Fisher proposes spending 30% of COVID relief money on ‘Innovative School Campus’

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

At Charles City Superintendent of Schools Mike Fisher’s request, the Charles City School District Board of Directors on Monday instructed Fisher to launch a new “Innovative School Campus” that will specifically meet the needs of at-home learners through digital delivery.

The board designated up to 30% of the money the district receives from the third round of COVID relief to be the funding source.

“We’re going to see an increased demand for digital learning,” Fisher told the board. “It’s not for everyone — it’s probably not for the majority of our people — but we still have a number of students who would like to continue with the digital learning format that we adopted under COVID.”

Fisher said he wants the district to respond to that and meet the needs of the students in the district, some of who have excelled under the district’s School-To-You program.

School-To-You is a state-mandated online learning option that will be available for the entire school year. It is state-mandated online learning, deemed necessary because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At previous meetings, the board has discussed offering students an academy of alternative learning in Charles City, similar to the home-school assistance program or the Carrie Lane alternative school.

Fisher has said the academy would be its own school, with its own staff, teachers and administrators.

The online school staff would be specifically trained to teach remotely so to take the burden off of “brick-and-mortar” teachers who are currently teaching both in-person and remotely.

Fisher said that with the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package that passed in Washington and was signed into law by President Biden earlier this month, the state of Iowa’s public education share will be more than $770 million.

Last time around, the Charles City School District received about $1.4 million of relief money, and Fisher said the district has been told that the allotment this time will be between two and three times that much, a range between $2.8 million and $4.2 million.

That would mean that somewhere between $1 million and $1.5 million of COVID relief money would likely go to the new online learning academy. Fisher estimated that this would be enough money to sustain the online learning academy for three years.

“With the law signed, we want to start moving forward, posting positions and getting things reorganized and reset,” Fisher said. “That’s why my recommendation is to allot up to 30% of that money to launch this campus.”

Fisher also told the board at its regular meeting Monday that COVID numbers in the school district have remained stable and said he feels good that two-thirds of staff has now been fully vaccinated.

Fisher said he’s gotten several questions regarding the school district’s mask mandate, and said that mandate will remain in effect for now.

“This is because the quarantine rules have not changed,” Fisher said. “If we were to take masks off and somebody tested positive, it forces everyone to quarantine within a six-foot radius.”

In other action on Monday, the school board reviewed the proposed 2021-22 certified budget and set a public hearing for the budget for ​Monday, April 12, at 6:15 p.m. in the CCHS library.

The proposed budget sees a 0% property tax increase and a 1 percentage point surtax increase from 6% to 7%. The Supplemental State Aid for public school districts for 2021-22 was approved by the Iowa state Legislature at 2.4%.

At the last board meeting earlier this month, the school board instructed Terri O’Brien, CCSD director of finance, to bring back a budget that was consistent with no increase in property taxes and a 1% increase in income surtax.

“The rate on the property tax is staying the same,” O’Brien said. “The taxable valuation in the district is increasing.”

The budget taxes rates include $10.65 general fund levy; $0.56 management fund levy; $0.33 board-approved PPEL; and generating the voter approved $1.34 PPEL levy through property tax of $1.20, totaling $12.75

“We have worked very hard to keep the tax rate here stable,” said Fisher. “We have gone several years now with no property tax levy increase.”

In other business on Monday, the school board:
— Approved the purchase of an automated baseball practice machine from for $14,500, pending the Comet Athletic Booster Club approval for half of the amount, with the district covering the remaining half.
— Heard a presentation regarding communications leadership and Charles City Comet branding by students Michellel Jones and Madi Johnson, who discussed the authentic learning happening in a class taught by Dana Sullivan and CCSD Communications Director Justin DeVore.
— Approved the resignation of Diane Hobert, Washington Elementary para-educator, effective March 31.
— Approved the appointment of Molly Staudt, CCHS Spanish teacher, at a salary to be determined, effective Aug. 12.
— Approved the appointment of Carly Marten, CCMS language arts teacher, at a salary to be determined, effective Aug. 12.
— Approved the transfer of Katelyn Shultz, from CCMS special education teacher to elementary special education teacher, effective July 1.