001I now call the Board of Education regular meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Is there a motion to approve the agenda for Monday, May 11th, 2026? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor say I. I. Those opposed say nay. All right. Next, we will pass the meeting to the best part of the night, the area chiefs for student highlights. >> Sorry, the pregnant pause was seeing who came up first. Um I get the privilege of introducing Josh Ketchum, um a Washington 12th grader. Uh Josh has been a foundational member of our speech team, choir, and theater departments throughout his four years as a warrior. His talent and work ethic have earned him all-state speech honors in five events, and selection to the all-state choir. He's been a
002madrigal singer for 3 years, and is the only senior to be selected for Wash's most selective vocal ensemble, A Slice of Jazz, for three consecutive years. In addition to these fine arts accomplishments, Josh will graduate as a valedictorian of a highly competitive class. He leaves Wash with a lasting legacy in the classroom, and an an ambassador who welcomes students from all backgrounds. Josh plans to attend the University of Iowa, double double majoring in actuarial science and statistics. Congratulations, Josh, on your impressive achievements. >> [applause] [snorts] >> Good afternoon. Uh I have the pleasure of talking about Amaya Clark here. Amaya is a senior at Jefferson High School. She's been an integral part of the Jefferson High School community. She's been a part of the school newspaper, National Honor Society, and served as a manager for
003the boys basketball team this winter. Amaya has been a Kids on Course participant and has worked very hard in the classroom. She's very deserving a very deserving recipient of this recognition. >> [applause] [applause] >> All right. Good evening. I have the privilege to talk about Monte Walker. We are proud to recognize Monte Walker from Kennedy High School. Monte is a great example of resilience in the face of adversity and challenge. Monte did not start off his high school career on his best foot. He got into trouble, missed classes, and did not get his best grades. He has made a concerted effort to turn everything around. As a soccer player, he has always excelled. His soccer coach wrote His soccer coach wrote, "Moving from being a typical high school freshman only concerned with himself to a
004leader on the team, consistently pushing his teammates to be their best. It is exciting to watch him play." His counselor noted that this semester, when many seniors experience a very serious disease called senioritis, Monte has had his best semester GPA to date and will be graduating next week. Monte will be pursuing a career as an electrician after graduation. He wants to He wanted to give a shout-out to activities director Mr. Shawn Thompson and social studies teacher and soccer coach Mr. Adrian Evans. Monte says, "They were on my side when things got hard, help helping me to keep or to get back on the right track." Kennedy staff are incredibly proud of Monte's growth and accomplishments. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Thank you. We three of them tonight? Okay. Um next we would like to move on
005this evening to celebrate our staff. See, we have great things tonight not even just the students. So, we'd like to recognize the Cedar Rapids school staff who have reached a milestone in their career with us. I would like [snorts] to turn the meeting over to Carla Hogan for the introduction of the staff who have met those milestones. >> Okay. Does the board want to come down so we can congratulate our staff members? Perfect. We'll start out with our 25 years of service. Jill Anderson, Taft. Lindsay Bolin, Wright. Angela Burt, Washington. Laura Gucci, Nixon. Jennifer Cooper, Erskine. JASON EDWARDS, JEFFERSON. >> [applause] [applause] >> REBECCA ERGER, West Willow. Alicia Erickson, Hiawatha. Teresa Fatkether, JEFFERSON. >> [applause] >> ANN FISCHER, Haggie ELSC. Chris Fry, HARDING. >> [applause] >> JOHN HELD Taft Jody Herman Taft KIM [applause] TAFT
006>> [applause] >> ANDY JACOBSON KENNEDY Jennifer Johnson Elsik >> [applause] >> Shawna Cain TAFT >> [applause] >> JOSEPH LINK Jefferson Angela Litz Gibson Carolyn Lyon James Kennedy Teresa Mason McKinley Lori NILES WILSON >> [applause] [applause] >> JOHN O'CONNOR Jefferson Tiffany Orr Trailside James Park Franklin Sharon Paulson Harding John Pauley HARDING >> [applause] [applause] >> JENNIFER PHALEN MCKINLEY >> [applause] >> Karen Schock Maple Grove Jill Sheckle GIBSON >> [applause] >> LORI SEILBERG West Wallow Kelly Schneider Jefferson Constance Starr ELSC >> [applause] >> GLENN VARNER Metro Ellen Weideman JEFFERSON >> [applause] >> BRIAN WEASLER Roosevelt Jason Wood WASHINGTON >> [applause] [applause] >> ROBERT YOUNG Kennedy Heather Zwanziger Kennedy And now we will move on to our 30 years of service. Adam Hanaran HARDING >> [applause] >> ANN [applause] KOLFER VAN BUREN >> [applause] >> TIM JOHNSON Kennedy
007Mary Kaltenbach Taft Christina Kelso Pierce >> [applause] >> Aaron Olander Hoover Lisa Reed Cleveland Sarah Remerowski KENNEDY >> [applause] [applause] >> LISA ROTHMEYER Madison Frank Sherm Washington >> [applause] >> Janet Schroeder Harding Grant Schultz Washington Nicole Schultz E L S C Kenneth Singleton Roosevelt Warren Sprouse WASHINGTON >> [applause] >> JEAN VENICE HARDING >> [applause] >> LINDA Willard Trailside Tanya Wilson Story Cleveland Kathleen ZIEGLER PIERCE >> [applause] >> STORM ZIEGLER KENNEDY >> [applause] >> CHRISTINE CALLAHAN Harrison Madison Oh, I'm sorry. 35 years of service. Christine [cheering and applause] Callahan HARRISON MADISON >> [applause] >> ASHA KEMHOWIE HARRISON AND MADISON >> [applause] >> LET'S GIVE ONE MORE BIG ROUND OF applause for all OF OUR >> [applause] >> RECOGNITION. >> [applause] >> YEAH. AND I WON'T MISS YOU THIS TIME. ALL RIGHT. Thank you, Carla. On behalf
008of the board of directors, we extend our sincere congratulations and appreciation to each one of you for your years of service and commitment to our student, staff, and families of the Cedar Rapids Community School District. We recognize and appreciate your valuable contributions to help all of our students reach our mission of every learner future ready. I will now turn the meeting over to Dr. Lennon for board recognition. Thank you. >> Wonderful. We didn't want to miss that part. I was afraid you might try to skip over it. >> I have done that once [laughter] before. I'm sorry. Still sorry. >> Before we move into the next item on our agenda, I'd like to pause for a moment to acknowledge a very special occasion. May is school board recognition month in Iowa, and it is my
009distinct privilege to take this time to publicly thank the dedicated individuals sitting around this table for their tireless work. Our school board members are locally elected. They're non-salaried, which means that they don't get paid not one dime. They are just good-hearted public officials who have been entrusted with the monumental task of providing direction for the education of our students. While many see the formal meetings and the public votes, very few witness the hours of preparation that you put in and the weight of the responsibility you carry. You serve out of a pure sense of duty and a deep-seated belief in the potential of our young people. As stewards of our community's future, you are charged with setting the vision for our district's educational standards, for navigating complex budgets to ensure resources reach the classrooms, for
010advocating for every single student, and navigating an ever-changing educational landscape, and boy are we on one right now. This isn't just a role, it is a profound sacrifice of your personal time and your energy that you give up. Your evenings and times with your families just to listen to the concerns of our citizens, the ideas of our staff, and the needs of our buildings. You make the difficult decisions that keep this district moving forward, no matter what, always keeping the best interests of our students at the center of every conversation. So, on behalf of the administration, our teachers, our support staff, and most importantly, our dear students, I want to say thank you. Your commitment to excellence and your unwavering service is the is to this district, it does not go unnoticed. We see you
011and the best part of all, we are stronger and a more vibrant, progressive district because of your leadership and your heart for public education. So, tonight we pause simply to say thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you very much. Tonight, we have one public hearing on the fiscal year 2026 budget amendment. Board Secretary Sholty, have we received any written correspondence related to the public hearing related to fiscal year 2027 certified budget on tonight's agenda? >> We have not received any written correspondence. >> Do we have anyone who has requested to address the board this evening in regarding the public hearing tonight? >> We do not have any requests to address the board regarding the public hearing. >> The aforementioned public hearing is now closed. Moving on, we will hear from those who have requested to
012address the board. Board Secretary Shelton, do we have any requests this evening? >> We do not have any requests this evening. >> Well, I'm not really sure what to do with myself then. >> [snorts] [laughter] >> Do we have any board reports this evening? >> Go ahead, Director Sminsky. >> All right. Appreciate you. Um I'll have the report for the facilities and finance committee. Uh so, the committee reviewed three proposals for the upcoming solar project and analyzed boundary adjustments for the transition of Franklin, Roosevelt, Wilson 2-5-6 uh facilities alongside updates on active construction at five sites. The county manager confirmed repayment of the $7 million short-term loan to management fund from SAVE due to timing of the bond proceedings. Uh financial updates included a review of the 2026-2027 pebble budget, a partial state pre-audit, finalized
013negotiations with all unions except two, and a review of state SAVE legislation for property tax relief. The district is operating slightly under budget for the general fund of fiscal year 26. There is ongoing analysis regarding the impact of the new SAVE legislation on current projects and future bonding capacity. And that completes the report. >> Thank you. Do we have any other board reports? >> I have a legislative report. Uh the 2026 legislative session ended a week ago with a marathon 34-hour session. Uh there were several themes that emerged from this legislative session. I just want to highlight a few of them here tonight. One of the most significant issues was school funding. As you know, the legislature passed a 2% supplemental state aid or SSA. We know that and as we have talked about 2%
014doesn't cover the increasing costs staff, utilities, curriculum, insurance, all of those things. So, whenever there is a gap between the expenses that we have to cover and the SSA, >> [clears throat] >> that means that we have to make up that difference within our within our budget. And you might remember that just a few weeks back, we made some significant cuts to our budget. And part of the reason for that is just an ongoing decade-long underfunding of public schools. Another major theme that came out of this session was the continued diversion of public education dollars to charter schools. CRCSD stands to lose about $300,000 in teacher salary supplement funding that is shifting from public schools to charter schools. At the same time, legislation expanded charter schools access to state-backed financial support include including revolving loan
015funds, startup assistance, and facility financing support. Public schools like ours rely on local bond referendum save revenues and pebble. We must take most of our facilities funding to the voters for approval, sometimes by a supermajority. Charter schools simply have to ask the state to use your taxpayer money. Concerns extended beyond funding equity to financial risk. Public schools are increasingly being asked to support parallel education systems while maintaining responsibility for things like transportation, special ed, and now um extracurricular participation for charter school students. That comes at no cost to the charter school even even though their students are using our services. Um the session also intensified concerns surrounding the future of SAVE funding as Director Timinsky just um mentioned and the impact of property tax reform. The proposed changes to SAVE would divert up to 25%
016of the SAVE money to property tax relief. That reduces the amount of SAVE money that was promised to school infrastructure and facilities projects. C- CRCSD, along with many other districts in the state, repeatedly asked our legislators to not reduce our SAVE revenues. There uh was potential for jeopardizing our current construction projects. It could limit our future bonding authority and could potentially create refinancing or default risks. Unfortunately, the majority of legislators didn't heed our words and uh that legislation passed. Finally, districts continue to face a growing number of unfunded mandates. Legislators approved or expanded numerous requirements this session without fully funding the implementation costs. Keep in mind that we're not judging these policies. They're not good, they're not bad. We're simply recognizing that they were unfunded mandates. The district now has to uh or is expected
017to implement cell phone policies, administer new social studies state assessments, administer citizenship tests as a graduation requirement, comply with new student discipline procedures, monitor AED location reporting requirements, adjust curriculum and instructional practices by expanding advanced pathways in math and reading, and implement and report compliance with Make America Healthy legislation. Each new mandate brings operational costs that often include staff time, legal review, board policy updates, technology changes, administrator and staff training, compliance monitoring, and oversight responsibilities. In most of these cases, our districts are expected to absorb those costs within our existing budgets. So, taken together, the themes from this legislative session reflect some concerns about sustainability, local control, long-term infrastructure planning, and the increasing gap between what the state expects and the resources they're providing. In closing, I just want to remind everyone here and everyone
018listening that your vote is your voice. Not only is it important to vote, it's imperative that you support candidates who value public schools as a critical bedrock of community and of opportunity. Thank you. Sorry, that was a long report, but legislature is over now. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Are there any other board reports? >> Yeah, you can have it. >> Okay. Thank you. We will now hear from Dr. Landon as she shares her report. >> Okay. Thank you so much, President Newman. I like to begin my report tonight with a big celebration. We would like to congratulate the Jefferson High School's Academic Decathlons team. UM, YAY! >> [applause] >> DO YOU HAVE ANYONE FROM THE TEAM IN THE audience tonight? >> How about this year, 33? >> Oh, okay. All right. Awesome. Way
019to go. Okay. Um the team placed sec Okay, very good. The team placed second in the national competition in Anaheim, California. This was Jefferson's 26th straight year representing the state of Iowa in the national tournament. This is also their third time that they have placed second, and they placed first in 2022. We also had some family members that also traveled to California with these students. So, I want to just say thank you for the parent engagement uh over at Jefferson. And I will also be remiss if I did not mention that some of these same students were a part of the first Jefferson's gala um that they had to turn around and perform and serve and do all the things. So, can we give a big shout-out to those Jayhawks? >> [applause] >> THANK YOU.
020JUST A COUPLE OTHER UH QUICK UPDATES, AND THIS is all progress in how we are supporting a culture of safe and secure learning environments out in our schools. Um during the uh week of April the 20th uh through 24th, um this was national youth violence prevention week. Um and where our students are making pledges, and we're partnering up with Linn County Public Health, Stand Up for Peace, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department, um as well as the Iowa Ceramic Center uh to celebrate youth violence prevention. And just want to say um very proud of these students at Roosevelt, McKinley, Jefferson, and Washington, where they had an opportunity to make a pledge um and look for other resolutions um peaceful resolutions whenever they face conflict. Also, as a part of safe and secure uh learning, we
021also our team they announced their second annual district student safety leader awards um Um, by staff. These students were honored for consistently embodying kindness, promoting peaceful conflict resolution, and serving as role models by making responsible choices every single day. Um, these young leaders, they prove that compassion and leadership make our school community stronger. So, thank you, students, all for being great leaders out there. Next, as we think about our students being prepared for life, um, and how about this? Um, we talk a lot about, you know, academics, um, which we know that is top of the list, but also our students, um, their extracurriculars. Um, and so, um, little-known fact, uh, last, uh, a couple of weeks ago, our second-grade students from Erskine and Wright Elementary Schools, they wrapped up their free swimming lessons. Um,
022Cedar Rapids, our school district, has partnered with the City of Cedar Rapids to provide students with six free swimming sessions so that they can learn how to be safe in and around the water. They also provide each child with a free swimsuit to use and to take home at the end. This year, nine of our elementary schools took part in these lessons, and we're hoping to grow it all across our schools. Want to give a big thank you to the City of Cedar Rapids for their partnership to teach our kids lifelong skill and all that you do for the youth of Cedar Rapids. >> YEAH. >> [applause] >> AS WE, UH, CONTINUE TO DEVELOP partnerships with our families, I want to take a moment and draw our attention, um, to just a fantastic moment, um,
023from Mrs. Ironside's seventh-grade history class at Harding Middle School, where learning truly jumped off the page. Members from the Veterans Memorial Commission, they visited, uh, to provide a hands-on exploration of World War I by giving students the opportunity to examine war artifacts like a real gas mask, a trench shovel, dog tags, and by studying, um, a detailed trench map. Um, they are moving beyond just reading about history, but gaining just much more deeper, more personal understanding, um, and being able to connect to real stories, uh, because we know our veterans are are real people, real dedication, um, and commitment to our country. So, thank you, um, for that partnership for our students. Also, want to provide just a quick update on our, um, spec, uh, meeting. We are continuing to convene our group, and now,
024um, that, uh, the reconfiguration decisions have been made, our team, um, we're now turn our attention towards our next, uh, strategic plan. Our goal is to create a road map for the district that reflects the unique identity and aspirations of our school, staff, and community. The committee, um, we met last Thursday, um, being, um, the first time to go through the process, really taking a, uh, an opportunity to analyze our current district data, reviewing staff and family feedback from other previous surveys. Again, um, just really, uh, taking in the voices of our families, evaluating our existing framework, um, and really trying to understand what's going to be our best step forward. Um, also, we were able to welcome two teacher leaders, so thank you, um, to the board. I think that was a recommendation, uh,
025from some board members, let's add some teacher voices, uh, to the group, and thank you to the principals for allowing them to, um, have that time, uh, to join the discussion. And so, we'll keep you updated. We're still hoping that, uh, we can bring forward, um, a decision by the July 13th meeting, um, but some really rich discussions and figuring out what's the best type of strategic plan, um, that we need that really sets Cedar Rapids, um, apart. So, I look forward to continuing those discussions, um, and probably more of an in-depth, uh, opportunity to kind of workshop it a little bit with the board in June. Um, in regards to being physically responsible, so, I want to just give a quick update on our teachers. I think we have this, but just really more
026for the public and just another opportunity to to really thank our HR department and again our staff members just you know trusting the process and allowing us to utilize a surplus process that's been in our district for quite some time and at this point all 27 of our teachers that were in the surplus pool they have been placed for the 2026-2027 school year. We do prioritize those teachers and currently we have 52 vacancies that are posted for hire. We will continue to work to get those filled in a timely fashion. We'll keep the board updated along the way. And that concludes my report for tonight. >> Thank you. Moving on to our consent [clears throat] agenda. Are there any items on which a director has a comment, question or further discussion? Okay. Are there any
027items on which a director requires an item to be pulled from the consent agenda for a separate vote? And finally are there any items on which a director needs to abstain? Okay. Do we have a motion to approve the consent agenda as written? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> This is a roll call vote due to the personnel report. Director Tminski. >> Aye. >> Director Burns. >> Aye. >> Director Zimmerman. >> Aye. >> Vice President Ruzinski. >> Aye. >> Director Byers. >> Aye. >> Director Garlock. >> Aye. >> President Newman. >> Aye. >> Okay. Right. We only have one item tonight under administration for the fiscal year 2026 budget amendment. Are there any questions before approval? Is there a motion to approve the fiscal year 2027 certified budget? >> So
028moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor say aye. >> Aye. >> All those opposed say nay. Right. Our first item under board governance is the approval of a settlement agreement. Is there a motion to approve the settlement agreement? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> This is a roll call vote. Director Ziminsky. >> I. >> Director Burns. >> I. >> Director Zimmerman. >> I. >> Vice President Rozumski. >> I. >> Director Byers. >> I. >> Director Garlock. >> I. >> President Newman. >> I. >> The final item tonight is a closed session for evaluation of professional competency. >> I have a question. Maybe this is what Liz is bringing. I think and then maybe it's okay, but I think you maybe the script says fiscal
0292027. >> Certified budget instead of amendment. >> fiscal year 2026 budget amendment. So I don't know if we need to vote on that again or not just to make sure we >> All right. Should we do it again? >> Yes. >> I think we should just >> I think we should do it again. All right. >> I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. >> No, thank you for that. All right. Is there a motion to approve the fiscal year 2026 certified budget? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Those opposed say nay. All right. Thank you. Did look funny to me. All right. Uh and we did the settlement agreement. Okay. Let me repeat this one. Final item tonight is a closed session for evaluation of professional competency
030pursuant to Iowa Code Section 21.5 1 I. Before we move into tonight's closed session, the board appoints Director Burns to act as board secretary for the limited purpose of conducting the evaluation during closed session. >> [snorts] >> Do we have a motion to move into the first closed session pursuant to Iowa Code 21.5 1 I. >> So moved. >> Second. Oh. This is a roll call vote. Director Ziminsky. >> I. >> Director Burns. >> I. >> Director Zimmerman. >> I. >> Vice President Rozumski. >> I. >> Director Byers. >> I. Director Garlock. Hi. President Uman. Hi. Okay. Ready? >> Mhm. >> Thanks for coming, scouts. >> Yeah.