Summary of the Minutes
of the Board of Education Meeting
The
regular meeting of the Board of Education was called to order by President Jim
Spicer at
A motion was made by
Director Becker and seconded by Director Appelgate to approve the agenda. Ayes all.
A motion was made by
Director Young and seconded by Director Becker to approve the minutes of the
special session of the Board of Education held January 18, 2008, to approve the
minutes of the regular meeting of the Board of Education held January 21, 2008,
and to approve the minutes for the Committee of the Whole Meeting held February
11, 2008. Ayes all.
A motion was made by
Director Appelgate and seconded by Director Young to approve the payment of
bills. Ayes all.
Superintendent Keith Sersland
reviewed the receipts, disbursements, and cash balance in each of the fund
accounts for the month of January.
Director of Personnel
Martin Gordon reviewed the following personnel changes: Early Retirements – Keith Sersland, Martin
Gordon, Carol Clayton, Tim Walrod, Linda Jensen, John Bratvold,
Jane Swyter, Kathryn Shaffer, Renee Curry and Kathleen Novack;
Leave of Absence Request for 2008-2009 – Jackie Muller; and Resignations – Betty Stevenson and
Nicole Cadena.
A motion was made by Director Appelgate and seconded by Director Hoffman
to approve the personnel changes. Ayes all.
The calendar dates were
reviewed. Superintendent Sersland shared
a revised Committee of the Whole Topic Items schedule making particular note
the March 10 meeting will be held at
Director Spicer reported on
the Iowa Association of School Boards ABLE meeting “Using Superintendent
Evaluation to Grow and Support Relationships” held on February 5 attended by
Director Jayawardena, Superintendent Sersland and himself. President Spicer recommended the
superintendent evaluation instrument used by the Board should be reviewed with
Superintendent Sersland by the end of this school year to be sure it is meeting
the criteria shared at this ABLE meeting.
President Spicer provided
an update on the superintendent search process.
The Board met with G. Tryon and Associates and reviewed the input from
focus groups and developed a leadership profile. The next meeting will be held March 31 at
which time the Board will go over the applications received.
There were no requests to
address the Board during the Open Forum.
Assistant Superintendent
Hal Minear reviewed a list of recent accomplishments by students and staff
members.
Assistant Superintendent
Hal Minear provided the Board with an update of the district’s enrollment
status as of the beginning of the second semester. Mr. Minear’s update
also included number comparisons for the first day of school (
Superintendent Sersland
reported on the following: (1) Administrative
Openings – Mr. Sersland shared the district has posted the opening for
elementary principal. The posting
specifies experience as a requirement.
Superintendent Sersland shared that he has met with the Roosevelt Middle
School faculty to receive input regarding the hiring of a principal for that
building, but the Hoover Elementary staff meeting was cancelled due to weather
so that will be done at a later date. (2) Advanced Placement Exam Scholarships – Mr.
Sersland shared the district is working on establishing scholarships for the
payment of Advanced Placement Exam fees.
The district has received some contributions through the Adopt A School program and the Education Foundation of Mason City
Public Schools for this purpose and working toward increasing those scholarship
funds. The qualifications for receiving
the scholarship would be based on financial criteria and the scholarships would
be intended for those students taking multiple exams to cover the second fee
and beyond so that the financial burden does not influence the number of exams
a student takes. (3) Take It Back–Town
Hall Meeting – This is a nationwide program to dialogue about substance abuse
in communities and is sponsored by the Mason City Youth Task Force. The meeting is scheduled for March 4 at
Superintendent Keith
Sersland presented an amendment to the current agreement with the Second
Judicial District for the Juvenile Court Liaison position with the
district. Due to funding changes and the
resignation from one of the personnel this fall, the contract was revisited and
this amendment will update the agreement to incorporate the changes that have
occurred. A motion was made by Director
Hoffman and seconded by Director Young to approve the amendment presented. Ayes all.
A motion was made by
Director Appelgate and seconded by Director Young to approve the timeline for
the roof replacement projects planned for
A motion was made by
Director Becker and seconded by Director Young to approve a contract from
A motion was made by
Director Becker and seconded by Director Hoffman to approve an open enrollment
application for Dillon Scott Wike for the 2007-2008
school year. Ayes all.
A motion was made by
Director Becker and seconded by Director Appelgate to approve open enrollment
applications for Colby Connor, Britta Elsbernd, Jordon Holder and Stone Sturges for the 2008-2009
school year. Ayes all.
A
motion was made by Director Young and seconded by Director Hoffman to hold a
closed session to conduct a strategy meeting of a public employer concerning
employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement as provided in Section
20.17(d) of the Code. A roll call vote
was taken resulting in ayes all. The Board
went into closed session at
At
A
motion was made by Director Thoms and seconded by Director Young to
adjourn. Ayes all. The meeting was adjourned at
Susan A. Deike
Recording Secretary
Jim Spicer
Board President