There was no public forum present so the Board meeting proceeded with the agenda. Cait Dreckman and Pam Schneider presented the MMCEA Initial Proposal as follows: The Association proposed a salary increase of $3,000 which would include an increase to each current teacher’s salary. The Association proposed an increase to the base wage to $33,500 that would increase base salary to the state minimum required by law.
The Association proposes to reevaluate the extra-duty (extra-curricular salary schedule and its positions. Duration of proposed agreement shall be effective July 1, 2023, and continue in force and effect until June 30, 2024. The Association proposes continuing the Labor Management Committee meetings.
Les Pedersen represented MMC Classified Staff. They would like to use this year’s negotiating to bring balance and equality to the pay schedule of our two school districts. In order to reach this goal, it is important that the differences in school pay schedules are identified. During negotiations last year, Mr. Barkel said that we could not negotiate for the group as a whole and then negotiate for one person’s pay after our negotiating concluded. Therefore, we are naming our terms in negotiations as follows: Provide Holiday Pay for all Classified Staff as defined in the school handbook. Offering a Retirement Package will be a way to attract and maintain long term staffing—a minimum of 25 years, minimum age of 60 at retirement, employee continues to pay monthly contribution for Health Insurance until age 65.
The Head Custodian for MMC has worked for the school for 33 years. The head custodian at Remsen has worked for the school for 4 years. Remsen’s head custodian makes $2.07 more per hour. The pay of the whole custodial staff needs to be adjusted.
The Secretary pay between schools should be balanced and met with equality for both districts.
Para professional pay is determined by the student in which they are assigned. 25 or 50¢ is added to their pay. Para professionals do alternate students at times in navigating the youth of our districts. Para professionals should be given 50¢ to their salary plus their scheduled pay raise.
The pay of school bus drivers should be raised to atract and maintain regular route drivers.
Eliminate the $1.00 per hour differential for the title Head cook. This position is not part of classified staff and falls under the umbrella of administrative staffing.
Eliminate the $1.00 per hour differential for the title Head Custodian. This differential has not been received and is no longer warranted for the position.
Eliminate the 10¢ per hour shift differential for the title Night Custodian. This position is from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and does not warrant the need for shift differential.
Moving on with the next item on the agenda where Heather Youde and Brittany Cochran presented the TLC reports to the Boards. These reports were 8 pages filled with information dealing with Eng/Language Arts Proficiency, Math Proficiency, and Science Proficiency and comparing these with grades back to 2019 and recently. Also were grades, how many in each, and percentage of seats available per course and how many were in each class, as well as those classes that weren’t filled to expectancy. (If interested in exactly what the results were, contact the office for more information.)
The SIAC (School Improvement Advisory Committee) met Feb. 9, 2023 at Remsen Media Center at 6:30 p.m. Members for MMC are Alyson Ball, Charissa Frangione, Kristi Letsche, Lori Spenner, and Chris Johnson. R-U Members are Kennedy Tentinger, Ronda Carver, Dustin Colling, Jacob Ahlers, and Courtney Hill (absent).
The District Leadership Team is Angie Schnepf, Pam Schneider, Brittany Cochran, Caitlin Dreckman, Heather Youde, Kayla Means, Sarah Bottjen, Angeleah Rolling, Rachel Ruskamp, Sarah Brady, and Taije Posivio.
Administration is Toby Young, Brandon Weisert, and Dan Barkel.
This School Improvement Advisory Committee is: The board of directors of each public-school district and the authorities in charge of each nonpublic school shall do the following: 1. Appoint a school improvement advisory committee to make recommendations to the board or authorities. The advisory committee shall consist of members representing students, parents, teachers, administrators, and representatives from the local community, which may include representatives of business, industry, labor, community agencies, higher education, or other community constituents. 2: Recommendations from this committee determine the major educational needs, student learning goals, long-range and annual improvement goals that include, but are not limited to, the state indicators that address reading, mathematics, and science achievement, as well as desired levels of student performance and progress toward meeting these goals.
Brandon Weisert presented on programs such as skills USA, FFA, FCCLA, etc. in all the ways these programs are beneficial in helping kids get ready for what may be after high school within industrial careers. Industrial Tech, Business, and FCS have all met their involvement goal of 20%.
Toby Young presented on the Remsen preschool program and Brandon Weisert presented for Marcus. Both programs are the same structure, however Remsen’s numbers are smaller. They are both M-Th, full days.
Dashboard Reports: Toby Young’s packet has the Middle School numbers down a little compared to years past where Elementary numbers are about the same. There is too much to report about this and he encourages everyone to look at the Iowa School Performance Profile Website: www.iaschoolperformance.gov for further information.
We have been sharing for 7 years and will continue to do so until at least 2035. There was discussion that varsity sports are shared, but some would like to see “home games” be played in the Remsen gym from time to time. It doesn’t quite feel like a “home game” to the shared Remsen high schoolers. There is definitely a need for more gym space for multi-sport practices (boys sport/girls sports/possible wresting too). There was discussion of hoping to bring our wrestlers back from Cherokee. They feel unseen by wrestling in Cherokee. Having the Royals Youth Association does help the young kids that participate create a bond before they all start sharing grades when they get to Middle School.
Mr. Barkel went over the facility improvements that are currently happening at the Marcus site. Construction deadlines are coming up, as well as utilizing grace United classrooms here shortly at the end of February. R-U will be getting HVAC work done to improve plumbing, heating and air conditioning, as well as improvements to the auditorium.
There were comments of the RU Special Ed students not getting enough quality time out of their classes. Things seem rushed during their time together, as each IEP only required 20 minutes. There is a huge substitute shortage. Could we try to compete with neighboring districts for pay or incentives? Our Paras are undervalued. We’ve had a lot of turn around with paras, especially with the economy; they’re not being compensated enough by wage or by benefits. They’re aware that the kids need consistency to thrive, but they do get burnt out with some of the tougher kids on a daily basis and become defeated. Open Enrollment numbers effect everything. The Bond issue of public vs private came up. We need to seek out job fairs and such to help recruit staff. There will be a new meat locker in Marcus soon and they are willing to help FFA and Ag classes learn more about cuts and quality or meats, etc.
Recommendations to the school boards: Consider bringing wrestling back to Marcus and encourage GIRLS to join to help get the numbers we need. Girls wrestling is growing in numbers all over. Again, we need to take better fare of our paras. Can we offer funds to go toward an insurance stipend? Can we offer them bonuses, holiday pay, time to decompress by maybe alternating, etc?
Resignations from Jeannette I. Davis, Preschool and Elementary Special Education Teacher at Remsen; Paraprofessional, Marissa Loutsch for MMC; assistant volleyball coach, Kendra Knapp at MMCRU High School; and Stephanie Kruse, MMCRU Elementary teacher for 5-6 years were approved by the Boards.
The MMC Home School Assistance Program Handbook was approved by the MMC Board. This is 20 pages in length. The Competent Private Instruction Handbook found on the Iowa Department of Education site has an extensive FAQ section. LINKS: https://educateiowa.gov/pk-12/otptions-educational-choice/home-schooling-private-instruction/ or https://homeschooliowa:org/ or https://hslda.org/post/how-to-comply-with-iowas-homeschool-law
The MMCRU Industrial Technology Dept was awarded a $40,000 STEM BEST Award from the State of Iowa. These funds will be used to purchase a Haas Milling Machine to train students for work in local industries that use CNC milling machines. The total cost is $42.916.00. The MMC Board approved the purchase of this Haas CNC Mill.
The next two items on the agenda were Boiler Maintenance Agreement and Bus 06-3 Repairs that were R-U’s item.
Toby Young, MMCRU Middle School/Remsen Elementary Principal reported: TK-8 Winter FAST testing—has been completed. More information will be shared during my dashboard report. We’ve past the midway point of the 3Q with things moving along quite nicely. Our teachers attended Cherokee on the morning of Friday, February 10 for a PD opportunity featuring Thomas Murray. Staff from Cherokee, HMS and South O’Brien were also in attendance. The morning was very well received by our staff. Lunch was provided and the afternoon consisted of breakout sessions provided by our AEA. Overall it was great to meet, collaborate and learn from other colleagues and schools. Thank you to our TLC team fro all their hard work helping to plan such a great day. Again I want to thank our staff/district for their continued work each day as they do their very best to make MMCRU a great school!
Brandon Weisert, MMCRU Marcus Principal reported: Midterm report cards have gone out and the 3rd quarter is flying by. We will begin moving the South hallway over to the church on Friday, Feb. 24 after the FFA assembly. The plan will be to get the church classrooms all set up on the 24th and be ready to teach on Monday the 27th. We will use the 27th and 28th to get the final pieces out of the old classrooms and into storage before asbestos removal on March 1.
During the week of Feb. 6, we celebrated SkillsUSA week. On Monday, SkillsUSA offered breakfast to staff for dine in or delivery. On Tuesday, the students helped clean the school to support our custodians. On Wed., Scott Lovell of SmithCo. came to speak with our SkillsUSA students about what they can do to be great employees and leaders when they enter the workforce. On Feb. 9, the SkillsUSA leadership team went down to Des Moines to visit the Capitol and talk about CTE and their program with lawmakers. On this day, it was declared that February would be Career and Technical Education Month in Iowa. Students had the opportunity to present to Lt. Governor Adam Gregg and show the positive things happening in our public schools.
FFA Week will be Feb. 20-24. The FFA leadership team has planned some fun activities. Tractor day will be held later in hopes of better weather, tentatively March 21.
Winter sports are wrapping up with the postseason beginning the week of Feb. 13. Our girls bowling team missed a trip to state by 8 pins. Carver Miller qualified as an individual bowler for boys State Bowling with a 695. Boys basketball concluded their season with a district loss to George-Little Rock and the girls basketball team lost to West Sioux.
Superintendent Dan Barkel reported: Tonight both boards will entertain the bargaining proposals from both the RUEA and the MMCEA. In addition, the MMCEA will be presenting a proposal. We have ten days after receiving their proposals to make a response from each board. Expect a special meeting for each board separately in one week. After the regular meeting is adjourned, we will hold an exempt session to discuss bargaining strategy for the board’s response. How we respond and what we respond with will be a means of developing a plan for retaining and attracting staff members to the MMC and RU districts.
The SIAC Committee (School Improvement Advisory Committee) held what I thought was a productive meeting on Feb. 9. The minutes of the meeting are listed in the board packet. I will discuss the two major items that they SIAC committee wished for the boards to consider.
The TLC Staff members will gibe reports of student assessments, and the principals will also share dashboard information with the board similar to the information they shared with the SIAC committee. We use the data from these student assessments to set instructional strategy for the next year and beyond. Student achievement should he at the heart of what we accomplish at MMCRU.
Beginning on Feb. 24, staff and students will begin moving materials from the south wing of the high school into the educational wing of Grace Methodist Church so that demolition and asbestos removal can begin on the south wing of the high school. We will be asking for volunteers in the community to help us with the move. The Marcus gym will not be accessible from the northwest doors for likely most of the rest of the school year. Instead, the northeast and southeast doors of the gym will eventually be accessible for events, including prom and graduation.
An updated version of the MMC HSAP Handbook is listed in the board packet for the MMC board to consider for approval.
Many meetings have been held this past month regarding facility improvements in Marcus. The deadlines for moving I continue to be August 2023 for the high school and October 1, 2023 for the elementary and daycare. January 1, 2024 for the multipurpose room/gym. The new office area will be able to be occupied this upcoming summer, but for adults only, because the fire alarm system will not be operational until August. I also plan to have updates regarding the plans for improvements in the Remsen building available for our meeting on Feb. 21.
We currently have an acute shortage of bus drivers. Currently we have three out of four of our regular route drivers in Marcus out due to health reasons. We have been patching together a group or individuals who usually are substitutes in order to get through this rough patch. I am one of those people who drives every afternoon. Again, our staff shortages are not just for teachers, but also paras, bus driers and custodians.
The passage of the ESA bill by the state legislature is a watershed moment in education in Iowa. While I strongly believe that it was the wrong decision for our state, it is now law, and we must adjust to the new reality. We must be prepared now to spend more cash on advertising and promotion. I also believe that we must be strategic in how we utilize the already formed RU and MMC Foundations, and must consider broadening the mission of those organizations to better benefit the districts as a whole. We must also make sure our programs are the very best they can be so that we have high quality programs that students do not want to leave. Of course, due to all of the bureaucratic rules and regulations we must follow compared to the private schools, we are still at a competitive disadvantage. But that is the reality we must work in. The good news is that in the legislation, the public school district receives $1,200 for each student in the district who attends a non-public school, and the legislature extended operational sharing, which is vital to MMCRU, to the year 2035. By the way, I found out through a neighboring superintendent that there was a big meeting of some private schools in Iowa last week to discuss how much they are going to raise their tuition.
The MMC Board of Education met in joint regular session with R-U Board of Education at Marcus on February 21, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. in the Commons area. After this regular meeting adjournment, the Boards went into Exempt Session for Bargaining Strategy.