The Board Report

Newly-elected board members take oath of office

Board Secretary Brian Bartz, left, gives the oath of office to three of the four newly-elected school board members including, from left, Karina Hernandez, Ben Fletcher and Bea Niblock.

Recognitions

From left, Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte and Director of Instruction Dr. Lisa Stevenson present awards to Kyley Leger and Ben Cooper for their work on a Vision Marshalltown video on Marshalltown Schools. Both Kyley and Ben are MHS graduates.

Point of Pride Vision Marshalltown video
Director of Communications Andrew Potter along with Vision Marshalltown Executive Director Kyley Leger and videographer Ben Cooper presented this video, produced by Vision Marshalltown, which features the school district.

Kendall Derby was recognized for serving on the board for four years.

Personnel
For personnel items approved by the board, click here.

Charles “Chuck” Springer, new Buildings and Grounds Director

Charles “Chuck” Springer was introduced to the board as the new Buildings and Grounds Director of the district. Springer has lived  in Marshalltown since 2003, previously working at the local hospital and has had a long career working for Aramark.

“I’m really looking forward to this opportunity,” Springer said.
He will start on the job on September 27.

Board room audio and video upgrade
Director of Technology Josh Wesley presented this item, to upgrade the audio and video in the board room for guests in person and those watching on the delayed broadcast.

It was recommended to award Marshalltown-based Mechdyne the bid for the audio and video project.  The board approved the audio upgrade project by a vote of 4-2 for a cost of $16,488. The video upgrade (with a cost of $21,195) received a tie vote of 3-3 and was not approved. Board President Bea Niblock said the item would be brought back  when the complete board was there (Mike MIller was absent at the meeting).

Owner-Contract agreement for Roundhouse Phase 2  Project
The board approved the agreement with Ball Team as part of the Roundhouse Phase 2 project. This was after the board approved bids at the the September 5 board meeting. Dirt is expected to turn on the project soon. The board approved the agreement 6-0.

Policies
First reading

414.2- Personal illness- Changes made in cumulative sick leave to 140 days- Approved as amended, waived second reading
414.3-R1 and R2 -Classified Employee Family and Medical Leave Regulation/Definitions – Attorney to review

Initial review
414.3-E1 Classified Employee Family and Medical Leave Notice to Employees – Attorney to review
414.3- E2- Classified Employee Family and Medical Leave – Request Form- Attorney to review
414.4 – Classified Employee Bereavement Leave- Funerals- Two small changes to make – from 5 to 2 days of bereavement for “Spouses Brothers and Sisters”- To come back before board
414.6 -Jury Duty –  Change to article reference- to come back before board
414.7- Military Service – Attorney to review to come back before board
414.8- Absence Without Pay- Classified –  Title changes to HR director – To come back before board.

Election results
Director of Business Operations Brian Bartz reviewed the votes from the September 12 board election. He noted  three candidates were elected to four-year terms including Karina Hernandez, Mike Miller and Bea Niblock and one was elected to a 2-year term, Ben Fletcher.  Hernandez, Fletcher and Niblock took the oath of office (Mike Miller not present). Hernandez is the one new member on the board.

After the oath of office was taken the new board voted on their own leadership.

The board re-elected Bea Niblock as president of the board for the next year.

The board re-elected Janelle Carter as vice president  for the next year.

The next regular meeting of the school board will be at 5 p.m. October 2 in district offices

From Board President Bea Niblock
“If you weren’t at the board meeting to see the latest video in Vision Marshalltown’s Point of Pride video series, you missed a remarkable sharing.

Kyley Leger, Executive Director of Vision Marshalltown, and Ben Cooper, videographer, worked with our own Andrew Potter to create a video of Marshalltown Schools. When you see the video, you can’t be anything but proud of the things that the district has to offer the young people of this community.

It covers many of the programs that only Marshalltown offers, hears from students about their learning experiences and hears from teachers and administrators about how great it is to work in the Marshalltown Schools. We are, definitely, on our way to becoming the best for miles around!” – Bea Niblock

Students from Anson Elementary School and Lenihan Intermediate School demonstrate the new ST math curriculum to school board members and local business representatives at the board meeting on September 5. Many local companies donated to the project.

New ST Math curriculum demonstration draws a crowd

ST Math took center stage during the recognition section of the school board meeting on September 5.

The Marshalltown Community School District has implemented the high quality digital platform this fall that is based on neuroscience and called Spatial-Temporal (ST) Math to further enhance STEM education, at each of our six elementary schools and Lenihan Intermediate School.  

Students from Anson Elementary School led by teacher Heather Pals and from Lenihan Intermediate School led by teacher Laura Fricke presented ST Math to the board and to representatives from several area companies, which donated to help get the curriculum off the ground.

Local donations amounted to $60,000 from the following companies: UnityPoint Health, RACOM, Great Western Bank, Pinnacle Bank, Farmers Savings Bank, United Bank and Trust, McFarland Clinic, Wolfe Eye Clinic, Mechdyne Corporation, Marshalltown Company, JBS & UFCW Local 1149, Emerson Process Management, Marshall Economic Development and Lennox. The Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation also donated $60,000 to the effort. See photos below as we recognized these companies for their support.

The initial grant of $60,000 for the program was secured by  MCSD Director of Instruction Dr. Lisa Stevenson from the Governor’s STEM Council. The school district also paid $60,000 for the curriculum.

Personnel
For personnel items approved by the board, click here.

Roundhouse Phase 2 project design at center

Roundhouse Phase 2 Project bid awarded
The Marshalltown High School Roundhouse Phase 2 project is moving forward after a bid was accepted for the project, which will add a wrestling room and auxiliary gym to the school.
The board approved a bid from Ball Team LLC of Urbandale for $6,686,000 for the project.

“This is a really nice, momentous day that we ought to be celebrating,” said board member Mike Miller, who also thanked the many people who donated to the project and led the fundraising effort.

Gary Schulte of FEH Design, addressed some concerns about the project that were expressed at a recent board meeting. The concerns were around the use of voluntary alternates for the project, but it was deemed these alternates were used as a way to get the project to budget.

Board Policies
413.3-R – Dismissal and Suspension of Classified Employees-  Amended waived second reading
413.6 – Classified Employee Retirement- Amended as presented waived second reading
413.7-Twelve-Month Secretary Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program-  All early retirement incentive program polices to come to the board in October.
414.1-Vacation- Classified-  Marked as reviewed
414.2- Personnel Illness – Changed sick leave cumulative from 200 to 140 days – Policy to come back before board
414.3 -Classified Employee Family and Medical Leave- Marked as reviewed
414.3 R-1 -Classified Employee Family and Medical Leave – Regulation- To be reviewed with board attorney by HR director
414.3 R2 – Classified Employee Family and Medical Leave- Definitions-  To consult with IASB on this policy
501.13 -Pregnant Students – numbering change to align with IASB- approved by board and waived second reading.

The next regular meeting of the school board will be at 5 p.m. on September 18.

From Board President Bea Niblock

“We had the opportunity to spend a delightful half hour interacting with students and the community at last night’s board meeting. Donors from the community, representing over $120,000 in contributions to purchasing ST Math for district students, and students from first, third and sixth grade showcasing the program gave us a great view of what can happen when all stakeholders come together to influence the future.

The evening was a perfect opportunity for donors to see how their dollars are affecting the lives of students, strengthening their skills of logic and stretching their creative thinking. The Marshalltown School District is blessed with great school-business partnerships.

On another note, the school board election is just a week away. Be sure to become informed and exercise your right to vote. Vote early at the Auditor’s Office or vote next Tuesday. The make-up of the board affects your very lives.” – Bea Niblock

Thanks you to these local companies for their generous donation to ST Math 

Recognized with certificate and framed JiJi pictures. JiJi is the mascot of ST Math.

Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte with Sarah Erikson and Rande Jones of Emerson

Dr. Schutte with Jerrod Leffler of Farmers Savings Bank

Dr. Schutte with Karn Gregoire of the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation

Dr. Schutte with Jeff Mathis of Great Western Bank

Dr. Schutte with Mike Graves, left, of UFCW Local 1149 and Niko Aguirre of JBS.

Dr. Schutte with Miguel Gutierrez of Lennox

Dr. Schutte with Janelle Carter of Marshalltown Company

Dr. Schutte with Deb Wollam of McFarland Clinic

Dr. Schutte with Mike Pedersen of Mechdyne

Dr. Schutte with David Barajas of Marshalltown Regional Partnership, left, and Tom Deimerly of Marshall Economic Development

Dr. Schutte with Mike Miller of RACOM

Dr. Schutte with Jennifer Hass of United Bank & Trust