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Public hearings were set by the Nodaway Valley Board of Education last Thursday night in a meeting at the Bridgewater Fire Station.
The hearings set are for the FY21 certified budget and the 2020-21 school calendar.
Additionally, the board talked about a construction manager contract for a facilities project they’ve been working toward, talked about operational sharing agreements currently in place with CAM and tended to many other pieces of business.
School Calendar
Supertintendent Paul Croghan put together a proposed calendar with advice from staff and the board reviewed it. If the calendar is approved, the first day of school would be Monday, Aug. 24 with one-hour early dismissals the first two days of school and a traditional Wednesday early dismissal the third day of school.
This year’s school calendar was used heavily to put together next year’s proposal, Croghan explained.
Other highlights from the remainder of Croghan’s calendar proposal are as follows:
- The first quarter would conclude Oct. 23 with parent-teacher conference Oct. 29.
- Thanksgiving Break would still include Wednesday.
- Winter Break would last two whole weeks.
- The first semester would conclude Jan. 15, school will resume Jan. 19, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
- Commencement exercises would be May 16 at 1 p.m. The time change from years past would allow Croghan greater ability to attend commencement at CAM and NVS.
This calendar proposal will be on the table for the board to accept following a public hearing at their April 9 meeting in Greenfield in the high school media center.
Certified Budget
Croghan gave a power point presentation to the board showing them the proposed certified budget. He told the board that what they’re doing through this process is they’re informing the public what the district’s actual expenditures were for FY19, what their re-estimated expenditures were for FY20 and what they project they will be in FY21.
Once it is approved, the certified budget will be estimated expenditures for the next fiscal year and the tax rate for that fiscal year. This budget needs to be certified in the Adair County Auditor’s Office by April 15.
The public hearing for the certified budget will be during the board’s April 9 meeting.
Construction
manager contract
A construction manager contract with Boyd Jones Construction was tabled because the contract had not been fully drafted yet. A special meeting will be March 26 for the board to consider extending that contract.
Operational sharing
Croghan presented facts relating to the operational sharing agreement currently in place with CAM.
Nodaway Valley shares a human resources director with CAM who works an average of one day per week at CAM. A maintenance director is also shared at the same rate. Each of these positions generates for Nodaway Valley 10 students worth of per-pupil based funding. The superintendent position is divided equally between the districts and generates NVS eight students worth of funding.
The proposal to continue these sharing agreements will be on the table at the board’s April meeting.
Other business
As part of the consent agenda, the board approved hires for Ashley Coulter, art instructor; Joel Klobnak, golf coach; Makinzey Bates, Vocational Ag Instructor and Chris King, activity and substitute bus driver and approved resignations for Jeff Fahrenkrug, middle school instructor; Dayna Jensen, elementary instructor; and Brett Welsch, middle school volleyball coach.
Action items passed by the board included:
- The start of an “Angel Fund” for the food and nutrition program. Donations will be taken for overdue lunch accounts by the superintendent and disbursed by him to the appropriate accounts only after multiple attempts have been made between the district and families to bring lunch accounts current.
- Approved a budget guarantee, meaning that when supplemental state aid doesn’t cover declining enrollment, the district can be guaranteed an increase of at least 1% over the prior year’s regular program district cost.
- Passed a bus lease with Omaha Truck Center, a dealer for Thomas Built Buses. Leasing two buses with seat belts and air doors. Croghan stated that air doors come with more control for drivers which enhances rider safety at bus stops. Buses eventually will all have seat belts. Cost is $33,079.97 annual for three years with a $129.157.20 balloon payment in 2023.
- Approved an excess debt service levy in the amount of $150,000.
- Approved arts and sciences and career and technology program contracts with Southwestern Community College, college credit program contract with SWCC for summer classes and vocational/career program contract with Winterset Community School District.