistency. It’s a three-step approach for positive behavior solely focused in the lunch room. The first step reminds the student of the expectation. The second step gives explicit re-teach. In the third step, the student is moved to the success table, where other staff remind, re-teach, and help the student relearn the lunch room behavior.
“It was a ground roots up system from the teachers to implement for the consistency sake,” said Bowlin “It has made the cafeteria a more positive environment.” In the middle school, Bowlin shared the students are still trying to get into the swing of things. FAST testing has been delayed at the state level getting all the students’ info in the new system.
“We pride ourselves on a good data process system, but our hands are tied waiting on the state to get our students’ data into the system,” concluded Bowlin.
In the high school principal report, Wheeler announced class meetings were held, rolling out the silver cord program. Homecoming is coming up next week with minor changes being made to the schedule. The high school has been doing math testing for all new students and freshmen and sophomores.
Ehresman reported on the ACT test scores with very high scores and very high participation. The Bank Iowa Traveling Cup based on athletics, music, and speech has been announced with L-S finishing in sixth place. A lot of schools above L-S have sports not currently offered at L-S like bowling, tennis, and soccer. In the Des Moines Register last Sunday, Lynnville-Sully was showcased as a Top Work Place for the fourth straight year.
Vos reported on the most recent Lynnville-Sully Community Educa-tion Foundation meeting with homecoming and walkathon activities coming soon.
Van Dyke joined the meeting at 6:57 p.m.
Action Items
There were no contracts to approve.
De Cook was approved as board secretary for 2017-18. Kyle Terpstra was approved as board treasurer for 2017-18. The 1st State Bank was approved for the school district's general fund, and Great Western Bank was approved for the district's activities/nutrition fund for 2017-18. Gruhn Law Firm in Cedar Rapids was approved as legal counsel for 2017-18.
School board committee assignments were reviewed with minor changes. Schnell will be replacing Van Dyke on the transportation committee. Van Dyke will be replacing Schnell on technology. Young will be the LSCEF school board representative, and Vos will replace Young on the salary and negotiations committee. All assignments were approved. Vos was also approved as the Iowa Association of School Boards Delegate for 2017-18.
The special education budget exceeded revenue for the 2016-17 school year by a negative $45,323.93. A quick comparison from previous years shows this is the lowest deficiency in several years. Ehresman shared about the matter from numerous schools in the area. The board approved to be able to tax back the deficit, allowing the unspent balance authority.
Brian Lowry, L-S Agricultural Education Teacher and FFA Advisor, requested permission to take six FFA members to the 90th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN. The board approved the trip from Oct. 25-27.
Seniors Garret Cordes, Nathanael Lirio, and Luke Waddle were approved for early graduation at the end of the first semester pending successful completion of graduation requirements.
Carrie Antle's request for open enrollment in for Taylor Alter (10th grade) from Grinnell-Newburg School District was approved due to family moving out of the district during the school year.
The board approved an Iowa Learning Online waiver for one year.
Discussion Items
In discussion items, the school board goal of district-wide orientation - develop district wide strategies to support transitions in the school district was tabled until next month.
A school finance update was shared by De Cook and Ehresman. The head count is very important and shows to be a positive for this year. The certified enrollment trend is looking very good as well. The general fund budget was discussed in depth. It was noted if you want your district to get shut down, don't manage your general fund very well. The L-S unspent balance trend and solvency ratio were also discussed, showing L-S is managing its general fund very well. Ehresman encouraged any board member that would like to understand school finance more to seek his or De Cook’s time.
The meeting adjourned at 7:44 p.m.
