Charles City School Board approves incentive bonuses for all district employees

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City School District Board of Directors approved a resolution that will award $1,000 retention bonuses to all school district employees at Monday’s meeting.

Superintendent Mike Fisher told the board that the district has been looking into how it could get some of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) money directly to the district’s employees.

ESSER funds were distributed to school districts to help pay for COVID-19 pandemic expenses like masks, enhanced cleaning and air systems.

“We wanted them to benefit from all the extra hours and extra work they’ve put in over the last couple of years, since the pandemic started,” Fisher said, and added that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that state money would be provided to teachers, but the criteria was “very narrow, and some certified teachers and staff would be excluded, so we decided to backfill that with some of our ESSER money, to make sure that every employee here received a retention bonus”

Fisher said that the $1,000 was an incentive so that employees would “stay on the job.”

The resolution states that Charles City recognizes that many school districts across the state are experiencing staffing shortages during the 2021-2022 school year due in large part to the pandemic and its residual effects, and that staffing shortages have also impacted the operations of the Charles City Community School District.

The board stated that it anticipates that said staffing issues will continue into the 2022-23 school year and will make hiring and retention for next year increasingly challenging.

By a 4-0 vote, the board authorized Fisher to facilitate a one-time retention incentive payment in the amount of $1,000 to classified staff who sign contracts with the district no later than May 25 to remain employed through the 2022-23 school year.

The bonus includes certified teaching staff who were not eligible for the governor’s retention incentive and who have agreed to fulfill the remainder of their contract, and also directors, administrators, administrative support, and any other staff who do not fall under a unionized group.

If an employee terminates a contract prior to June 30, he or she would be obligated to return the funds to the district.

In other business, last Thursday the school board held a special meeting to confirm the details of a search for a new Charles City superintendent of schools.

Earlier this month, Fisher told the board that he has accepted a position as superintendent in his hometown of Oskaloosa and resigned after four years at Charles City, to take effect on June 30.

The school distinct will take applications though April 6 and hold a closed session on April 7 with Grundmeyer Leader Services, the company the district is using to search for candidates. All the candidates will be presented to the board members at that meeting.

There will be another closed session on April 12 for the initial screening interviews, and formal interviews for finalists will be April 19. The board is tentatively looking at a salary range between $160,000 to $180,000 per year for the superintendent, depending on experience.

In other business on Monday, the board held a public hearing on the 2022-23 certified budget, and having received no comments, approved the 2022-23 certified budget and a grand total tax levy of $13.05537 per $1,000 of taxable property valuation, which is a 2.3% increase in the rate. Several board members noted that it was the first increase in eight years.

Director of Finance Evan Marten explained that the main reasons for the levy rate increase was a $15 million decrease in districtwide property valuation, a steady increase in property insurance, the rising costs of transportation and an inflation rate of nearly 6%.

Marten noted that there were increases in expenditures in instruction (9.1% increase) support services/transportation (2.1% increase) and maintenance and construction programs (8.2% increase).

In other business on Monday, the board:
— Heard an update from Tim Mitchell regarding fundraising progress toward a new auditorium.
— Heard an update on ESSER funding from Marten.
— Heard an update on possible realignment of the Northeast Iowa Conference from Fisher.
— Approved the resignation of Marie Conklin as TLC coach, effective June 30.
— Approved the appointment of Clarissa Mathews, PK-4 Literacy Coach, at a salary of $7,500, for the 2022-23 school year.
— Approved the appointment of Eric Johanningmeier, 5-12 Math Coach, at a salary of $7,500, for the 2022-23 school year.
— Approved the appointment of David Voves, PK-4 Math Coach, at a salary of $7,500, for the 2022-23 school year.
— Approved the appointment of Sheila Etherington, 5-12 Literacy Coach, at a salary of $7,500, for the 2022-23 school year.
— Approved the appointment of Carly Marten, WE Lead Teacher, at a salary of $10,000, for the 2022-23 school year.
— Approved the appointment of Roxanne Carey, Associate Director of Finance, at a salary of $12,046, effective April 18.