School board meets new food services manager

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Community School Board received updates on the school lunch program, superintendent search, and middle school robotics club during its regular meeting on Monday, Feb. 26.

At the meeting, Mike Butler of Southwest Foodservice Excellence (SFE) updated the board about the ever-adapting nutrition services program.

Charles City is the first Iowa school that the Arizona-based food service company has contracted with as it expands into the Midwest. Its inaugural year in the state has met some challenges with staffing, losing its general manager early in the school year following a number of health code violations.

After months without a full-time general manager, Butler said he was pleased to introduce Brenda Janssen to the board, who was recently hired to take on the position.

“She’s overseeing all the facilities here,” said Butler.

Butler also ran the board through the results of a student survey, demonstrating how the company is gauging what kind of foods are popular among the kids.

Far removed from the days where students were limited to either the entrée of the day or a peanut butter sandwich, today’s students are offered a selection of options for breakfast and lunch each day, from cheeseburgers to chicken tacos to pizza.

Trying to hit the ever-moving target of what food will be preferred day-to-day is an ongoing process, with Butler stating that they have been proactive in observing trends and collecting feedback from students.

“It’s been very positive for us,” said Butler. “We are learning a lot about what they want and what they don’t want.”

Steve Murley of McPherson & Jacobson was also present at the meeting to walk the board through the process of selecting and hiring a new district superintendent. Murley explained how the board will be presented with a pool of candidates interested in the position and how they will gradually narrow the field down until it is time for in-person interviews.

Moving into committee reports, board member Bruce Koebrick reported that the finance committee is nearly finished working on the budget for the next fiscal year, but warned that tough decisions may be looming for the upcoming workshop session scheduled for Tuesday, March 5.

“It will, in my opinion, be a really stressful conversation,” said Koebrick.

Meanwhile, board member Dr. David Schrodt reported that a renewed effort will need to be made to find a performance space for the fine arts program. While the Comet Gym has frequently been utilized to host school concerts, use of the gym has resulted in scheduling conflicts and some damage to the gym floor.

Hearing from the school staff, the board received a presentation from Washington Elementary counselor Sandy Thomson, high school counselor Casey Brandau, and middle school counselor Ray Cole about the work they do in their respective buildings.

The district currently has five counselors in the district, along with a social worker, responsible for working with students with class schedules, academic needs, social behaviors, and more. The trio of counselors explained to the board the different needs of students at different grade levels, the challenges of a high student to counselor ratio, and how they plan to find ways to better build relationships with more students.

The board also received mid-year administrative reports from principals Joe Carney and Dan Phipps, each presenting an update on the academic progress for students at Washington and Lincoln Elementary.

Literacy growth was a focal point in both buildings, with most classes demonstrating high percentages of typical to aggressive literacy growth.

“From fall to winter we had 80% of our students show growth,” said Carney. “Our kids are rock stars at the fundamental skills.

The principals also discussed the culture and climate of their respective buildings, detailing the strategies they use to improve behavior among students and maintain a safe learning environment.

Moving into new business, the board heard from TAG instructor Patrick Nyberg and middle school library assistant Kelsi Vanderwerf, coaches of the Charles City Cosmic Snowballs LEGO robotics team.

Made up of middle school TAG students, the Cosmic Snowballs have had an impressive first year, taking second place last month at the FIRST LEGO League state contest in Ames.

“Because of the team’s success at the state level, we’ve received an invitation to a national tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida,” said Nyberg.

Nyberg and Vanderwerf asked the board for permission to attend the Florida Sunshine Invitational, which will be held this summer from June 19-22. The contest will feature 80 teams from across the country, along with 20 international teams, for a weekend of robotics competition.

Along with asking the board for permission to go on the trip, Nyberg also asked that the program be allowed to expand from an aspect of the TAG class into a fully fledged middle school robotics club. Doing so would not only allow for a greater range of students to get involved, but also allow them an activity fund to support the program.

In the meantime, the Cosmic Snowballs are preparing for a fundraiser to help cover some of the expenses of the Florida trip, which will be on the agenda for approval at the next meeting.

For fundraisers on the current agenda, the board approved a request from Amanda and Ryan Rahmiller to set up a fundraiser for the track and field program that will allow fans to donate money for each personal record an athlete receives in April. Collected money will go toward updates for equipment and uniforms, clinic costs for athletes, and meals for team activities.

Finally, the board approved a bid for a new 71-passenger school bus from Blue Bird in the amount of $145,362.