Waterville-Elysian-Morristown School Board Regular Meeting
May 23, 2022, at 6:30 p.m.
Agenda (Additional links to documents below are found within the agenda.)
Call to Order - Gary Michael, Chairperson
I called the meeting to order. We said the Pledge of Allegiance. All Board members were present except Jon Velishek. Administrators present included both principals and superintendent Whitehurst.
Approval
No additional agenda items were added. The board approved the agenda, the regular board meeting minutes of April 25, 2022, and financial transactions with little discussion.
Visitor Comments
There were no visitor comments. Comments from visitors should be informational in nature and not exceed 3 minutes per issue. The Board will not engage in a discussion or debate in those 3 minutes but will take the information and find answers if it is appropriate. As part of the protocol, visitors must keep their ideas and opinions related to policy issues. It is unacceptable for any speaker to slander, engage in character assassination or discuss student or personnel issues (i.e. teacher, coaches, bus drivers, principals, Board Members, etc.) at a public board meeting. The person wishing to address the Board must stand at the provided lectern.
Recognition
The board approved monetary donations of $8,550. Thank you to the following donors:
- Deborah Kuball, $500 for the Bob Kuball Memorial Scholarship
- Nu-Chek-Prep, $1,000 for the Nu-Chek Prep Scholarship
- Choose Kindness Foundation, $1,500 for the Morristown Elementary and Junior High
- Multiple donors, $3,800 for the Travis’ Trades Scholarship
- Mike David family, $500 for the Greased Lightning Scholarship
- Elysian Auto, $250 for the Elysian Auto Scholarship
- Waterville Lions Club, $1,000 for PBIS
Congratulations to WEM Education Association Teachers of the Year:
- Julie Hayford - Waterville Elementary
- Mark Meyer - Waterville Elementary
- Sara Quiram - Waterville Elementary
- Jared Larson - Morristown Elementary/Junior High
- Ruth Ann Olson - High School
Unfortunately, Julie, Mark, and Sara are all retiring after the school year. They will be sorely missed. All are excellent teachers. I wish them the best in their retirement.
Reports
The board heard a joint principal report from Bobbie Jo Bastian, Elementary Principal, and Jennifer Wilson, 7-12 Principal. Highlights included the completion of MCA testing, and updates on multiple field trips. Kindergarten Round-up was held, and 48 new students attended. Preschool graduation occurred on May 18. Summer school registration of 50+ students is nearly complete. There were many more updates, including this one regarding the Night of Excellence:
On May 18, WEM high school hosted the annual Night of Excellence. A sincere thank you to all of our area donors and scholarships awarded to the Class of 2022. In total there was just over $32,000 awarded to seniors from local scholarships, not including the tuition-based merit scholarships and grants from individual entities where students will be continuing their education. A special thank you to the Elysian Lions Club for their generous donation for dessert and refreshments. In addition, thank you to Cool Wave of Waterville for supplying the dessert and Nancy Culhane, food service director for working with the Night of Excellence team to provide all the additional refreshments and tableware. Traditionally, our local greenhouse, Greenwald’s, has provided the floral decorations for the event (along with graduation commencement). They did this year as well, and the stage looked very sharp as a result.
Last, but not least, was this note regarding the 2022 Salutatorian and Valedictorian:
Congratulations to our 2022 Salutatorian Kiri Kerekes and Valedictorian Alexandra Heuss. Kiri will finish her time at WEM with a 3.919 cumulative GPA and will have obtained 26 credits. Kiri is the daughter of James and Katherine Kerekes. Alex will finish with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average and obtained 27 credits. Alex is the daughter of Shawn and Brenda Heuss. Both girls have taken numerous PSEO classes and are involved in many extra-curricular activities.
Jeff Boran, Community Education & Activities Director, attached his report for the board as well.
Joel Whitehurst, Superintendent, provided a brief report. He said the legislature didn’t sign much, but they did change the agricultural percentage of responsibility on referendums from 30% to 15%. This will benefit ag producers in future referendums in the state.
Information / Discussion
The board approved the reinstatement of the recently discovered loss/deduction of 66 vacation hours from the 2018-19 school year for Superintendent Whitehurst. Reinstated hours will be utilized in June 2022.
Action
The board approved next year’s new superintendent, Ryan Jensen, as the Designated Identified Official with Authority for Education Identity Access Management (IOwA).
The board heard a second reading, and approved the following policies:
- 101 Legal Status of the School
- 102 Equal Education Opportunity
- 103 Complaints - Students, Employees, Parents, Other Persons
- 104 School District Mission Statement
- 204 School Board Meeting Minutes
- 521 Student Disability Nondiscrimination
The board approved the 2022-23 Academic Calendar.
Personnel
The board approved the retirement of clerical staff member Pamela Malecha and the resignation of Administrative Assistant, Pegi Wolff. We also approved a Resolution on the termination and non-renewal of the teaching contract for probationary teacher Robert Ross.
The board approved the following contracts:
- July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023 Contract for Custodians - Total package increase of 3.5% each year and a one-time stipend of $0.75 per hour worked during the 2020-2021 school year
- July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023 Contract for Food Service - Total package increase of 3.0% each year and a one-time stipend of $0.75 per hour worked during the 2020-2021 school year
The board approved continuing contract teachers for (tenure):
• Kelsey Schiefelbein, BS/Step 5, $37,246
• Kaitlin Vetsch, BS/Step 5, $37,246
• Katherine Brown, BS/Step 5, $37,246
• Austin Nagel, BS/Step 5, $37,246
• Joshua Smith, BS75/Step 7, $46,705
• Maurice McCabe, BS75/Step 19, $63,218
The board approved non-tenured teacher contracts for:
• Britta Robran, BS/Step 4, $36,057
• Haley Schaaf, BS/Step 4, $36,057
• Samuel Gavin, BS/Step 4, $36,057
• Carrie Brown, BS/Step 7, $40,789
• Max Haakonson, BS10/Step 9, $44,861
• Clark Taynton, MS10/Step 6, $46,081
• Dan Forcelle, BS/Step 11, $46,761
• Tyson Cooley, BS/Step 12, $48,350
• Bridgette Reuvers-Slinger, BS50/Step 9, $50,174
• Anne Joubert .432 FTE, BS50/Step 10, ($51,850) $22,399.20
• Amber Karels, BS/Step 16, $52,100
• Alyssa Schmidtke, MS10/Step 10, $53,234
The board approved the following new hires:
• Madysson Dufault, Elementary Teacher, BS/Step 4, $36,057
• Skylar Petry, Math Teacher, BS50/Step 3, $40,830
• Kelci Halvorson, Student Success Coordinator, BS/Step 10, $47,709
The board approved 10 days extended year contract for High School Counselor, Bridgette Reuvers.
The board approved summer school staff:
• Pam Heinz, Paraprofessional - $13.35 per hour
• Anamika Kanne, Paraprofessional - $13.35 per hour
• Amy Petry, Paraprofessional - $17.46 per hour
• Susan Kreinke, Clerical - $14.41 per hour
• Kailtin Vetsch, Teacher - $34.53 per hour
• Kelsey Schiefelbein, Teacher - $34.53 per hour
• Karen Marzahn, Teacher - $34.53 per hour
• Patty Whitehurst, Teacher - $34.53 per hour
• Susan Michael, Teacher - $34.53 per hour
The board approved the following community education summer staff:
• Susan Bliss, SAC - $11.29
• Vicki Gregor, SAC - $11.29
• Stephanie James, SAC - $11.29
• Akalie Molitor, SAC - $11.29
• Isabel Weller, SAC - $11.29
• Blake Seesz, SAC - $11.29
• Kyleigh Duffy, SAC - $8.28
• Brody Holicky, SAC - $8.28
• Dennis Androli, Youth Baseball - Volunteer
• Trista Hering, T-Ball - TBD
• Maddy Meskan, T-Ball – TBD
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 7:22 pm.
Upcoming Meeting Dates:
June 9, 2022, 6:30 p.m. Work Session (Tentative)
June 27, 2022, 6:30 p.m. Regular Meeting
