Minutes - 4.16.2025

Red Oak Community School District

Meeting of the Board of Directors

Meeting Location:  Virtual Classroom/ Phone/Internet

Red Oak Junior Senior High School Campus

April 16, 2025

 

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Red Oak Community School District was called to order by Vice President Kathy Walker at 5:30 p.m. at the Red Oak Junior Senior High School Virtual Classroom.

Present

Directors: Bret Blackman (arrived 5:33 p.m.), Kathy Walker, Bryce Johnson, Scott Bruce, Paster Ricky Rohrig (remote, arrived 5:39 p.m.)

Superintendent Ron Lorenz, Payroll Specialist/HR Jessie Bruning

Approval of Agenda

Motion by Director Johnson, second by Director Bruce approve the agenda with the order of agenda items at the discretion of the meeting chair.  Motion carried unanimously.

Good News

Congratulations to Nicole Bond and Bret Erickson for receiving prestigious Hawkeye 10 honors. Congratulations to Kadyn Riibe and Hope Schmedke for being named the 2024-2025 Prom King and Queen.

Congratulations to music students who participated in the Class 2A Solo/Ensemble District Music Contest.  Several 1(Outstanding), 2 (Excellent), and 3 (Good) ratings were issued to our young vocalists, along with receiving the coveted Outstanding Performance Awards. 

Congratulations to the Red Oak Lady Tigers Golf Team for starting the season 4-0 and holding the 8 th best 9-

hole average in Class 2A.

Congratulations to the Red Oak FFA members who participated in the State FFA Convention in Ames, IA, on

April 14-15. A number of students were honored including Kennedy DeVries who received her Iowa FFA

Degree, the highest FFA honor awarded at the state level.

Math night at Inman Elementary School was a huge success drawing in over 132 students and families.

FY2026 Certified Budget Public Hearing

President Blackman opened the FY 2026 certified budget public meeting at 5:36 p.m.  Superintendent Lorenz presented information on the proposed FY2026 Certified Budget. There were no public comments.  President Blackman closed the public hearing at 5:37 p.m.

FY2025 Budget Amendment Public Hearing

President Blackman opened the FY 2025 budget amendment public meeting at 5:38 p.m. Superintendent Lorenz requested increasing the current FY2025 Budget by $750,000 dollars to account for increased costs and unforeseen expenses.  This amendment will have no impact on tax rates or other general fund expenditures.  There were no public comments.  President Blackman closed the public hearing at 5:39 p.m.

Public Hearing on FY2026 Revision to the Proposed 2025-2026 District Calendar

Bret Blackman opened the public hearing on the FY2026 revision to the proposed 2025-2026 district calendar  This revision moves the week of Spring Break to March 16 – 20, 2026.  There were no public comments.  President Blackman closed the public meeting at 5:43 p.m.

Visitors and Presentations

Paul Cadwallader and Kelly Wavady from ATS Facility Services reviewed their firm’s proposal to provide the district with custodial services for the 2025-2026 school year.

Chandler Green from Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture and Leila Knowles from Boyd Jones reviewed design updates and site plans for the proposed Inman Elementary School renovations.

Tracy Vannausdle and Kelsey Mangold reviewed the proposed 2054-2026 District Career and Academic Plan (DCAP).

Consent Agenda

Motion by Director Johnson, second by Director Walker to approve the consent agenda as presented including meeting minutes, business reports, contract renewals, service agreements, and current personnel considerations.  Motion carried unanimously.

Board Policies 300 – 304

Motion by Director Walker, second by Director Bruce to approve the first reading of board policies 300-304.  Motion carried unanimously.

Board Policy Revisions

Motion by Director Johnson, second by Director Rohrig to approve the first reading of board policy revisions pursuant to the enactment of SF 418 (i.e. removal of “gender identity” as a protected status under the Iowa Civil Rights Act) Motion carried unanimously.

Board Policies 511 and 511.R1

Motion by Director Johnson, second by Director Walker to approve the first reading of board policies 511 and 511.R1 pursuant to the enactment of HF 782 (i.e. restrictions of student use of personal electronic devices during instructional time).  Motion carried unanimously.

2025-2026 Custodial Contract

Motion by Director Walker, second by Director Bruce to approve awarding the 2025-2026 Custodial Contract to ATS Facility Services.  Motion carried unanimously.

Budget Guarantee Resolution

Motion by Director Johnson, second by Director Bruce to approve the budget guarantee resolution for the 2025-2026 school year.  Motion carried unanimously.

FY2025 Budget Amendment

Motion by Director Bruce, second by Director Johnson to approve the FY2025 Budget Amendment.  Motion carried unanimously.

FY2026 Budget Approval

Motion by Director Johnson, second by Director Bruce to approve the FY2026 Budget.  Motion carried unanimously. 

FY2025-2026 Support and Administrative Staff Increases

Motion by Director Walker, second by Director Rohrig to approve the hourly wage increase for Support Staff and the issuance of letters of assignments, supplemental contracts, and administrative contracts for the 2025-2026 school year.  Motion carried unanimously.

Green Hills AEA Service Plan for 2025-2026

Motion by Director Johnson, second by Director Bruce to approve the Green Hills AEA District service plan for the 2025-2026 school year.  Motion carried unanimously.

2025-2026 District Career and Academic Plan

Motion by Director Bruce, second by Director Walker to approve the District Career and Academic Plan for the 2025-2026 school year.  Motion carried unanimously.

Class of 2025 Graduates

Motion by Director Walker, second by Director Rohrig to approve the Class of 2025 list of graduates.  Motion carried unanimously.

Revision to Proposed 2025-2026 District Calendar

Motion by Director Johnson, second by Director Rohrig to approve the revision of the proposed 2025-2026 District Calendar.  Motion carried unanimously.

District Website Redesign

Motion by Director Walker, second by Director Rohrig to approve contracting with SchoolBlocks to redesigned host the District’s website for a term of three years at approximately $3,452 per year.  Motion carried

unanimously.

High School Coursebook Revision

Motion by Director Bruce, second by Director Walker to approve the proposed revisions to the 2025-2026 High School Coursebook.  Motion carried unanimously.

Concurrent Enrollment Courses

Motion by Director Rohrig, second by Director Johnson to approve the 2025-2026 concurrent enrollment (i.e. college credit) courses and career and technical education programs with Southwestern Community College (SWCC).  Motion carried unanimously.

Proposed Inman Renovations

Motion was tabled to approval of the scope and timeline of the proposed Inman renovations.  There will be a work session in April to continue discussions.

Adjournment

Motion by Director Bruce, second by Director Rohrig to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:33 p.m.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

Next Board of Directors Meeting                            Wednesday, May 21, 2024 – 5:30 p.m.

                                                                                    Virtual Classroom/Phone/Internet

                                                                                    Red Oak Junior Senior High School Campus