School officials look forward to second community meeting on facilities

GREENFIELD — Nodaway Valley Community Schools and the team it has hired to help with facilities discussions and possible enhancements or renovations plan to hold another meeting that the public is invited to attend either in person or virtually 6:30 p.m. April 20 at the high school building.

The purpose of these meetings is for the school district and it’s architects and construction managers to relay accurate information to and receive feedback from the community. The first meeting was March 29 at the middle school.

This entire process was a major discussion item at Thursday’s school board meeting, and the school board and administration hopes that the public will take an active role in this process that remains ongoing. They feel all three of the district’s learning centers, no matter their age, are in need of some sort of attention or refining. That being said, no decisions have been made to this point on what projects will be taken on by the district.

“We want people to be able to participate, so if people can’t make it on the 20th, they can go to our website [which is nodawayvalley.org], view the recording, use the participation app where they survey you, you can participate that way and give your input. That’s huge so people can understand how can participate and have their voice heard,” said Superintendent Paul Croghan. “The more we [involve everyone in the discussion], the better the decisions we will make as a school district for our kids and the future of our school district.”

Officials said the school’s facilities committee, comprised of about 12 people from the district’s communities, were to meet Monday, their major purpose being to filter through comments heard in discussions around the community from people, and to make sure people’s questions are being answered at the community meetings. There is also a frequently asked questions section as part of a facilities discussion portion of the Nodaway Valley website, which can be found on the right side of the main school homepage.

“I would caution anybody who says that ‘they made a decision in the first meeting.’ No way. This is high level and all about process. The next step will be about where do we want to go, and the last step is how do we want to get there?,” Croghan said. “I think we’re moving from step one to step two right now.”

In other school business, the board:

• Approved the amended school calendar for 2020-21. The amendment is because of four snow days and the state basketball tournament day. Last day for students will be May 28 with staff returning for three professional development days following Memorial Day, which is May 31.

• Approved the 2021-22 certified budget. If state supplemental aid remains at 2.4%, the submitted tax rate for Nodaway Valley will be 13.40449/$1,000 of assessed value.

• Approved the school calendar for next school year, which has the first day of school August 23 and the last day of school May 26.

• Approved a local government risk pool agreement for next school year, which helps the district lock-in natural gas prices.

• Approved a purchasing agreement and a social worker agreement with the AEA. The purchasing agreement mainly helps in food service purchasing. The social worker agreement is for two days per week. The re is currently one working with the district one day per week.

• Approved a contract with Schultz Plumbing and Heating for boys locker room renovation at a cost of $12,950, similar to a project recently done on the girls locker room.

• Approved the Class of 2021, pending their satisfaction of graduating requirements. Commencement will be held 1 p.m. May 16.