News : V-S Organizational Meeting held on Monday Evening

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Kathy Van Steenhuyse, who is stepping down from the school board, following a decade of service. Kathy has been a tremendous asset to our district, and her dedication and commitment have made a lasting impact on our community. We appreciate her years of service and wish her the very best in her future endeavors.

The technology team has expanded! Please officially welcome 2023 V-S graduate Austin Still to the technology team. Austin was a summer technology intern for two years for the school district. He is currently studying at Kirkwood Community College working towards a degree in the computer science field. As he is also a full-time college student, Austin will be working part-time for the school district. He will be assisting Mr. Farmer on a variety of tasks. 
Review Board Accomplishments
This is a time that members of the current board may want to reflect on the accomplishments of the last year. 

• Increased school rankings in the US New school rankings.
• High School ranks 5th in the Cedar Rapids metro area
• Middle School ranks 12th out of 700 schools in the state.
• Shellsburg Elementary ranks 51 out of 942 schools
• Tilford Elementary ranks 115 out of 942 schools
• Middle School was awarded a Blue Ribbon School for academic excellence (only MS in Iowa for 2022).
• Organized and installed a solar array on the high school.
• Organized and started middle school renovation for heating and cooling.
• Awarded $200,000 Therapeutic Classroom Grant
• Awarded $1,500,000 Workforce Development Grant for expanded childcare
• Reduction of health insurance premiums.
• Reduction of worker comp insurance premiums.
• Maintained a positive unspent balance and solvency ratio.
• FFA received top honors in our state and national recognition, and started a middle school FFA program.
• Hired two new principals and expanded support staff for the school district.
• Honored by the National School Public Relations Association for our exceptional community outreach efforts through social media.
• Presented at conferences
• Increased board learning, members received recognition for their efforts.
• Continued and developed strong local partnerships.

Child Care ContractAwarded a contract to Creative Kids to provide child care for the school district, to include summer care, before/after school care, and preschool wrap around care.

Pre-Referendum Construction Manager at-Risk ContractApproved entering into a Construction Manager At-Risk contract with Miron Construction to provide pre-referendum work and all construction management work which would ensue following a successful referendum vote. More information to come on the process for this work. It will take much staff and community participation. 

School Board Meeting locations and times for the 2023-2024 school year.
Third Monday of the Month Dates:
January 17th (Wednesday)
February 19th (Presidents Day) - Snow Makeup
March 18th
April 15th
May 20th
June 17th
July 15th
August 19th
September 16th
October 21st
November 18th
December 16th

Approved all personnel items 
Approval of ContractsStock Unit 2024 Blue Bird Vision Propane Bus for $143,040.00.
Three year 28E Sharing Agreement with Vinton Police Department for the School Resource Officer. This district will pay 75% of wages.

Approved Fundraiser Requests
Dance & Movie Night to raise funds for the 5th Grade Ski Trip
Shellsburg Penny Wars to donate to Aiming for a Cure Foundation
Wrestling Cheerleading candy cane sales to raise funds for state wrestling
Baseball to host a pickleball tournament fundraiser

Approved Early GraduationVictoria Buchanan is a junior and is requesting to graduate at the end of the 2023-24 school year pending the completion of the required coursework. 

Approved District Developed Service Delivery Plan Committee

Approved Four Early Separation Applications 

Approved  Application for Allowable Growth for Increased Open Enrollment & EL Instruction
Districts may request modified supplemental amount (MSA) (ie. spending authority) for on-time funding (awarded in current year) if the open enrollment out (OEO) is not on the prior year (PY) headcount for enrollment. This amount is $250,219.76. Districts may also request MSA for the costs of providing instructional services to English learner students being served beyond the five years of weighting. This amount is $1,603.35.

Approved the line item budget for fiscal year 2024

Fall Policy Updates - 1st Reading
401.01 - Equal Employment Opportunity
HF 672 made changes to the frequency of repeat background checks for certain types of employees. Licensed employees working for at least 10 years and who possess at least a master's degree no longer have to engage in continuing education for license renewal. However, these employees must undergo a background check every five years.

503.01 - Student Conduct
HF 604 required the DE to develop a sample policy for students who commit threats of violence, violence, or assaults. Some of the language in IASB's student conduct policy was adopted into the DE's policy. To avoid overlap of language, IASB has removed some language from our sample policy on student conduct. It is worth noting that some overlapping language remains in the student conduct policy as this language pertains to all student conduct, and is not limited to threats of violence, violence, or assault.
 
503.01R1 - Student Suspension
See the explanation for 503.01 above.

503.02 - Expulsion
See the description for 503.01 above.

New! 503.08R1 - Student Threats of Violence and Incidents of Violence Regulation
This supplemental regulation is designed to be adapted by districts in addition to the DE's model policy on student threats of violence, violence, and assault. This regulation must be adapted in collaboration with district teachers and administrators, as required by HF 604. Districts should convene a group of stakeholders to develop a common definition for the listed terms and adapt parameters to better implement the requirements of the DE's model policy.

605.3R1 - Reconsideration of Instructional and Library Materials Regulation
The number of reconsideration committee members was updated to reflect the correct number of members after the student members were previously removed from this regulation in accordance with legislative changes.

701.05R1 - Financial Metrics 
One sentence was added to this regulation to clarify the obligation of the district in forecasting the district's financial outlook.