EACSD Board of Directors holds annual organizational meeting, Tony Becker sworn in as new board member
by Susan Cantine-Maxson
The Board of Directors of the Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) met at Kee High School in Lansing for its regular monthly session Monday, November 25. Visitors included Kee High School FFA Advisor Ray Rankin and the school’s FFA students who attended the recent National FFA Convention.
After adopting the agenda, the board listened to audience comments which included a report from members of the FFA group who had attended the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN. Rankin and his students gave a short presentation on the events at the convention and other tours they had an opportunity to take in the area. Students included Benjerman Troendle, Peter Boland, Thomas Troendle, Hunter Peterson and Owen Schobert.
The board authorized the regular meeting minutes from October 21. The regular meeting was then adjourned so that the board’s annual organizational meeting could convene.
The board’s organizational meeting was called to order by Board Secretary Marian Verdon. The EACSD Board of Directors for the 2019-2020 school year includes Bobbie Goetzinger, Melanie Mauss, Kelli Mudderman, Tony Becker and Heather Schulte. Also present at the meeting were EACSD Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier and Kee High and Middle School Principal Mary Hogan.
The first order of business was the report of the canvass of the November 5 school board election. Allamakee County Auditor/Commissioner of Elections Denise Beyer reported the results of that school board election. In the Director District #1 race, Bobbie Goetzinger received 305 votes and Stacie Strong received 248 votes; in the Director District #2 race, Tony Becker received 203 votes on recount and Bruce Palmborg received 201 votes on recount and Krista Rasque received 174 votes on recount; and in the Director At-Large race, Kelli Mudderman ran unopposed and received 507 votes. Bobbie Goetzinger was duly elected for Director District #1 for the term of four years; Tony Becker was duly elected for Director District #2 for the term of four years; and Kelli Mudderman was duly elected Director At-Large for the term of four years.
Following the report of the election canvass, Board Secretary Marian Verdon administered the oath of office to new board member Tony Becker and returning board members Bobbie Goetzinger and Kelli Mudderman. Heather Schulte was re-elected as board president and Bobbie Goetzinger was re-elected board vice-president. Goetzinger was also appointed as the Iowa Association of School Board (IASB) delegate and the LAN representative for the ensuing school year. Schulte was appointed to serve on the Allamakee County Assessors Conference Board.
The board approved the resolution for Authorization for Banking Operations authorizing endorsements for deposits, savings withdrawals, check cashing, wire transfers as listed and giving check signing authority to Heather Schulte, president; Kelli Mudderman, board member; and Janet Heiderscheit and Marian Verdon, board secretaries. This authority is for all school accounts.
Dr. Crozier said he is having the district’s electrical demand analyzed to see if there are some options for generating savings. He is also checking to see if there are some options for savings with LP as well.
The board approved moving the December board meeting to Wednesday, December 11 at 6 p.m. Approval was also given to the purchase of the HVAC Rheem 225,000 BTU heating 10 ton cooling rooftop unit with economizer for an estimate of $13,250 for the Fitness Center.
In further action, the board approved the 28E agreement between the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse and the EACSD for conducting a Clinical Education Program for student teaching.
The board approved policy revisions which included Board Policies Series 400 and Policy 506. Series 400 and Policy 506 included Employees 400 through 414.9. Policies eliminated included 405.8 Licensed Employee Evaluation, 405.98 Licensed Employee Probationary Status, 406.1 Licensed Employee Salary Schedule, 406.2 Licensed Employee Salary Schedule Advancement, 406.3 Licensed Employee Continued Education Credit, 406.5 Licensed Employee Group Insurance Benefits, (I,II), 409.1 Licensed Employee Vacation – Holidays –Personal Leave. Policies changed included 405.2, 405.5, 405.6, 405.7, 405.8, 405.9, 406.1, 406.2, 406.3, 406.4, 406.5, 406.6, 407.3, 407.4, 407.6, 408.1, 409.1, 409.2, 409.3, 409.8, 411.1, 411.3. No changes were made to the remaining policies in the 400 series.
Contracts were approved for James Mauss as assistant girls basketball coach, for Jeff Cota as assistant boys basketball coach and for Malerie Mathis as elementary teacher to begin January 2, 2020. The board also appointed Mary Hogan as temporary K-12 Principal and Kathy Koether as temporary K-6 Principal.
Principal Hogan presented various data reports which covered the race, gender, socioeconomics, TAG, Special Education and disability numbers of the district. She also reviewed the Iowa Assessments 2018-2019 testing results in math, science and reading. EACSD students in most cases outperformed the state totals.
Dr. Crozier reported he attended many sessions at the three-day 74th IASB Convention including the keynote speaker Ken Robinson and break-out sessions on finance, STEM and alternative compensation. Three board members also attended general sessions and break-out sessions at the convention. Dr. Crozier, in early December, will be attending a three-day District Administration (DA) Conference in Nashville, TN. Superintendents from around the nation will representing urban, small urban, rural, small rural and super small rural school districts at this convention.
