001Good evening and welcome to the Cedar Falls School Board meeting. Today is January 26, 2026. We'll call this meeting to order and the first item on our agenda is the consent agenda which has our agenda for tonight, past minutes, accounts payable, HR report, open enrollment report, transportation report, and a couple of different contracts. Um, I would take a motion to accept those. >> So moved. >> Thank you. And a second. >> Second. >> And any conversation, discussion on any of those items. Hearing none. All those in favor of approval would say I. >> I. >> Oppose. The same. And that motion carried. Thank you. Um, this evening we have public comment and I just wanted to read our Cedar Falls school policy which is 204.4.1R. Uh the board recognizes the importance of citizen p participation
002in school district matters in order to asssure citizens are heard and board meetings are conducted efficiently and in an organized manner. The board may set time set aside time for citizen participation. We would ask that the remarks be kept to three. We would ask that the Thank you. Okay. Sorry about that. Um I'm not going to repeat anything. Uh but uh uh for board participation, we would ask that the remarks be kept to three minutes each and gerine to the district business. Um, for future reference, those that would like to have uh time to speak should contact either myself or uh Superintendent Pati by 4 PM day of the board meeting. Okay. Our first uh person up this evening is Linda Fitzgerald. >> Thank you. Good evening. Thank you very much for this opportunity to
003speak in support of the public schools strong resolution for increased funding to public schools and to begin to defund the educational savings accounts or private school vouchers. I'm Linda Fitzgerald, the proud mother of a 1997 Cedar Falls High School graduate and a United University of Northern Iowa ammerita professor of early childhood education. In my 25-y year career at UNI, one of my favorite tasks as a teacher educator was to place and supervise pre-ervice teachers in a field experience right before student teaching. Cedar Falls schools provided excellent opportunities for these placements. I loved placing current students with some of my best former students who fortunately for all of us chose to teach in Cedar Falls public schools. They were and still are excellent mentor teachers. Because of my many attachments to Cedar Falls Schools, I signed
004up to be a public school strong member and have been attending these board meetings for the past two years as a supporter of honest, equitable, safe, and fully funded public education. of the many things I've learned in this process of listening to all of you, I've been amazed at the fiscal responsibility uh that has saved the Cedar Falls schools from the kind of budget crisis my family and friends in Waterl and Cedar Falls public schools have been facing. Even so, the future public funding picture does not look very promising. And I'm here to endorse a request to our Iowa legislators and the governor for an increase to at least 5% in state supplemental aid. Even though AIM Senator Kernbach did an expert economic analysis that says something like more like a 12% increase is needed
005annually to make up for chronic underfunding. In addition, given the lack of public oversight and accountability for the use of taxpayer funds for private schools, together with the lack of evidence that there is any systemic improvement in educational outcomes in private schools when adjusted for socioeconomic advantages. I also endorse the call for the phase out of the educational savings accounts. So for fully funded and equitable public schools, I urge you to pass the public schools strong resolution tonight. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Our second speaker this evening is Liz Conklin. Also sporting my shirt. Okay. So, I'm here on behalf of the concerned citizens of Iowa to say thank you for considering this resolution and for supporting the public schools strong um idea of fully funding our public schools and phasing
006out the school vouchers. Public School Strong is a national campaign made up of parents, teachers, students, and community members who want to ensure that all children have access to honest, accurate, safe, and fully funded public education. This resolution seeks to level the playing field for public schools versus private education. 92% of Iowa students attend public schools. Yet, millions of dollars have been siphoned away to the private school vouchers. Public schools accept all children. Private schools can deny acceptance to kids for a variety of reasons, including behavioral disorders or physical limitations. Public schools are audited and their budgets are public. Not so with private education. Public dollars should be spent on public schools. Iowa know Ians know that strong public education is a cornerstone of our communities and democracy. So, thank you again for standing up
007for strong public schools. >> Thank you. >> And then our third speaker this evening is Rain Quint. Um, first and foremost, um, as a parent of a third grader who has been in Cedar Falls schools since preschool, I'd like to say that I'm proud of the work that um, of all the educators that I've met throughout the years um, and my comment is also in relation to the public school strong resolution and I think I think it's important when we're talking about school funding that we remember that the public school system is made of people. Um people like you on this board and uh like our teachers, our administrative staff members and our kids. We are a community. We pay our taxes because we believe that together we can accomplish the monumental task that is
008providing um a good education to our children. The public school strong resolution makes two demands. One is increasing funding for Iowa schools, which I hope everyone um in this board agrees is necessary not only for um this school district, but in particular um for our rural communities. And the second demand is that our state should phase out our voucher system. Uh, school vouchers are a symptom of a weakened community. When we put individual rights above above the noble goals of our collective efforts, we are shredding the social fabric that allows us to accomplish great things as a society. It's a sign that part of our community has surrendered to the false belief that public public schools do anything other than serve the public good. We must remember that fully funding our schools is fundamentally about
009restoring our community. It's about investing in the people that are part of it, which are our teachers, our staff, and and above all our children. It's about uh reasserting that in Iowa, we believe that public money must be used for the benefit of the whole community. Strong public schools not only form capable critical thinkers but strengthen entire neighborhoods. Everyone benefits from it, even people who don't have children in school. It's with that sentiment that I ask that this board today uh that I ask this board today to join the six districts in Iowa that believe that our lawmakers should ensure our schools are well funded and public money stays in public schools. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay, moving on on the agenda uh moves to our communications and tonight we have James Pang here
010for student board representative. >> How are you all doing tonight? Um I'm just here to provide some updates as to uh what the high school has been up to and uh what we're looking forward to in the future. Uh specifically with student senate, we just had our coaches versus cancer event and we raised uh $1,232.54. Uh we did that through a 50/50 raffle uh selling the in honor of and I suit up for signs um a halftime competition uh a pickupball tournament as well as donations and book sales. Uh before that uh in the winter and later part part of fall we worked with uh community main street and we also uh wrote letters to the nursing home. Uh in the future we're looking forward to uh selling roses as Valentine's Day approaches and uh
011holding a bake sale for uh dance marathon. Uh we're also looking at possibly um reholding our 3v3 basketball tournament uh with the proceeds um going to the Tiger Performance Center. Uh we also have a staff appreciation breakfast planned as well. Uh in addition to that, our volunteer club just volunteered at Pack the Dome uh this past Martin Luther uh King Day and uh we've also volunteered at House of Hope and the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. Uh, we're currently looking forward to holding a clothing drive and making tie blankets. Um, that's all I have for you guys today. Thank you guys. >> Wonderful. Thank you. >> Does anybody have any questions for James while he's here? >> Okay. Thank you so much. >> Have a good night. >> Please. >> I just stood up because I
012knew I was I was next. All right. Well, we'll talk about a communications update for the district here. Some great things to celebrate. First of all, wanted to mention starting this Friday will be our preschool registration starting at noon. All the information you need is on that website right there. Um, as far as when you need to register, again, we have preschools in all of our seven elementary buildings across the district and it is primarily on a first come first- serve basis. So, um, it's important to sign up on Friday if you have interest for your child for next school year. Also wanted to mention that uh gold star award nominations are now now open and we'll be pushing this out on our social media as well. They'll be taking nominations through February 20th. And
013this is of course uh a great uh we usually have three uh award winners each year and it's done by the Mroy Trust. So we really encourage anyone that believes we have a great you've come across a great teacher in our district, you're able to nominate them online. Also wanted to mention our Cedar Falls Schools Foundation. One of the great things they do, of course, is providing scholarships to our graduating seniors. And that scholarship application is now open. You're able to go uh to that Google form through their Facebook page. And that deadline is March 15th. So I I'm probably speaking mostly to parents of seniors to tell your child who is currently a senior to go online and fill out those that scholarship application. And we're really excited to announce that uh the district's
014been awarded a STEM best grant to continue our work with authentic learning. And going along with that, we had a great group that were down at the capitol today to talk about authentic learning in our district. We had students from North Cedar, Pete Holmes, and the high school that represented the district and shared their experiences with authentic learning. This grant and best stands for I looked it up because I wasn't sure. businesses engaging with students and teachers. Um, so this uh continued grant will allow us to develop more of that work of authentic learning across the district. And James mentioned it already, but I just wanted to give a shout out to a couple more groups that were there as part of the MLK Day of Service and the backpack program at the Unidome. We
015have the Cedar Falls Schools Foundation. Uh members of that board and family there shown and then of course a volunteer club and then also a great group from Lincoln Elementary, their team and then some of their family and friends joined as well. And this past weekend we had large group speech contest up at the high school and 12 of those 15 groups have advanced to the state contest which will actually be held in two weeks at West High. and those that do really well there then will continue on to large group all state at Iowa State later in February. I was um volunteered and then was also a parent um got to watch my daughter compete which was fabulous but I just have to say our high school is amazing for so many things but
016it is really great for a large group all state competition. We have such great spaces and um things are really um spread out in a way that just worked really well and had concessions and everything. So we have to give a big shout out to Kenton Engles and the whole team that they did um organizing that. It was really great. Just wanted to highlight a few of our partners. Those are some North Seedar uh fifth and sixth grade students. The choir there. They were able to go to the Blackhawks game and sang the national anthem. So special thanks to the choir teachers that are willing to take on that extra effort. And then the Blackhawks for partnering with us. And this is also a highlight across our elementary buildings for sixth grade students. They partner
017with the Northeast Iowa Weavers and Spinners Guild. Our art teachers do to provide this experience for our sixth graders across the district learning about fiber arts and weaving and spinning their own fabrics. Wanted to mention the Cedar Falls dance team. They're having a kids clinic on Saturday, January 31, this coming Saturday. I'd make sure to get online so you can register your possible um uh dancers that want to participate and then they're going to perform on Tuesday, February 3rd at halftime of the girls basketball game. Follow along. We have lots of winter sports coming up on um district and state competition soon. Our women's wrestling's doing great, men's wrestling, of course, both basketball teams. We have bowling. We have men's swimming as well. So, make sure to follow along. Lots happening. And that's where you
018can see everything going on. Any questions? >> Thank you. >> Okay, we will move right into the December financial report. >> Yeah, absolutely. We'll pull up the the financial reports for December. Um uh as as of last month, we had spoken and I had shared with you a a chart that allowed um an explanation of what the uses are, the approved uses for um each of those particular funds uh in regards to the revenues and then the expenditures themselves. This evening I don't have that uh but as an example for our general fund, it is our overall operations of our district. Uh we utilize that for our utilities, our salaries and our benefits. Um those funds are state, local, and federal funds that are received from the district. Uh we had uh revenues of a
019little over $5.5 million for the month of December with expenditures of $6.3 million for total cash investments of $17,982,537. We then do our have have our management fund which is our insurance uh property insurance associated uh also our work comp insurance um expenditures associated to that. the revenues for uh the management fund were a little over $37,000 with then those expenditures. The majority of those expenditures do occur in July. Uh we do have um some miscellaneous expenditures that do occur throughout the year. So you'll see those expenditures associated of $14,923 for total cash investments of $855,257. We have our save which is our 1centent sales tax. Uh you'll note those revenues associated to that for the month of December. Uh you'll also note the expenditures of a little over 144,000. Uh the one thing to
020note uh this is a monthly transfer out uh of $357,929 to our debt service that allows us to pay the principal and interest associated to our uh revenue bonds um on a uh yearly basis. Uh that is a syncing fund that we do transfer that out on a monthly basis. So leaving then total cash investments of 16,381 and or81,000 excuse me 16 million lots of numbers 16,381,872. Uh we do have our physical plant levy or our PPE. Uh you'll note uh we had revenues of a little over $3.4 million. Wanted to note that's not a normal revenue that we have on a monthly basis for PPE. Um if you recall Dr. Pati had indicated a couple months ago of the IRS um energy credit that the district received. Um we did receive those funds in
021the month of December. Uh patiently waited for those uh a little over $3.1 million. And then we had approximately about $200,000. If you recall um the district was awarded all districts across the state were awarded uh a safety grant uh with the use of the the remaining um COVID dollars. uh those dollars were received then as well um for some of those expenditures that did occur during the month or during the year previous year. So um then we had expenditures associated to uh $561,848 which were utilized the majority of that was the continuation of the natiatorum as well as the Tiger Performance Center uh with total cash investments of $13,112,836. And then we have our debt service associated and again as I mentioned that's um to issue the payment in interest or principal and interest
022on a um yearly basis associated to the bonds. Um and that cash a total cash investment is $4,142,682. As we move forward with those remaining funds, you'll note that student activity again the student activity is regarding um admissions um fundraising different things in regards to um uh our students. um of $74,840 with then those expenditures of a little over $112,000 for total cash investments of $810,382. We have our agency funds as well as our enterprise funds. Again, our enterprise funds is our nutrition. Um that's a standalone account that is for revenues are associated to um federal and state dollars but also um uh payments uh by uh parents um and guardians associated to their child's account. Um we had $339,355 within expenditures and again those expenditures are associated to the new nutrition program. So that's
023our food, our supplies, as well as our supplies and benefits associated to the staff members um performing those duties of a little over 296,000 for total cash investments of 3,854,962. We have our student coffee shop. Again, I put a plug out to that. It's a fantastic coffee shop. If you don't get the chance, please stop out and and uh give them a shout out. They they do a great job for us. little over $48,683 with then also our River Hills. If you recall, River Hills um we uh it is a consortium so we have multiple districts that have students attending. Uh we are the flowth through for those dollars associated to that as we contract those services through the Central Rivers A.EA. Um we have 932 $37,140 at the end of the fiscal year. Um
024those dollars are generated and zeroed out um based on the quarters and those payments. So, the last two uh slides associated to that is where we are based on our um certified budget at that time of year last year in in March. Um you'll see where those balances are and and where we sit um as we review these in the the final slide as well with those remaining um uh funding. We take a look at this or I take a look at this um throughout the year and then um as we are starting to talk about budgets here shortly in March um may or may not need to make adjustments according to where we were in um 18 months ago um and how that might reflect as to um those adjustments for this year with
025unknown expenditures um that do occur um throughout the year. So any questions in regards to December? I don't think so. >> Okay. >> Um these reports um are always placed on file and they are used as part of our annual audit. Next topic is the uh approve resolution to set public hearings and publish notice to biders for the 2026 roofing projects. >> Thank you, Garrett. >> I'm Garrett Brown with Confidence Consulting Group and uh talking with Chris uh we reviewed all the roofs on the district and it looks like Hansen and North Cedar are due this year for replacements. Uh here at Hansen, we have three roof sections. Uh those are the original from 2001 when those were installed. Uh so go getting those replaced with new EPDM membrane is what we're looking for. And
026then North Cedar Elementary, there's one section on that building left. Uh and that one's in pretty bad shape. So we're going to replace that one as well. Uh a little design of what we're going to do. Uh we are removing the entire system all the way down to the deck. And then we're going to install just sloped roof system. That way everything gets to the drains. There's no water ponding. Uh you guys reach your uh 30 year 35 year of life for those roofs. Our budget I budgeted around $18 a square foot this year. Uh we were right around 1516 last year. So hoping we get the same numbers there. But uh for each section uh we have about 40,000 for section I at Hansen, 65 for H, 70 for N, and 140 for R
027over at North Cedar being a larger section for 315,000. Uh our timeline that we're looking for, uh we'd like to get this bid out obviously before the summer, uh then construction starting in the summer, uh and then finishing up here before August and school starts up. So uh that is our schedule that we have laid out right now. and just hopefully move forward from there. >> Thank you. >> Any questions? >> Just some context with this, too. And again, thanks for all your work, Garrett. Uh uh Garrett and his company have come in, they've reviewed all of our roofs. Uh as the board knows, we have a 10-year physical plant and equipment plan. Uh I think we presented that uh or kind of refreshed that with the board back in August, September timeline. uh part
028of that 10-year PPE plan which includes technology and uh bus fleet maintenance as well as uh just the preventative maintenance we have across the district uh is part of our roof replacement plan. Um there's a 10-year roof replacement plan that we have uh documentation, we have warranty documentation and maybe even repair information on all of the roof sections across our district and then that's put into a 10-year plan. So, as we look forward into the future, we know which roofs are going to be replaced or repaired uh and with an annual budget that goes along with that. So, uh these are the next cycle of that 10-year roof replacement plan and and certainly part of our budget uh for what we put into our 10-year physical plant equipment plan uh to make sure that our
029roofs are always uh in good shape and are within the life cycle of when they are going to be wellmaintained and strong roofs. Correct. Yep. Perfect. >> Any other questions or clarifications? >> We'll take a motion then to um approve this. >> I move that the Cedar Falls Community School District Board of Education set a public hearing on March 9th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. for the 2026 summer roofing tuck pointing projects. >> And we'll take a second. Second. >> Thank you, Jeff. Um, any other questions or clarification? Um, all those in favor would respond. I >> I >> oppose the same. And the motion carried. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Thanks. >> Um, we move into the approval of school bus bids. >> Yeah, that would be me again this time. Uh in
030regards to this is an annual request. Um uh as Dr. Pati indicated, this is actually part of our PPE 10-year PPE plan. Um we have a rotation of um in between two and three each year dependent upon the need. uh this year um is three um and that's due to the uh it actually was two but uh we have a third due to um um the removal of one of them um based on um um uh the J the June um situation and so we will go ahead and take a look at the bids results as we come. We have three school bids um in regards to three school buses that we are requesting uh 372 student capacity school buses. They are conventional style with front engines uh rear backup camera systems as well as
031then the front airride suspensions. You'll note uh in regards to the specifications of the chassis and the body of requirements um meet those needs based on the Iowa Department of Education. Um, as we move forward then you'll note then we are trading in two units. Uh, those units were the 2012 65 passenger with 136,000 miles on it as well as the 2013 with uh, 84 passenger transit bus with 113,000 miles on it as of mileage as of December. And then we do have the one that we received the funding from for um, our insurance um to offset some of these costs associated to that. Uh, we do have that bid summary. We received three of uh three bids associated to the three school buses that we are looking for. Um we had Hogland bus company
032as well as school bus sales with then we had no bid from truck center companies. Uh you'll note the base bids associated to those three buses, the trade-in values for each of those buses as well as um we do uh request that those be gasoline engines um in lie of the diesel engines associated to that. And then that's recommendations based on our transportation director and the findings of the uses of those buses. Uh the total buses associated to that for those three buses uh from Hogland were $543,697 with then the school bus sales for Bluebird uh for a total of $446,676. As we move forward then uh you'll note that it is recommended uh to move forward with the school bus sales of Waterlue Iowa for those three conventional school buses of $446,676. And again,
033excuse me um these are funded through our PBLE or our SAVE. They are an approved expenditure through our SAVE as well. Um but this will be utilized with our physical plan levy based on our 10-year PPE plan. Any questions associated to the bus recommendations? >> Questions? Well, we'll just move straight to a motion then to accept those. I move that the Cedar Falls Community School District Board of Education approve the school bus bids from school bus sales Waterlue, Iowa for three Bluebird Conventional School buses in the amount of $446,676 as presented. >> And we'll take a second. Second, Grace. Thank you. Um any additional dis conversation hearing? None. All those in favor would say I. >> I. >> And the same. Um if and the motion carried. Thank you so much. Um Director Orvis, um
034could you please provide us with the information on the public school strong resolution? >> So I'm not sure that I could add a whole lot that wasn't well said already by in our public comment. Um this resolution doesn't have any binding authority on us but it does state our position uh in terms of school funding and uh the educational safety counts. Um we would like to see that uh we we need to continue to maintain a strong public education in a safe welcoming environment with quality staff. And that is at best difficult if not impossible to do at a 2% uh state supplemental aid. So the 5% is not a huge ask. And I also believe and I'm I'm sure others in here believe that uh public schools are held to a high standard and
035that standard should also be applicable to private schools that are taking public money. And if that's not the case, then I do believe that we should uh go ahead with this with this resolution. Um, and in doing so, I'm going to skip all the whereasses and just get right down to the resolution and say the Cedar Falls Community School District Board of Education do hereby urge the governor of Iowa and the state legislature to fully fund public schools by an annual 5% increase of the state's supplemental aid rate index to inflation. and the Cedar Falls Community School District Board of Education do hereby petition the governor of Iowa and the state legislature to keep the income cap in place for ESAs, phase the program out over the next 5 years, and use public funds for
036public schools only. >> Thank you. >> We will take a motion on that. I move that the Cedar Falls Community School District Board of Education approve the resolution for public school strong as presented. >> And we'll take a second. >> I'll second. >> Thank you, Kim. And discussion or any additional notes? I this um this was presented by the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and I found that this was interesting that this organization was founded in 1975 in Waterlue. Um and um their um their focus has not really changed over the years, but it has evolved. And um we appreciate uh community groups that gather to support um not only public education but all the things that they do. >> One more thing, sorry on that. Um just for other resources, if anybody in the
037community is looking for other resources, the Urban Education Network of Iowa, which is um what Cedar Falls is a part of, does have a lot of information on their website. One of which is their um it's it's not exactly a one-pager, it's a three-pager on their 2026 legislative priority, investing in Iowa's future adequate funding for public schools where it has a lot of the historical data on what the SSA rate has been historically versus inflation and how it obviously hasn't kept up, but you can kind of see the trends in graph form. And there's a lot of kind of translating it to layman's terms for for everybody who's not super knowledgeable on that. So, I would strongly encourage anybody who wants to know more to check that out. I can also post that on my
038Facebook um site from my schoolboard one, too. So, yeah, I think this is a great idea. And other school boards who are watching, feel free to reach out if you need assistance in drafting yours or would like to see a copy of ours. Obviously, it's on our schoolboard meeting site. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Anything else? So, we've had a motion and a second. All those that would um approve this resolution would say I >> I >> oppose the same. And the motion carries. Thank you. >> And Dr. Patine. >> Yeah. So, speaking on a lot of these things, uh today we had the opportunity with Director Rogers and uh Mrs. Yncan from the high school administrative team. We went down to De Moine for a day on the hill. Uh I think
039we had a really good uh morning of of learning and an opportunity to go to the capital and uh have some advocacy and and I won't speak for Director Rogers, but I think one of the the highlights was seeing our CAPS associates, our CAPS uh teachers, uh some of our uh elementary teachers, uh sixth grade authentic learning uh staff, as well as from uh our junior highs with our new CAPS exploratory class uh just showcasing the the learning that's occurring across the district and it was just really really neat. Uh and they did a tremendous job. Uh so much where uh even some of our sixth and seventh graders were just grabbing individuals as they're coming by just to make sure that they could get some of the information and uh see how much they're
040learning and their their points of pride. Uh some of the things that uh certainly are some of of the key legislative components. Uh I always say this with a caveat at this time that uh a lot of bills are introduced especially in the first several weeks. Um not all the bills will come out of committee. Uh some of the bills won't even be discussed. Uh so sometimes the ones that make the the biggest splashes in in the media aren't the ones necessarily that are going to be the ones we need to really focus on and be impactful or will be impactful. Um, one of the ones that we're watching, there are three iterations right now, is a property tax reform bill. Um, that is something that, uh, can and may have significant impacts for school
041districts, uh, not only short-term, but long-term. Um, some of them have information about physical plant equipment levies. Uh, some of them have, uh, language about scooping uh, sales tax dollars. So, we just need to be very cognizant of that and express some of the uh impacts that that may have. Uh we just had a a really good discussion about uh state supplemental aid. Uh if you watch the the state of the state address, the governor recommended 2% SSA. Um I know the house has come out and has at least expressed there's nothing written yet uh to be higher than that, but the senate has come out to say that they uh believe it should be lower than that. So that is another aspect we'll need to to watch and and certainly be aware of. Several
042different bills too that have come out with curriculum focus. Uh some bills that have come out uh with transportation and transportation equity a little bit more uh across the state. So just trying to be attuned to those and and encourage advocacy across the board as we uh focus on what may be coming out of the first funnel here in the next uh three weeks. I know one of the things I asked you and this is always a good reminder of we're in this wonderful weather um and how those decisions are made. >> Yeah, inclement weather is always just an interesting topic of discussion. Um so every day is different uh when it comes to making decisions. Sometimes it's ice, sometimes it's snow, sometimes it's fog. Um most recently on Friday it was cold weather. Um
043so um that was a decision that uh typically will be made across multiple school districts through dialogue and discussion and collaboration. Um in fact all school superintendent on Thursday regionally got together and and uh had a conference call just to talk about where we're at, what we're thinking, what we're doing. Um there's also conversations with our transportation uh director to make sure we're looking at roads typically on snow related absences. I will be out driving gravel roads uh especially a loop that I typically do on the north than east side because our transportation director does a loop on on a different side of our district anywhere from 4:30 to 4:45 in the morning. Uh then we have dialogue with regional superintendent as well as with the transportation director. Um, typically every focus and decision is
044going to be just on on safety. Uh, it was fairly easy this past Friday to make that determination just because of the uh temperatures. Uh, our school buses struggle, especially the diesel buses to run anytime above 14° or excuse me, when it's uh less than -14° uh Fahrenheit. Um, so with the air temperatures down to to 17 to 19° below zero, let alone the wind chills approaching minus40, uh, that was a decision where frostbite can occur within 10 minutes within those temperatures. And there's a whole chart that you can find that kind of describes where what and when that looks like. So, um, done with a lot of thoughtfulness, with a lot of conversation, collaboration, and certainly with with safety in mind. >> Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions, comments? >> Yes. Hi. Um,
045I know I've uh emailed you guys about this before, but I just wanted to ask again just for clarity on the reinstating of gender identity into our bullying policies. What is the process for that? um to get back in. I've talked to other school boards who have either reinstated it or kept it and it's unclear whether they had to go through certain procedures. So, I was just wondering if you could help elaborate for the public. >> Yeah, that would be a conversation first with our policy committee. Um and we'll pull that together probably here usually in the next month. We don't usually change policy in the middle of a school um >> Sure. year just because we don't want those to change kind of mid-stream. Um then we'll use that time we can address that
046as well as the next series in our review which is going to be the 100 200 series and 300 series uh to review those within that policy and then any changes that are being recommended based upon either um Iowa code changes through the legislative process uh legal changes that have happened because of court cases and determination from court cases. is or any alignment that we see that our policies are misaligned from just the practice that we're undertaking. So that'll be kind of the next step is uh pulling that policy committee together uh probably in March uh but it could be in April. >> Okay. Thank you. >> I hate to put you on the spot. Any insight from Day on the Hill for your first Day on the Hill? >> Oh yes. Uh to echo
047what you said, seeing the CAPS kids and talking to them was just melts my heart thinking they're just out there. Okay. To be fair though, they did entice them with candy, which is a really good sales tactic. I mean, I Yeah, that's what I would do. That's how I That's how they got me. Um, but they uh they were talking about 3D printed things. They were talking about doing the strength finders, which I didn't do until I was a professional. And I'm like, "Oh my gosh, that's so amazing." And then again, just the confidence they had to just talk about all their stuff with strangers um was inspiring. Yeah, I I know I couldn't do that when I was their age, but maybe if I had a program like like that, uh I would have.
048So, it was awesome that part. Obviously, also talking to the legislators. Um advocating on behalf of public schools and public school funding is really important. Um again, not just for us, but also for those in our community. Uh reach out to our senators, our house reps. Um tell them what is important to you, what is at risk if that funding doesn't come through. Uh if you need to talk to any of us, please feel free to reach out for more information. We can point you in the right direction. Um it's important that they hear more voices than just us. So that's Sorry, that was kind of my wrap. It was amazing. I loved it. Good. Good. >> Thank you for attending that. >> Thank you for Thank you for letting me. Thank you for the
049opportunity. The the taxpayers that paid for our gas to get down there. So, and John Deere for giving me the day off. I'd just like to thank the people that spoke tonight. I think that um we appreciate your support and it's nice to hear it out loud and um continue to do so and encourage others to do the same. Thank you. Um the only other thing I'd like to say is Janelle mentioned the scholarship. Um I have one other volunteer thing that I do in my life. actually several, but um I'm also on the Sturgeis Falls uh board and we will be offering a scholarship as well. So, if you have a high school senior, that link should be open up within the next day or two. Um that can be found at sturgisfallscf.com. Um
050encourage your senior to apply for that scholarship. Um it's not real hard to get and will be well worth it, I think. So, if anybody's interested, >> I know that our Americanore students have worked on a new database for scholarships and I have a feeling it's probably in there, right? Because they have >> or will be will be, right? I mean, it directs them to there saying, "Hey, this is this is available." >> Great. Great. >> Do that because we know that, right? Well, we have the um Cedar Falls um school foundation. We also know that we have the Cedar Falls Community Foundation. And we also have Northeast Iowa. Yes. Community foundation. There are lots of scholarships available out there. And um I think all of those sites uh have been posted for our students.
051>> I I do want to put a plug in that our high school counselors are great in funneling all that information. Last year I I was lucky enough to work with the high school counselors because Aldridge Elementary gave out a scholarship um for their first graduating senior. And so we we did give out two scholarships and the the high school counselors were just fabulous to work with because they got all that information out. Chris Wood was absolutely wonderful. But they do um put out all of those scholarships that seniors are available to apply for and I'm sure that the Sturgeis Falls one is too. But I just want to put a plug in there for those those counselors. They're just amazing up there to work with with scholarships. >> And bet you're not reading those,
052are you? Are you going to read those scholarships? Are you on that group? >> I am. >> Okay. Okay. Just wanted to make sure because it's good to know who's reading them. >> I'm reading them. >> I read them years ago. Um Okay. Anything else for the good of the order? Then we will take a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved >> and a second. >> I second. And all those in favor would say I. Hi. >> Hi. >> Thank you so much for attending.