School board welcomes new superintendent, officially approves $150,000 salary

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Community School District Board of Education welcomed incoming Superintendent Mike Fisher at its meeting on Tuesday, and officially approved his hiring and salary as one part of the consent agenda, without further discussion or review.

Fisher’s base salary will be $150,000 per year, and his official start date will be July 1. As part of his entry plan he will be at regular board meetings in June.

“I just can’t wait to start,” Fisher said to the directors Tuesday.

Fisher will replace Dan Cox, who announced his resignation in late March to accept the position as chief administrator of the Northwest Area Education Agency located in Sioux City.

“This is an opportunity for us to welcome Mike,” Cox said at the meeting.

Fisher previously served as principal at Hoover Middle School in Waterloo, and he and his wife Sarah, along with their son Joshua, plan to move to Charles City this summer.

“It’s exciting. I was just on the phone in the hallway talking with the Realtors. We’re trying to get an offer on a house,” Fisher said to the board. “We’re just thrilled to be accepted into the Charles City community. I was driving around town and it still strikes me how beautiful this town is.”

Fisher was one of 26 applicants who were presented to the board for the position. The board held 30-minute screening interviews with seven semifinalists in early May, and narrowed the pool down to three finalists. Fisher was selected after the finalists went through interviews with teachers, support staff, parents, students and other community members, as well as administrative staff and school board members.

“I think we all publicly welcome you, and privately welcome you,” said board President Jason Walker. “We appreciate the time you’ve given us already.”

In other business Tuesday, the school board approved the salaries and the handbooks for several non-teaching employee positions.

The school board’s negotiations committee met with the superintendent on May 24 to review wages, salaries, benefits and handbook changes for the 2018-19 school year for confidential secretaries, program coordinators, directors and administrators.

The board unanimously approved the confidential secretaries handbook for 2018-19 and approved an increase of 41 cents per hour for confidential secretaries, as recommended by the administration.

The board also unanimously approved the 2018-19 handbook for program coordinators, directors and administrators. Recommended annual salaries for program coordinators are $44,102  for the juvenile court liaison officer, $57,558  for communications and community engagement, $53,337  for the transition alliance program coordinator, and $21.02 per hour for the alternative academic program supervisor and tech assistant.

Recommended salaries for directors for the 2018-19 school year are $84,035 for the director of buildings and grounds and transportation, $89,268 for the business manager and $79,118 for the technology director.

These salaries were approved unanimously by the school board.

In other business on Monday, the school board unanimously approved the first reading of some alterations to the school district’s building use policy. The changes simplify and standardize the fees charged to outside groups for use of school district facilities. There will be a flat fee of $25 per hour for 0-4 hours or $50 per hour for four-plus hours on Saturdays, Sundays or other times outside of regular working hours for staff.

The school board accepted the resignations of Chris Hageman, high school special education teacher; Jessica Hirsch, middle school special education teacher; Marilyn Heitz, HSAP co-coordinator; Heather Coon, middle school counselor; and Alexis Finder, high school drama.

All the resignations are effective June 30.

The school board approved the appointment of Jessica Menchak, teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, at a salary of $47,741, starting Aug. 15. The board also approved the employee transfers of Lisa Nelson, from kindergarten to middle school reading teacher; Kari Klemesrud, from high school educational secretary to middle school confidential secretary; and Julie Miller, middle school educational secretary to Washington Elementary educational secretary.

The meeting Tuesday was the final meeting of the term of student board member Falyn Knecht, who thanked the school board for the opportunity to represent the student body at Charles City.