The regular school board meeting happened on Monday, April 15 at 6 p.m.
All members were present: President Jacob Burroughs, Vice President Becky Vargas, Directors Audra Daufeldt, Kira Achen, and Ed Moreno. Superintendent Shaun Kruger and Secretary Abby Ortiz were in attendance, as well as Kirk Ryan, Andrew Genz, and Jaime and Magda Valdez.
The agenda included a budget hearing and a policy reading. After the usual look at overnight trips and fundraising requests, the meeting moved on to the public hearing on the 2024-25 published budget and property tax notice.
Jaime Valdez approached the board with questions about the notice he received in the mail, as did many area residents. The board answered his questions about the notice, which included the property owner’s personal taxes as well as the amount for all of Muscatine County.
There were no other questions asked about the budget, and the budget was approved by the board.
The board also looked at the agreement with the WLPEA, the West Liberty Para Education Association. The board removed a part of the agreement that suggested a 6-month probationary period for new paras with little to no experience.
“It created more clerical effort than it needed,” President Burroughs said, “and it sometimes didn’t get followed through on, maybe all the time.”
The decision was made to simply remove that piece of the agreement. The board also tried to elevate the starting wage to be more competitive in the area.
The new agreement clarifies the wage expectations based on time spent working and rewards paras for staying longer. The agreement also removed a stipend that was paid to paras with IEP students in order to fund the wage increase.
“If a para that has an IEP student is out, there’s a very strong possibility that they could be subbed by someone who’s not getting that stipend,” Burroughs said, “so then there becomes an inequity, and also this gave us the ability to just pay more to everyone.”
Vice President Vargas also pointed out that some paras may be working with different students throughout the week, and it became a logistical nightmare trying to stay on top of who gets what and why.
The change aims to simplify and streamline the entire payment process while maintaining the flexible nature of the job. The board voted to accept the changes to the WLPEA agreement.
The board also looked at insurance and has decided to move to a higher deductible with the goal of offsetting future price hikes.
“As we are able to save money as we implement this, we put it into a reserve fund,” Board Secretary and Business Manager Ortiz said, “so then, in years when there are huge spikes, we can use some of that reserve to offset those premium increases for staff.”
The District will be moving to a new broker, Holmes Murphy, and the insurance will remain with Wellmark. Ortiz emphasized that Holmes Murphy has been very communicative and eager to educate.
“They’ve been really good to work with,” Ortiz said. “They’re very hands-on and will get the information to our employees and make sure that they understand what plan they’re getting.”
The board looked at a change to the athletic complex. A few changes are being made to the concrete and drainage systems. Hydromulching happened just in time for the rain.
As usual, the board looked at policies and made sure that our policies align with IASB (Iowa Association of School Boards) recommendations.
The board also looked at upcoming staff changes. There may be some retirement parties to attend at the end of the year.
The School Board efficiently adjourned after getting plenty done in only 22 minutes. The next regular board meeting will take place on Monday, May 6 at 6 p.m. in the boardroom.
Items on the agenda include the Tanager contract and the Superintendent report. As always, the video will be broadcast on YouTube and will remain viewable indefinitely on the District’s YouTube channel.