001Go ahead and call the meeting to order. It's 5:32 and we'll start uh with our members present and >> just made it >> move to our approval of agenda. I move we approve the agenda as written. I forget the phrase. >> Did I a second? >> Second. >> Somebody wanted to. >> All right. Moved by Deward, seconded by Becker. All in favor of approval of the agenda say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Nay. >> Passes 5. Next up is our public forum. Go and read our statement on public forum. Residents of the district, students attending the district, parents or guardians of student attending the district, and district 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
002at the beginning of the meeting. Speaker participation is limited to three minutes, once per item. The views and opinions of citizens addressing the board do not necessarily reflect those of the board, district administration, or staff. Speakers are to remember that Iowa law prohibits the board from discussing specific employees, students, or their performance. Student speakers will state their name in school. Others will state their name and address. Um, and looks like first up I have Susie Petra. And you can you can use that mic right up there if you'd like. Uh, Susie Petra, 2011 Duff Avenue. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'm going to be here briefly and I'm gonna leave because I can hear you better at home on Y2. I just want you to know I would love to see this
003full of citizens because what you do is important and the fact that you are doing the good the good work that you do is so important. The community needs to know. But you can't hear sitting there. And I really I've even put on hearing aids and tried to see if it was better and it isn't. So YouTube was better. I am sorry. Even today, it's just it echoes. And I don't want to hear hurt your feelings, but I do think you're so important. I want to hear you at home. So, I hope you can improve this. And I do want you to know we would be here in the front row because you are important and we're here to help you. >> Thank you. And Judy Lemish. >> My name is Judy Lemish at 327
004South Maple and Ames. Uh ditto. And mainly um I do not wear hearing aids and I hear pretty well and I can't hear it either. And just a minute ago I think Kelly was speaking without the mic. She had a nice You have a nice loud voice. No, I And then all of a sudden up to the mic again and then the distortion, this echoing. So that needs to be fixed and it and I'd like to see more people out here too, but maybe they have the same experience, maybe they don't or they're just shy. But anyway, we aren't and we'll we'll be here more often if we can hear you better. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. I'll go ahead and close the public forum and we'll move to our consent agenda.
005>> I move the board approve the consent agenda as presented. >> Second. >> All right. Moved by Deward, seconded by Smith. All in favor say I. >> I. oppose. Nay. Passes 5-0. Next, we'll move to our reports. And first up is our associate superintendent report with the comprehensive assessment plan. Dr. Hawkins. >> Good evening. >> I'm excited to uh once again be able to present to our board our plan for accomplishing our required and self- selected assessments for next year. This is a plan similar to what you've seen for several years now. I thought maybe um it would be in our best interest for me to just talk really quickly about three minor changes that we see in this year's plan as compared to the plans I brought to you in previous years. Um first
006uh you may notice that um in grades two through five we have um decided to make a change in the reading screener that is written into our app. That was a decision made uh was our elementary principles. They consulted with their staff. We're moving to what's called a reading instead of math growth. It's a much quicker assessment. It takes less time to administer to the kids, but we get the same data and information for the teachers that are that they find useful to them. and a bonus that not only are we saving time for teachers and instruction in the classroom, we're saving some funds as well because the um tool that we're using is provided by the state. A second change is um uh we're adding uh KAT to be administered to students in grades
007two and four next year. Um we administered it to students in grades uh two, I believe this last year as well. Um, and so it's a test that we would give in in part of the process of helping to identify students for uh ELP services. >> And then the last change is uh we're extending some testing windows. Um, one testing window that we're extending is per principal request. We, you know, this is a busy time of the year. We'd like another week in order to administer this assessment. It falls within the permissible testing windows as far as identified by the state of Iowa and then another testing window we're extending as per some legislation that's passed this year. Those are the three changes to the cap that are being proposed this year. Any questions? >>
008All right. Thank you. >> Next up is our superintendent report. Start with facilities, I believe. Y >> uh yeah, update on facilities. It's really around three main areas. One, initial planning with 10fold architect and Snider Associates for our kickoff for the Northwest and 13th project. We'll continue with those meetings um kind of getting ideas of uh the overall idea of the plan, how we're wanting to connect with the city, um and other uses for that property. Uh we also talked about some change orders that was presented. High school track completion. Uh may look like it's in a standstill, but we do have asphalt down. Does need 28 days to cure before we can uh place the rubber track on top of it. Uh making good progress and um appear to be still on time. Playground
009improvements, a few change orders uh with some cement pouring uh for efficiencies. Uh those are kind of the main changes we talked about. We have a temporary meeting tenative scheduled for July 31st if needed. Um but more of a detailed report is in the facilities um notes that are attached to the board meeting >> questions. Uh enrollment uh just kind of update on the two documents. Um, elementary and secondary uh still has the same uh highlights with goals uh increase and decrease of sections. Uh I think last talked about was the kindergarten at uh Mitchell uh which is now currently at two sections um where previously it was at three. And then if you look at the total numbers uh right now we would have a decline of around a 100 students within the district.
010If you were to just take the uh the figures that are presented from month to month, uh those are not finalized yet and the count date is October 1st. Uh which give us our actual count date for the school year. >> Superintendent Grimes, how much change is there usually between this time of year and when school starts? Is there is there a significant amount of change still or I mean I know it can go up to the >> there's I wouldn't know what the typical change at Ames is until they have some years under but I'm I'm believing that there won't be as much significant change between now and the school year. Um open enrollment is still conversations around open enrollment. open enrollment has been placed as well as any um requests within the transfers
011uh buildings within the district. Those have been also been placed. So we the numbers that we work with are getting um smaller with changes. So the accuracy is more is becoming more accurate. >> Yeah. As a school board, we have not historically seen these numbers. So I don't really like I don't have much historical memory on this but I would think there could be reasons for it changing more in as in many places because of the university. I mean there are a lot of people who move here at the end of July. I mean I started my job at the end of July. I cannot imagine well actually my kids were too young at that point but if I had moved here at the end of July and my kids had been school age there's
012no way I would have enrolled I doubt I would have enrolled them until I moved here. >> Okay. So, I mean, I I don't know, but I would imagine people who are starting jobs here, people who are moving here with children to go to graduate school or whatever, >> may be enrolling their children when they move. >> Yeah. And I think it's the kindergarten numbers. Um, if you know that the 5-year-olds, if we go back, was around the COVID time. Mhm. >> So, we're probably starting to see maybe possibly what CO has an impact on uh birth rates during that time and how that impacts also areas. >> Um, >> yeah, >> be able to provide more information on that as the year goes on. >> Uh, staffing, just an update on this certified staffing.
013uh gives you an indication um of the positions transfers uh who we've hired uh who's been transferred. The yellow really is individuals new to the district and this is all certified and administration uh positions does not include EAS support staff um in these numbers. We still have special ed positions that we're looking at filling and then we had some late resignations at the high school uh within science and then ALP math which I believe we've had interviews on. So gifts to the district. There's a number of gifts to the district and for times uh one I'll explain uh the numbers and the gifts to the district and uh kind of just knowing that all of the donations uh for this month is for the lunch hero program. We had 19 anonymous donors uh for $1,400
014in cash. Ames Women's Club, $500 cash for the lunch hero program. And the rest of them, I believe, are from students that have either left the district, graduated, and they already had lunch balances and decided to just donate their lunch balance to the district. Uh that ranges from $83.77 down to 17. Uh, and to save time on reading all the names, I want to thank everybody that decided to donate their lunch accounts after graduation into the district lunch hero program. >> All right, next up, our chief financial officer. So, um, I just wanted to kind of go over the school board election information. The school board election this next year will be held on Tuesday, November 4th, and we will have four seats up for election this year. So, it's a big year. Um, we
015have three regular um seats and then we have one seat um that was filled by the vacancy that Mr. Rigus took and so that would that position will be on the ballot for a two-year continuation of that term. Um, I do have all the information in the in the board document here. Um, the soonest that we can take election information packets is August 25th. The last day to file is September 18th at 5:00 p.m. So, we'll be here till 5:00 that day for everyone in the community to bring their paperwork into and to us to get their name on the ballot. Um, you know, and just like you ladies stated, it's it's just so important to be a board member. Yeah. when you can hear us, right? Um, and so, you know, we do hope
016that people do get out and fill out their ballots and consider running for the school board. If you have any in any questions on any of the procedures, be sure to um contact me um and I and I certainly will be helpful to you to get the information that you need and answer any of your questions that you have. >> Thank you. All right. Next up, our new business. First item is gifts to the district. >> I move the board approve the gifts as presented. >> Second. >> Uh moved by Deward, seconded by Smith. All in favor say I. >> I. Oppose. Nay. >> Passes 5-0. Next is the AIM Center renovation phase two. I move the board to approve the final acceptance and completion of work for bid package 01-1 for phase 2 of
017the Ames Center renovation project. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All right. Moved by Ward, seconded by Rodriguez. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Nay. Passes 5 Z. >> Elementary playground project bid package number two. Change order. I move the board approve change order number three to bid package number two for the elementary playground project as presented. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Moved by Becker Becker. Just stuck on that. Uh second by Deward. All in favor say I. >> I. I. Oppose. Nay. >> Passes 5. Amside track. I move the board to approve change order number two to the high school track and bleacher improvements project as presented. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Moved by Deward, seconded by Smith. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Nay. >> Passes 5. And
018then approval of bid form Ames Ford. I move the board approve the bid of $14,617 from Ames Ford for the purchase of two new Ford Expeditions as presented. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> All right. Moved by Smith, seconded by Rodriguez. All in favor say I. >> I. I. >> Opposed? Nay. Passes 5. I don't have any requests for the superintendent and our board planning calendar. Our next regular meeting is August 11th at 5:30. Um, and then just to look ahead, our second meeting in September, I think is when we're planning to do our longer work session that we were hoping to do over the summer, but we're all busy in the summer. >> So, sorry, you meant the second meeting of August. >> September. >> Oh, of September. Oh, >> yeah. We're going to
019let >> We're going to wait until Okay. Everything is in swing. >> Doing it in August, I think, might be a lot for staff, too. So, let's let things settle and then Okay. >> And then we'll get in. Yeah, get that done. Okay. Okay. Great. I move we adjourn. >> Second. >> We were concerned. Uh moved by Smith, seconded by Deward. All in favor of adjourning say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Nay. >> Passes 5:48 p.m. Quite a record. >> Not quite, but you know. We have summer.