001If you'll press your buttons, please. Thank you. You shove green lights. All right. I'll go ahead and call the meeting to order. And it looks like we have six of our members here and another who should be here shortly. Um, so first item is approval of the agenda. So moved. >> Moved by Beerbomb, seconded by Shields Cook. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Nay. Passes. 6. Next is our public forum which I am not connected. Have to read the tiny one. Is it on here? Thank you. Residents of the district, students attending the district, parents or guardians of students attending the district, Mr. staff members may address the board about any topic relevant to the district, whether on the current agenda or not. Those who wish to speak must sign up at
002the beginning of the meeting. Speaker participation is limited to three minutes, once per item. The views and opinions of citizens addressing the board not necessarily reflect those of the board, district, administration, or staff. Speakers are to remember that Iowa law prohibits a board from discussing specific employees, students, or their performance. Student speakers will state their name and school. Others will state their name and address. Um, and first we have Judith Lemish. Want to go ahead and go up? [clears throat] Hi, my name is Judy Lemish. I live at 327 South Maple in Ames. I am here tonight to thank the Ames public schools for adding back foods one and two on behalf of myself as a former vocational home economics educator and my co-worker Amber she's the dietician at Ames uh H High Lincoln Center.
003The career ladder for the home economics specifically food and nutrition is long. It includes a wide variety of opportunities for Ames High School students to pursue from dietetics, food science, public health, and nutrition to a large number of careers in the culinary arts. Cooking techniques and knife skills are just the tip of the iceberg for this type of class. It involves a science-based understanding of concepts such as those from chemistry like a knowledge of acidbased reactions, leavenning mechanisms, and the uses and benefits of emulsification. Just for an example, it also requires more than simple rope memorization of terms and techniques. It involves critical thinking and analysis, problem solving, communication, social and emotional skills, and so much more. I hope these courses are encouraged as they should be. I hope they are presented to students as
004a worthwhile choice in terms of both everyday skills for living, but also as a means for providing a potential future career choice. Thank you, Judy. And next we have Susie Petra. I'm Susie Petra, 2011 Duff Avenue. I'd like to welcome the new school board members. Um, I am a retired Ames High School educator and one of the many around the nation who are involved with public school strong. All of us are working to support public education fully funded and to gradually phase out the funding of vouchers which use public dollars. Along with me today here in Ames is Bruce Anton, former Ames Middle School teacher and Judy Lemish, graduate of Ames public schools. All three of us have various degrees from Iowa State University. We welcome, as I said, our new board members. We are
005so grateful that all of you, old and new, value civic involvement and have are a part of the RA as uh community school board. As Bruce, Judy, and I said last month when we delivered our petitions and resolution to you, we will be working with you and much of this begins with you. At that meeting, Mr. Bearbomb said speaking for the board that he would like and I quote to communicate through other channels and when we do what we've done in the past take action in other ways unquote. Bruce, Judy and I would like to help the board take the first positive action with our suggestion number one. OpEd pieces once a month would be great to inform the community through whatever forums reach your audience. Each month's op-ed piece could explain one of the
006ways in which siphon public money taken by vouchers has impacted something in our school system. a program, a teacher, a healthy food offering, a bus route, etc. Because the public by and large board remains still unaware of all the impacts that loss of funding has on the education for the children in our elementary schools, our middle school, and our high school. We would like to help you and encourage you with option one. >> Thank you. >> All right. And with that, I'll close our public forum and we will move to our consent agenda. We move the board approve the consent agenda as presented. >> Second. >> Moved by Ward, seconded [clears throat] by Shields Cook. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Nay. That passes 70. Next we have our report. Starting with
007superintendent, Mr. Gra. >> Oh. >> Um. Yes. First thing I have is the dropout prevention funding report. Really, it's in just the feedback. It's an annual report that's provided to the board. kind of gives information of what dropout funding is um the amount of money that we have within it and then how it's connected to providing opportunities for our students. U modified allowable uh supplemental amount of dropout prevention provides funds to assist local school districts with unique needs of students who are potentially or returning students who have been pushed or pulled out of school. Uh the budget outline is used annually and updated annually and we will send a request to we need to have it approved by the board annually for the amount that is in in there and that shows the number of
008students that is supported and what positions. If the board approved the modifier allowable growth, um it'll be 1.7961,796.51. Total dropout prevention budget of $2,394,735. The district is a 25% match from the general fund. So for this upcoming, the 25% match is $598,648. can go into more detail about the information. Um, but this is an annual specific um piece. We use it for our school and family counselors and also our success features which would be similar to our title one supports for reading. I think our school and family counselors are might have different names right now uh parsa um versus school family resource counselors but so providing opportunities for our students and working families um that need more support from the district. Any questions on that? Uh facilities update. Uh just kind of updating [clears throat]
009on the uh structure. If you have not walked by or drove by the uh 13th and Northwestern, it does have quite a dynamic uh change look as the garages have been torn down as well as a threetory office space that was um previously used by services [snorts] support. Uh that has been torn down with an update and then also looking at uh looking at some updates and sequence of development for refreshing our middle school. Um cafeteria administrative offices will be first area that's kind of looking at how they're going to be addressed. Uh you have a connection to your facilities committee minutes which we you provide that each month. Well, any questions on facilities? I did have a um public meeting with neighbors around the northwestern 13th. I did have some attendance on that and
010was appreciative of the sequence and that something was happening with the property and providing reports for that area. uh staffing. Uh you'll get more details. I just wanted to add some of the items that are under me. This becomes a bigger item when it comes down to starting in January. I'll be doing more updates around staffing as well as enrollment trends um from um January on. But staffingwide currently right now when it comes down to early resignation actually early retirement we've had 11 staff members fill in their early retirement um since for next year uh to conclude at the end of this year they have until December 12th. Um that is more than we've had in the past and we have 400 or 48 total 400 and some available 48 staff members that are eligible
011for that. And then we have the early resignation incentive. I do not have an update on that one yet but uh they will then that'll be coming in as well. So, that'll be a main update for January as we'll be talking about staffing resignations, talk about budgeting for the following year. Um, connecting that into our SSA and what we needed to communicate with uh pretty much legislation on what dollars we need to maintain our current programming and then also connecting that with our enrollment. as of now the two factors that we do have information on is we're the resignations that we currently have in as well as our enrollment is down from the previous year. So those are the two factors that right now we can work on for the following year and then budget
012will be the next thing that we bring into that. This is a yeah that's all the staffing information. Any questions on staffing? We'll definitely get a lot more detail about that in the future. Comes down to gifts to the district. Sorry to read a gift to the district for $2.39 million, but that was the wrong form. That was [laughter] >> I was like, what? >> That was dropout prevention form. Um gifts to the district. uh $1,000 cash from uh Tammy Hartman for the Ames High Choirs. Spanish books for a value around $200 from friends and family of Desiree Clark from Mitchell Elementary. $200 cash from Judy Cafner from Hope Pantry. $200 cash cash ISU honors program for Hope Pantry. Uh books in the value about $150 to from Dy Anderson from Fellows Elementary. $100 cash
013from Victoria and William Bar Pantry. $100 cash from Srenth Padali and Yadarini Gangala. Hope Pantry, $100 cash from Morris and Stephanie Larson. Hope Pantry, $45 cash from Anonymous Hope Pantry, non-p perishable food items donated from Hannah Mhark. Hope Pantry $25 cash from Joseph and Elizabeth Klein Hope Pantry and non-p perishable foods with a value of 20 around $20 from Julia Clark for Hope Pantry. Um we do have a number of donors for um other areas. We'll just we'll get those in for next. with uh having our I think our public knowing the need to support uh in these times, we've seen a lot more donations to our hope pantry as well as donations to support other avenues of our district. And I think it's a great message to our community um and the support and
014we do have a couple places on our website uh with QR codes that you can actually donate directly into. Thank you very much for those donations and the support from our community to our school district. >> Thank you. Uh next, uh any announcements from our student representatives as you get ready for winter break, right? [clears throat] >> Nothing new. Thank you. >> All right. Uh anything from board members? I'll just kind of share with everyone that I think all of us were able to attend part of the Iowa Association of School Boards meeting um conference a couple weeks ago, the week before Thanksgiving. It feels both like it was yesterday and six months ago, and I think we all learned some things that hopefully will make us uh even better for it was a great
015experience. Um I'm also going to say thank you to all of the folks who cleared snow for all these schools and make sure that we all can get our kids there safely. So, um, for real though, I appreciate it. I see people out at night shoveling behind my house to where Edwards is, and I I greatly appreciate the work that they do. Anything else? All right. Uh, next we will go to old business. We have a request to uh, SBRC for modified allowable growth. And I think we have two motions associated with >> to approve the request of school board review school budget review committee for modified allowable growth for increased enrollment out of $1,239. >> Second. >> Right. Is there any discussion or we talked about this at the last meeting, right? Any other
016questions or discussion? Right. It was moved by Deward, seconded by Beer Mom. All in favor say I. >> I oppose. Nay. Pass. Zero. Second. Motion. I move the request of the school budget review committee for modified allowable growth for limited English proficiency instruction beyond five years in the amount of $66,000. $66,554. Second. Moved by Deward. Second by Shields Cook. All in favor say I. I >> oppose. Nay. Passes 70. Um, next our new business will start with gifts to the district. I move the board approve the gifts as presented. >> Second. >> Is that Yeah, I know. I uh wasn't sure who who um moved by Beerbomb, seconded by the ward. All in favor say >> Shields Cook. >> I'm sorry. >> You moved it. Seconded by Beerbomb. I'll help you. >> Moved by Shields
017Cook. Seconded by Beerbomb. I don't know. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Post. Nay. Passes 70. I'll get this one. Dropout prevention funding. I move the board approve the modified allowable growth of1,796,051 with a total dropout prevention budget of 2,394,735. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Moved by Beerbomb, seconded by Tipton. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Nay. Passes 70. Request for superintendent. I have not noted anything today. Our board planning calendar, uh, we will not see each other again until January 12th, which will probably look a lot like right now outside. So, um, and then we will have some new meeting dates and uh for committees and stuff after we meet tonight and and assign those. Ames accolades, superintendent grime, >> how many pages is this one? Yeah, >> quite
018a few. Yeah. Um I think it's provide an opportunity for staff to thank staff and uh >> keep them coming and u yeah there's a lot to share there and that'll be shared out to the staff. >> It's great. It's great to see everybody people celebrating each other too uh with humor. All right. Um, next we'll move into our work session. So, we'll end our Zoom broadcast uh and we'll discuss our board meeting schedule and board committees. Let's kind of let's maybe move quickly and if you have to run and refill a water or something, go for it. But we'll just try to jump right in. I believe there are people that want to be somewhere for a concert.