High school renovation/auditorium bond will be on the November ballot

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The $28.5 million bond measure to fund the Charles City High School renovation and auditorium project will be on the ballot this November.

During the regular board meeting on Monday, Aug. 14, the Charles City Community School Board unanimously approved a resolution ordering an election to issue a bond that will fund a major renovation and remodeling project for the district high school along with the construction of a brand new auditorium addition to the building.

“We have our signatures,” said board member Pat Rottinghaus.

The district has collected, at last count, 582 signatures for the petition that would allow them to move forward with the bond measure, comfortably above the threshold needed to put the measure on the ballot.

To inform the community about the bond measure, the district has established a website, charlescitybond.org, which features details about the construction plans, the impact it will have on area property taxes and the history of both the renovation and auditorium projects.

Rottinghaus suggested another method to demonstrate the importance of moving forward with the high school renovations, which includes installing a new HVAC system, would be by inviting the community to visit the building during the first week of school as temperatures are expected to exceed 100 degrees.

“I challenge the community to come up to the high school and feel what that feels like,” said Rottinghaus.

Superintendent Dr. Anne Lundquist also noted that she is available to personally discuss the details of the bond measure with anybody that wishes to know more.

“I have a full set of resources available,” she said.

In other business, the board received a demonstration from Activities Director Dana Sullivan about the Bound app, which the district will be utilizing this year to manage ticket sales.

Sullivan showed the board how to set up accounts for the service, purchase tickets for events, and explained how the QR codes will be used by attendees and tracked by ticket-takers.

In personnel matters, the board approved Christian Paulson to serve as the district’s orchestra director, filling out the school’s musical programming staff for the year.

The board also approved in the personnel report the creation of a Medicaid coordinator position in the district. School nurse Bethany Bjorklund was on hand to present the board with the reasoning behind creating the new position.

Bjorklund explained that there are several medical-related services that the district provides for students under an individualized education program (IEP) that qualify for reimbursement under Medicaid, but the monthly claims process is dominating an increasing amount of time for the district’s two active nurses and resulting in the district not being able to be reimbursed for everything it could be.

“We do the best we can, but we need to improve this process,” said Bjorklund.

By bringing in an administrative assistant who specializes in claims accounting, Bjorklund said that the district would benefit both by ensuring that the district is making full use of its ability to receive Medicaid reimbursements and by freeing up time for the nurses to serve students.

“We need somebody who is driven and excited and likes spreadsheets,” said Bjorklund.

The board also approved an increase in pay for substitute drivers and custodians, raising the substitute driver pay from $18.25 per hour to $18.75 and increasing substitute custodian pay from $14.04 per hour to $18.57.