Van Buren school board discusses levy vote

The Van Buren Community School Board discussed the upcoming school house levy vote in September, possible sharing of positions and the new tablet devices that will be distributed to Van Buren students for this fall.

Known as the school house levy, the PPEL helps fund facilities and some school equipment. This levy is for 67 cents and voters will decide whether or not to continue it.

Superintendent Dr. Pam Ewell, Chuck Banks, high school principal and Mary Dawn Schuck, curriculum director, outlined parent and citizen efforts for the upcoming vote during the regular board meeting July 17.

?We have numerous staff, parents and concerned citizens who have begun the process of communicating with community members the importance of the Sept. 10 PPEL vote. They will begin to share the message and help to educate our taxpayers on how this vital resource is necessary to educate our students. They will also share that this will not increase the current tax rate for our communities,? said Banks, who said that he is doing this as a taxpayer and resident of Van Buren Community School District.

?There is always a need, like fixing a roof. If we have to take it out of the classroom budget, it doesn?t make sense.?

?If the PPEL is not renewed, we?ll struggle,? Ewell said.

She added that this fall, there will be a slight decrease in property taxes.

Schuck is on the communication committee and discussed efforts.

Also on the ballot is the revenue purpose statement, which states how the district will spend the 1-cent sales tax which is authorized by the Iowa Legislature. The statement, if approved, will be good until the expiration of the law, as decided by the state.

? The board discussed sharing the business manager/board secretary position with other schools.

Long-time board secretary/business manager Robyn Nolting has announced her resignation, which was accepted at the previous meeting.

Because the board secretary/business manager must meet SBO requirements, there haven?t been many applications, according to Ewell. This might be a good time to explore sharing possibilities, she added.

New legislation strongly encourages districts to share what are called ?operational function? positions, such as an administrator or board secretary?s position, according to Ewell.

?The new amendment provides substantial financial funds to schools over the next five years,? she said.

?We could hire a board secretary position and then share the business management component with another school. I have discussed these ideas with another school district and they are interested in sharing.?

Ewell said the district could hire a full-time board secretary and share 20 percent of the time of a business manager position with another school.

?We would show cost savings at approximately $40,000 and the state would provide at least $60,000 annually for five years in funds to our school for this sharing position.?

Ewell said she would also like to pursue exploring sharing the elementary guidance counselor?s position and possibly a two-tenths full-time equivalent Human Resources position.

The maximum amount available to the district would be $249,684 for approximately four positions. The district must decide by Oct. 1.

The board voted to go forward with the Operational Function Sharing research and possible interim business manager/board secretary and discuss it at the following meeting.

? Kunos update: Planning for the roll out of the Kunos is underway, Banks told board members. ?We plan to hold parent and student meetings at both sites to educate all on proper care, use, and expectations. This will be integrated into our open house nights as well as additional dates as needed. We are planning for all students in grades 5-8 to receive their device within the first 10 days of school,? said Banks.

According to Ewell, training for students and parents will be held Aug. 22. Tablets are expected to arrive toward the last part of July/first part of August, she told board members.

School board members discussed training for students and parents. School board member Bob Steingreaber described help that was available through the AEA.

? Ewell presented a comparison of 2011-12 with 2012-13 for miles of school transportation. There were 13 routes each year. The route miles, which include pre-kindergarten, were 208,777 for 2012-13, compared with 224,932 in 2011-12. The athletic miles were nearly the same at approximately 13,000, but the after-school practice saw a increase from 9,661 in 2011-12 to 12,695 in 2012-13.

Total miles were 13,668 less this year than in 2011-12 at reduced cost of $10,461. The amount of gallons was 7,876 less this year than in 2011-12, she reported, but the fuel cost was about the same because of the increased gas prices.

? Hanna Haynes was the Burlington Hawkeye Girls player of the year for southeast Iowa, according to activity director Greg Jones.

? The roof has been completed at Keosauqua. The bid was $117,780.

? The curriculum department has been reviewing materials for two new science classes which will be offered in 2013-14 and in addition, they are reviewing materials for use in Accounting I/II and Word Processing classes this fall.

? Balance in general fund is $2,537,585.33 and $1,695,406.93 in the schoolhouse fund. Those are preliminary figures for June.

? Ewell wants to set up times and dates where she can meet with people of the community. ?I would appreciate more assistance with meeting community groups and attending gatherings. I will soon be living in the community and realize this will greatly help with getting to know the area and people.?

? The district received a letter from the Bureau Chief for School Improvement indicating the district has met the requirements of the IDEA Part B. In other words, the district is meeting expectations with special education programs as well as meeting compliance requirements. Since the enactment of the original legislation in 1975, children and youth (ages 3-22) receive special education and related services under Part B of IDEA.

? The board discussed phone system upgrades. Steingreaber and Dr. Ewell will finalize RFP and bring to board meeting at the following meeting.

? Board approved the quote for Mike Goehring for pressbox/concession stand at about $22,000. The quote doesn?t include concrete and wiring and staff will do some interior work. The press box was toppled during a windstorm or possible tornado earlier this summer. Insurance will cover all but the concrete work. ? Board approved hiring a TAG teacher using TAG funds.

? The board discussed AppliTrack Statewide System which is now mandated to use by the state legislature. AppliTrack is a statewide online education program for job openings, postings, and applications.

? New hires approved: Lacey Beall, middle school paraprofessional.

? Resignations accepted: Robyn Nolting, business manager/board secretary; Grant Carter, Assistant Varsity Boys Basketball.

? Transfers approved: Sharon Carr, elementary cook to secondary cook.

? Registration packets are developed and will be sent out. Walk-in registration is 1-8 p.m. Aug. 13 and 1-5 p.m. Aug. 14. Parents are asked to complete registration materials and come in to the school on the registration days. We would ask that they do not register on the night of Open House. It can be very difficult to accommodate registrations during time periods other than what is scheduled.

Open house is 4-7 p.m. Aug. 15.

? Open enrollment approved in 2013-14: Kiara Bickman, Gr. 3 from VB to Fairfield.

? Next regular board meeting is August 21 beginning at 6:30 p.m.