January 16, 2023
The Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Community School District Board of Directors met at the District Office on Monday, January 16, 2023 at 6:00 pm for a regular board meeting. Visitors in attendance: Don Phillips, Ann Ohms, Chris Shadduck, Logan More, Pat Powers, April Glosser, James Fineran, Jil Nelson, Steve Noble, Lori Hugen, and Megan Simmons.
Call to Order: President Houck called to order the meeting of the EBF Board of Directors at 6:00 p.m. Roll call: Eric Klyn, present; Rena Shepherd, absent; Lara Vandello, present; Micah Van Mersbergen, present; Doug Brinegar, present; Mark Haselhuhn, present and Curt Houk, present. Quorum established.
Public Forum: Logan More addressed the board regarding elementary boundaries, daycare and transportation and requesting that his children could attend a different elementary. Pat Powers thanked the board for writing a letter opposing the carbon pipeline proposal and asked the board to send a letter in solidarity opposing the school choice voucher that will be in the upcoming legislative session.
Correspondence: None
Approve Agenda: Superintendent Williamson recommended an amendment to the agenda where agenda item 7a Teacher Endorsement was struck through and 7b Balance Autism School Consultation Agreement was added. Van Mersbergen motioned to approve the amended agenda and Vandello seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Reports: Superintendent Williamson discussed the start of the FY24 Budget and the affect the SSA will have on EBF’s tax rate. April Glosser, Curriculum Director, discussed the Elementary ELA/Curriculum update, FAST Testing and materials purchased with a computer science grant that EBF received. Steve Noble, principal at the Jr/Sr High school gave his report next and informed the board of upcoming staff outing and an update on the professional development held in early January with Mike Donahue. Jil Nelson, principal at Eddyville Elementary gave the combined elementary principal’s board report regarding the success of the Biz Town program that all 6th graders attended on January 11th and spoke of the professional development session from January 16th. Other reports submitted, but not read were from the Director of Special Services, the Daycare Director, and the Maintenance Director.
Consent Items: Brinegar motioned and Van Mersbergen seconded to approve Consent Items 6a to 6c(iv): December 19, 2022 Board Meeting Minutes; Account Balances as of December 31, 2022; January’s Bills and Review of School Board Policies: Possession or Use of a Controlled Substance and/or Nicotine – 525; Search and Seizure – 526; Interview of Students – 527 and Anti-Harassment/Bullying Policy – 528. Motion carried unanimously.
Contracts & Agreements: Brinegar motioned and Klyn seconded to approve the Balance Autism School Consultant Agreement. Small discussion on what these services were. Motion carried unanimously.
Open Enrollments: Brinegar motioned and Van Mersbergen seconded to accept open enrollments out for Cheyanne McSparen, 9th Grade to Clayton Ridge; Kelsey Weinhold, 12th Grade to Oskaloosa; and Kilee Tanke, 4th Grade to Cardinal. Motion carried unanimously.
Personnel: Van Mersbergen motioned and Brinegar seconded to accept the resignation of Beth Fenton, Special Education Teacher at the EBF Jr/Sr High at the end of the 2023 School Year. Motion carried unanimously.
Action Items: Brinegar motioned and Vandello seconded to approve Board Resolution FY23-03 for the Safety Equipment for the purchase and reconditioning of football helmets and pads. Discussion was held regarding the safety of reconditioned equipment. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion Items: Sheriff Don Phillips from Wapello County was in attendance and spoke to the board regarding EBF getting a School Resource Officer. There are staffing issues and a good plan would need to be in place to make sure that all four buildings would have access to this SRO. Chris Shadduck, Cardinal CSD’s SRO, also spoke on what an SRO would be doing and what he does for Cardinal. Capital Projects were discussed with plans supplied by Denovo on possible upgrades and changes to all buildings. Superintendent Williamson said that roofs and remodeling of the FCS room should begin this summer. There will be a survey sent out after spring break to see the feeling regarding the changes that were made to this current year’s calendar - spring break and having professional development days on Monday vs Friday. February’s board meeting will remain on schedule for Monday, February 20th even with it being President’s Day. Superintendent would like to get a school improvement advisory committee started that would include two board members, two school administrators and community members. If anyone from the public is interested, please contact a board member. A public hearing will be held at the February 20th board meeting to approve the Board Resolution for redistricting of director districts after a census. The board would like to update the district’s current mission statement of “The mission of the Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Community School District is to develop a quality educational program which provides the students with opportunities to be productive citizens of a global society”. This mission statement was approved on July 16, 2012 and is currently over 10 years old. Open positions are: Special Education Teacher for the 2023-2024 School Year; Special Education Teacher - Strat II - Jr/Sr High; Secondary Math Teacher - Jr/Sr High; Regular Route Driver; Child Care Associate; Substitutes for all positions and Coaching / Supplemental Positions: Junior High Student Council; Girls Head Golf Coach; Jr High Track Coach (2); 9th Grade Softball Coach; Jr High Baseball Coach and Jr High Softball Coach (2).
Adjourn: Brinegar motioned and Vandello seconded to adjourn board meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m.
Curt Houk Mary McCrea
Board President Board Secretary
