Charles City School Board approves second-grade move to Lincoln

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City School Board approved moving the second-grade class from Washington Elementary to Lincoln Elementary at its regular meeting on Monday, Feb. 27.

In the works for several months now, moving the second-grade will balance the student population between the two buildings, allowing for better utilization of the Lincoln building and easing logistical challenges at Washington on lunch scheduling and student pick-up, school officials said.

“It seems to be a better use of our facility, our space, and our personnel,” said board member Dr. David Schrodt.

The move will take place for the next school year, with the current first-grade class joining the current second-graders in the usual building transition tours.

There are currently no plans about what to do with additional space that will be freed up at the Washington building, though Superintendent Dr. Anne Lundquist did note that she is considering some options.

“It’s my intent to not leave those rooms vacant,” said Lundquist.

Getting ahead of one obvious suggestion, Lundquist noted that hiring additional teachers to lower the K-1 class sizes would likely not be a viable option for the district.

“I wish that would be the case, but I don’t think that would be sustainable in a district of our size,” said Lundquist.

Moving the second-grade to the Lincoln building will come with some expenses.

The board approved a $33,745 bid from H2I for additional lockers for the building along with a $17,345 bid from Discount Mobility Lifts to install a second lift for ADA compliance, both of which will be paid out of Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) reserves.

In addition, the board approved approximately $65,000 in library equipment and renovations from Innovative, to be paid for with leftover COVID funds. It was noted that, with or without the new second-graders, the library in the Lincoln building was overdue for an update.

Back to the Washington building, Elementary Principal Nanette Smith was at the meeting to present the board with a mid-year update on how things are progressing at the K-2 building.

Smith detailed her goals for academics, culture, and parental involvement, explaining the steps they have taken and the progress that has been made towards those ends.

In academics, there is a strong focus on English, with the adoption of resources to teach phonics and improve literacy across all grade levels, she said. This includes the use of FASTBridge, a screening program that helps identify at-risk students so personalized learning plans can be developed to help them get caught up.

Improving attendance was a highlight of the school culture report. With teachers being more proactive in communicating with parents about absent students, the number of students who have missed more than 10% of the year saw a dramatic drop in 2022 compared to the fall semester of the previous year.

Family engagement efforts also include efforts to make more positive reports, a Family Literacy Night, reorganization of the PTO, and a weekly newsletter.

The board also received a presentation from the CCHS speech team, with the musical theater group performing a selection from the musical “Assassins.”

Anders Hauglund, Sophia Jensen, Teagan Prigge, Jacob Diers, DaShawn Griffin, Kaity Heckers, and Blake Hoeft made up the group, performing a musical look into the mind of Lee Harvey Oswald.

The musical theater and ensemble acting groups, with ensemble actors Harper McInroy and Anders Haglund performing “Gruesome Playground Injuries,” received All-State recognition and performed at ISU on Feb. 18. District competitions for individual speech began on Feb. 25 with 11 students participating in 13 events.

In other business, the board approved bids for two different air quality systems.

A $33,310 bid from Mechanical Air was approved to install an Air Gas clean air system for the industrial tech department at the high school. The industrial ventilation system will accommodate the new equipment in the industrial tech department and be paid for with COVID funds.

The board also approved a $63,210 bid from Mick Gage for an air handler unit for the north end of the high school. This equipment is part of the district’s five-year plan and will be paid for out of next year’s PPEL funds, though it is being ordered now to get ahead of lag in supply chains.

On the technical side of the building’s infrastructure, the board approved an agreement with Heartland Business Systems in the amount of $27,241.96 for network licensing. The licensing is required to run the school’s computer network and must be renewed in March.

The board agreed to a one-year license, but will be exploring cheaper alternatives for network management in the long term.

In the last purchase of the meeting, the board approved the Safety Strong curriculum to be used in the district. Safety Strong is a safety curriculum that provides training and resources for teachers and students for emergency situations. Through guides and scripted scenarios, the curriculum helps teachers train kids to how to recognize and respond to dangers.

“When seconds matter, the kids know what to do,” said Ingrid Tutu, who both developed the curriculum and is a special education teacher in the district.

Superintendent Lundquist, who said she has previously used the curriculum, assured the board that Tutu was not involved in the recommendation process and that potential conflicts of interest had been cleared by the district’s attorney.

“I think it’s the best product out there,” said Lundquist. “She just also happens to work here.”

The board approved the curriculum at a cost not to exceed $8,000.

In personnel matters, the board approved the agreement between the district and the Charles City Community Education Association for the 2023-24 Master Contract.

Representatives of the teacher’s union met with board representatives on Friday, Feb. 24, and presented each other with their proposed terms, agreeing to a $171 increase in base salary and a $397 increase to the Teacher Salary Supplement.

Including increases to health insurance, the teachers will receive a total package increase of 3.34%. For the average teacher in the district, this amounts to a raise of roughly $1,800.

Only wages were negotiated this year as a three-year agreement on contract language was made the previous year.

The district will seemingly be looking for two new administrators for the next school years. The board approved the resignation of High School Principal Bryan Jurrens at the meeting. Jurrens has been the principal at the high school since 2018.

At the same time, the Oskaloosa School District has announced that Lincoln Elementary Principal Marcia DeVore will be joining them next year as the district’s director of teaching and learning, though DeVore has not yet submitted her resignation to the Charles City district.

In other personnel matters, the board approved the resignation of high school special education instructor Mattie Maloy; approved the internal transfer of Alesha Dean to middle school strategist, Noah Deter to high school special education, Hidie Gardner to high school special education, Michelle Dolman to high school agriculture teacher; and appointed Margaret Lucas as middle school special education.

The next meeting will be a workshop session on Tuesday, March 7 at 5 p.m. where the board will discuss the next step in plans for a new school auditorium.

Photo

The CCHS Musical Theatre group performed their All-State piece, a medley from the musical “Assassins” to the Charles City School Board on Monday, Feb. 27.