Call to Order – Welcome 7:00 p.m.
II. Pledge of Allegiance-
III. Adoption of Agenda- hatteberg moved and bross 2nd.
IV. Public Comments- The Board encourages citizens to attend its meetings. Citizens have this opportunity to comment on issues and concerns (Policy 210.9 & 213)- no one commented.
V. Item for Discussion
2. Job Description- Coen and Tabor. Tabor- asking board to approve description for new position. Garwood moved, Bross 2nded. Discussion, question. Position to support principals so they can work on assessment of staff- allows them to be leaders. Coen- we’ve had success with 4 admins- this person would take place of 1 of them- it’s a cost savings measure. Brueck- how is the salary determined? Tabor- looked at comparable districts that had this position. Brueck- did those districts require a BA? Brueck- doesn’t really require much experience. Coen- requires 1 year.
Coen- defending pay level- Brueck was questioning pay versus an assistant principal is at middle schools.
Coen claimed that a teacher with 25 years experience and 45 hrs makes more than admins and works less hours.
Tabor- free up time for admins.
Vickstrom- wants management experience for this position.
Sharon- this is a program, not really a person. All of the people at the high school have to go through specialized training- there is 6000 dollars worth of training in the first year, and 3800 the next year. It’s beyond what a person with a BA would have.
Juniors and seniors would have one admin, freshmen and sophs would have their own admin.
This is a multiple year program.
Coen- Wasn’t our intent to have 4 principals at hs forever. Great reduction in D’s at the HS. Things are working, we may not need 4 anymore. Will continuously scale back. May be able to get climate changed so we can drop levels down to 3.
Robberts- 22k less than an asst principal at the hs.
Hatteberg- why is this better than having an associate principal.
Coen- we are late in the game. We didn’t know Vida was going to leave this late in the game. This opens another pathway for us to see who are the best candidates for the job. (allows them to hire someone without an admin degree)
Coen- it is our goal for the asst principals to work themselves out of a job. If kids self discipline, we won’t need as many admins.
This person won’t be doing evaluation- Coen that will be illegal.
They can evaluate non-certified staff.
Hatteberg- this person might not have a lot of educational background. How will the teachers feel about this person guiding them who has less experience. Wants the best person for the job. Someone charismatic that staff will follow.
Coen- bad leaders tell people to work harder, instead of getting rid of things in their way.
Kendell- can you give us an example of other districts? Jeremy- no, I can’t. Were they in iowa. Dentlinger- this is used extensively in iowa. There was a report that was put together- makes sense to us because admins don’t have time to get into classrooms because they are dealing with discipline. This program allows admin 27 more days in the classroom. The idea of this program is to create a climate where kids aren’t roaming in the hall, organizing calendars. Keane has to go through training on this- he knows he can be more effective. Des Moines uses a SAM, Ottumwa might? Take some of the minutae off the principals, and give that to this person so they can get into the classrooms.
Tabor- it worked so well at this other district that they expanded it to the other buildings.
Kendell- it most likely is beneficial. Hates to lose an admin. It is a way to save money. Things that concern- salary- teacher with masters- 18th year to equal salary. This is a very high salary for someone with no master’s.
MS asst principals required to have 3 years experience. HS asst required to have 5.
Bross has trouble with one year experience.
Kendell- doesn’t understand why the salary is so high. These things are everybody’s job. Having trouble with this vision. Understands the time crunch.
Dentlinger- It is an admin position. When you’re talking about working with kids- experience isn’t really a concern. You’re expected to work until the job is done, unlike teachers. (!)
A teacher could apply for this.
Kendell- doesn’t think teachers stop work after 8 hours. Teachers work as hard as admins.
Coen- teachers can apply for this if they want to.
Vickstrom- we’re looking for a literate goon.
Brueck- can we change preferred master’s, preferred years. Feels like the job was written for a person, not the position. Coen- that is true.
Coen- flush this and stick with another principal?
Brueck- if you want this program because it’s good, we don’t want to get rid of it.
Kendell- salary schedule- 42,000 for 5 years experience in education.
Robberts- motion by Brueck, 2nd by Kendell.
Brueck prefers master’s.
Hatteberg- 5 years is a good thing. 1 year is a good thing. Master’s would be great, but wouldn’t be as important.
Kendell- master’s preferred.
Hatteberg- yes
Robberts- vote on amendment- unanimously changed.
Vickstrom- who does this person report to? Coen- principal.
Garwood- does the principal’s job description change?
Tabor- no
Bross- is this position like an executive secretary?
Robberts- this person would be handling a lot of discipline.
Tabor- this is a federal program.
School administrators of iowa.
Bross- are there funds that come with that?
Vickstrom- what authority does this person have?
Coen- iowa code- teachers have authority because of their position, this person would be the same.
Coen- lotta good press coming out of the high school.
Kendell- what is the vision? Would this person handle 50% of the discipline at the high school? Why not have a dean of discipline? Kendell comes back to salary.
Robberts- the salary comes when we hire. Reynolds- can you pull comparable pay from other districts.
This person would not be paid as much as an associate principal, but doesn’t see as warm and fuzzy as a 1st grade teacher. A job with stressors requires more salary. (!)
Doesn’t want too low of a salary so people aren’t attracted. Can’t pay them less than they would get as a teacher.
Kendall- there was a number out there for the public to see. We may have a 15 year teacher who wants it.
Vickstrom- doesn’t want to see another source of irritation.
46,100 avg salary.
Dentlinger- some of those might be secretaries.
Robberts- some of these don’t require a Bachelor’s. The position will be posted internally first.
Bross- items 6 and 7 should be high on the agenda- important that Keane is out in the classrooms and among the students more than he has been in the past.
Can relieve and make Keane more effective and help the school put out a more positive image. Doesn’t like the word manager. Looks like a coordinator or facilitator.
Robberts- please take note of that. Any other discussion?
Hatteberg- by capitalizing on discipline end, you’re going to get more buy-in from staff.
Coen- it’s a great opportunity for people who are complaining the most. Data will show you that over 85% of kids are doing what we’re supposed to be doing.
This is a chance for a person who complains that there are always kids in the hall, now they can apply for this and fix that.
Kendell- will RTC still be around?
Dentlinger- we weren’t funding RTC correctly- we were using spec ed funds.
Kendell- office referrals may go up without RTC.
Dentlinger- expectation is that this person is the primary outreach for parents. The weight that each of those tasks takes for this person varies.
Robberts- preferred 5 years and master’s degree, passed unanimously.
(The top of our old pay schedule was 75784. Highest you could get without a PhD was 72,000.)
3. Human Resources Report- motion to approve Hatteberg, 2nded by Garwood.
Brueck- some of these positions have already been working- why are these being approved after they’re working. Should’ve been done earlier.
Tabor- it’s a timing issue.
Coen- with some of these positions like science and math we’re going to grab them when we can. Teacher shortage in critical areas. Want to lock people in via iowa code.
Kendell- wish Ms. Long well- wish Mr. Carter well. Didn’t know Schweer. Sad Sherwood is leaving.
Passed with Brueck abstaining.
VI. Adjournment
