Both MMC and RU School Boards were informed that each of their buildings could expect approximately $50,000 for school security shared by Governor Reynolds via media. More on this in Superintendent’s report.
Each year there are five goals that the Board/District/Superintendent choose. There were five goals presented: (1) Continue steps to improve facilities at both the Marcus and Remsen centers. (2) Continue updating curriculum in core areas in order to improve student academic performance. (3) Develop plan for attracting and retaining instructional talent at MMCRU. (4) Continue committee work of marketing our schools and ramp up efforts of branding and outreach to families in and out of our districts. (5) Continue utilizing IASB opportunities for board development and encourage board member attendance at IASB Annual Conference. After much discussion, the boards tabled this until next month.
MMC Spring/Summer Contracts listed were Dave Nicks as Baseball Asst., Mark Schuttler as Boys’ Golf, Kendra Knapp as Girls’ Golf, Kyle Oswald as Boys’ High School Asst., Lonnie Boekhout as Girls’ High School High School Track Asst., Lisa Spieler as Girls’ Track Asst., Jodi Theisen as Softball Asst., and Mike Olson as Softball Head Coach.
R-U Spring/Summer Contracts listed were Derrick Mara as Baseball Asst., Cam Kuchel as Baseball Head, Colin Youde as Boy’s High School Track Head, Colin Youde as Softball Asst., and Mike West, Heather Youde, and Toby Young as Junior High Track Coaches. These contracts were approved after the verifying evaluation had been done.
MMCRU School Calendar for 2022-2023 was approved. School will start August 23 and end on May 25. Days/hours in classroom for First Semester is 83* and Second Semester is 97 for a total of 180 days. *includes teacher comp day.
Holidays are: Labor Day (9-5), Thanksgiving Day (11/24), New Year’s Day (1/1), president’s Day (2/20), and Memorial Day (5/29).
Important Dates include Aug. 17 with Open House from 5-7 p. m., Sept. 23 is the 1st Qtr Mid-term, Nov. 18 is the 2nd Qtr Mid-term, Feb. 3 is the 3rd Qtr Mid-term and April 21 is the 4th Qtr Mid-term.
A one-year service agreement with Trane was approved. Trane does servicing to boiler, circulation pump, etc. for $23, 523.00
MMC’s resignation of Connie Peterson was approved as was the hiring of Alicia Hergott as Elementary counselor and John Weller as Secondary Art. Resignations at R-U included Min Zhang as cook and Tammie Hagert as Para.
The contract for Project Success Transitional Services for 2022-2023 at the Western Iowa Tech Community College site in Sioux City was approved. The contract between MMCRU and Western Iowa Tech Community College is to contract for the provision of secondary special education Project SUCCESS transition services for Adam Harms, Michael Harvey pursuant to his/her individualized Education Program (IEP) developed by the IEP team of the MMCRU. Adam Harms, Michael Harvey is required by Iowa Code to provide special education support services, media and instructional services to enrolled students within its boundaries without charge.
There were seven Bond issues following the aforementioned items. I left the meeting before these went into discussion. They were all adopted by the MMC Board but for more information on the contents of these, check the notes sent in by the Board Secretary in this week’s Marcus News. (1) Bond Series 2022 A: Resolution Appointing Paying Agent, Bond Registrar and Transfer Agent Agreement and Authorizing the Execution of Same.
(2) Bond Series 2022 A: Approval of Form of Tax Exemption Certificate.
(3) Bond Series 2022 A: Approval of Continuing Disclosure Certificate.
(4) Bond Series 2022 A: Resolution Amending the Resolution Authorizing the Issuance of Bonds and Levying a Tax for the Payment Thereof Adopted March 21, 2022.
(5) Bond Series 2022 B: Resolution Appointing Paying Agent, Bond Registrar and Transfer Agent, Approving the Paying Agent, Bond Registrar and Transfer agent agreement and Authorizing the Execution of Same.
(6) Bond Series 2022 B: Approval of Continuing Disclosure Certificate and (7) Bond Series 2022 B: Resolution Amending the Resolution Authorizing the Issuance of Bonds and Levying a Tax for the Payment Thereof Adopted March 21, 2022.
Toby Young, Principal of MMCRU Middle School/Remsen Elementary reported the following: The building is nearly ready for the upcoming school year and the finishing touches will be completed in the next few weeks. Thank you to our custodial staff for all their work this summer making our building look great!
Summer Reading Program has 2 weeks left (1 in July and 1 in August) with 15 students attending. 2022-2023 School Registration is July 26 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. AND July 27 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Online registration is also an option.)
2022-2023 Open House is August 17 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
School begins on Tuesday, August 23.
As of how all teaching openings have been filled for the upcoming year. We are still working to adjust our master schedule to fill the gaps due the FCS opening and internal movement of Mrs. Youde into our Middle School Science position.
Junior High Cross Country, Football, and Volleyball practice will begin on the first day of school—Tuesday, August 23.
Our administrative team will be attending the SAI Conference on August 3 and 4 in Des Moines. This will be a great time for our admin team to collaborate with each other and administrators across the state of Iowa to learn and grow in our leadership positions.
Job Openings for 2022-2023 at Remsen include Elementary Paraprofessional—1:1, Substitute Teachers and Substitute Paraprofessionals.
Superintendent’s report is as follows: Staffing: We have been fortunate to fill most of the open teaching positions that were open at our last board meeting. We have found applicants for the shared art position, the MMC elementary counselor and we have filled the middle school science position in-house. We have some possibilities for both positions.
Construction at the Marcus site has ramped up quite a bit since our last meeting. As of our last meeting, they were still on schedule even though the rainy weather has slowed them down a bit. Grace United Methodist church has been gracious in consideration of our needs for additional parking and facilities during the 4th quarter when we are displaced from the south wing of the high school.
Norm Te Krony of EDA has informed me hat they intend to have a bid ready for HVAC work to be done in the summer of 2023 at the Remsen building available for the board meeting on August 15. We have also been in talks with Norm about the bathrooms regarding the repairs to the wall creating the smell in the building. We need to find out what can be done to improve the aesthetics in both bathrooms on the east side of the gym without losing too much capacity due to ADA requirements.
Governor Kim Reynolds has shared via the media that we can expect approximately $50,000 for each of our buildings to improve school security at each site. We are in the process of determining which steps we will want to take to improve security at each site. Before we make any decisions, I have requested each building to have a “school safety vulnerability assessment” conducted in the future. I’m not sure what this will look like, but the Iowa Department of Education and the department of Homeland Security is involved in the assessment. This comes at no cost to each district. Whatever vulnerabilities they find in our buildings will obviously help guide the steps we take for school security at each site.
Finding paras and bus drivers continues to be a challenge. The federal government has not made our efforts in securing bus drivers, in particular, any easier. Do not be surprised if I will be driving more routes on a substitute basis than in the past. If any board members would like to consider driving a school bus, Iowa Code now allows board members to earn up to $20,000 from the school district as long as there is no conflict of interest.
New stuff! While talking to an individual in the community, I was reminded of just how many new things we are initiating in our districts this year. The new construction in Marcus is obvious enough, but in addition to that we are implementing a new CKLA “science of reading” curriculum that will improve the reading skills of our students for years to come. Also, we are implementing MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) at the middle school level. Our business office will soon be rolling out Frontline for our districts, which will simplify and help with the onboarding of new staff, and will also help our building principals, secretaries, and our substitute teachers fill our needed substitutes each day. That along with the ever-evolving changes going on this year in Marcus means that the districts are moving forward and not just standing-pat. We are always seeking to improve and serve our students better. Please be encouragers of our staff as we work hard to get better each day at MMCRU.
Pretty soon the doors of MMCRU will open to our students. We are here for the students, and they are the primary focus of our efforts. Please be safe this summer. We look forward to working with our kids again!
The MMC Board of Education met in Regular Meeting on Monday, July 18, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. at Remsen with RU Board present. RU Board members present were: Tentinger, Loutsch, Krier, Harpenau, and . Absent: No one-year
MMC Board members present were: Olson, Prunty, Leavitt, and Staab. Absent: Dreckman.