Board votes to expel student who brought gun to school
The June 15 Greene County Schools board meeting was the last board meeting for a pair of administrators with a total of 34 years of service to the district.
Retiring elementary principal Scott Johnson was in the district for 19 years. “I’d like to thank everybody. It’s been a great experience,” he said during his report to the board. “Students, families, this community, everybody on the board have been great to work with. I won’t necessarily miss some parts of the job, but I’ll miss the every day interaction with the people.”
It was also the last meeting for superintendent Tim Christensen. His resignation earlier this year was for the purpose of retirement, but he will remain in education, working in another district in a different capacity.
With board president Steve Fisher attending the meeting remotely, board member Bonnie Silbaugh read a prepared statement. “On behalf of Steve, our board president, and the entire board, I want to extend our gratitude to Tim Christensen for his 15 years of service to the district, and also recognize his 30-plus years of dedication to education in Iowa and even in Nebraska.
“Tim has been a member of the School Administrators of Iowa. He’s taught at the Iowa School Leadership Institute. He’s been asked to be part of the Governor’s advisory board. He’s been involved in many committees and answered many, many questions to numerous board members of the years.
“The education system is a little bit like a rollercoaster, with ups and downs. Tim has served as a teacher, principal, superintendent, and I know he has experienced many of those challenges and celebrations, many here in Greene County Community School District.
“Tim was instrumental in the merger of Jefferson-Scranton and East Greene school districts. He was involved in the many building projects in our district, and continually facilitated partnerships with numerous outside organizations.
“Thank you for continually being a respected member in our community. We wish you the best of luck on the next part of your rollercoaster ride,” Silbaugh said.
The board began the meeting with an hour-long closed session to conduct a hearing to determine whether to suspend or expel a student. In open session the board voted to expel the student who was the subject of the hearing for one year, citing Board Policy 502.6.
Board members Silbaugh, John McConnell and Michelle Fields voted in favor of the motion to expel. Fisher abstained, as he did not participate in the closed session. Board member Cindi Daubendiek was absent.
The policy states students bringing firearms to school or knowingly possessing firearms at school “shall be expelled for not less than one year.” The policy gives the superintendent the authority to recommend the expulsion requirement be modified for students on a case-by-case basis. The policy was last reviewed by the board in March 2020.
The student was not named in open session. Earlier this month Jace Wilson, 16, of Jefferson was charged in Greene County district court with carrying weapons on school grounds, a Class D felony, and harassment- first degree, an aggravated misdemeanor. The charges are in connection with an incident in the high school parking lot May 20. Wilson was a sophomore at the time.
In other business, the board agreed to Christensen’s recommendation that the construction class not build a house during the 2022-23 school year. He reported some people expressed interest in a student-built house but no one made a commitment to purchase it.
Estimated cost to build a house was $300,000. “With what we have in that account right now, that would have put us $150,000 in the hole,” Christensen said.
Students will possibly build a storage shed, including a bathroom and office space, at the high school. “The students would get a variety of experiences. It won’t be the exact same as building a house, but I recommend going in that direction,” he said.
The board approved the second reading of a policy revision that decreases the number of consecutive days a substitute teacher must work for the same teacher before receiving long term substitute pay from 15 to 10. Substitute teachers are paid $135 per day. Long term substitutes are paid a per diem based on entry level teachers’ pay, or about $174 per day.
The board approved the first reading of a policy revision so that teachers who resign while a contract is in place, either during the school year or after signing a contract for the following year, must pay $1,000 for “employee related time/expense associated with finding a suitable replacement.”
The new language replaces “may be required to pay…”
According to Christensen, the Iowa Association of School Boards recommended a flat fee be named at $2,000.
Board secretary Brenda Muir said teachers are given three weeks to sign a contract after returning it. The policy comes into play after the contract is signed.
“It’s rude to leave late. It’s hard to find replacements. There should be consequences,” Muir said.
“Not that we’re going to punish people for potentially resigning after they sign a contract, but there should be somewhat of a consequence to make you think twice about whether that’s the direction you want to go,” Christensen said.
With the start of a new fiscal year July 1, the board approved moving the management fund account to Heartland Bank. Muir said Heartland Bank approached the district to provide services now that it has a permanent branch in Jefferson, and that the change is no reflection on Home State Bank or Peoples Bank, which provide the district banking services. Muir suggested the management fund be moved “to test the waters,” as that’s the account with the least activity during the year.
The board also discussed property and casualty insurance services. EMC Insurance handles the district’s insurance with Unger Insurance as the current agent. The school issued a request for proposals and received responses from Unger and Mid-Iowa Insurance (local agent Jill Morton). Muir said she saw no reason not to continue with EMC. The board approved EMC/Unger Insurance for the coming year.
The board approved a sharing agreement with Prairie Lakes AEA for teacher librarian services for 2022-23. K-12 media specialist Jenny Fisher submitted a timely resignation, but the district has been unable to hire a replacement. A Prairie Lakes specialist will hold monthly ZOOM meeting with the district library paraprofessionals and do quarterly onsite visits. Cost to the district will be $2,800. Additional services will be available at $450 per day.
Christensen said the district is required by law to have a teacher librarian, but the position doesn’t have to be fulltime. The agreement with Prairie Lakes will meet “the letter of the law,” he said.
The board approved adding an assistant FFA sponsor to the roster of extra-curricular positions. The Greene County FFA chapter has grown to 50-60 students under the guidance of Raelyn Harris. The assistant position will be at the same pay rate as an assistant coach.
