The Greene County Community Schools board elected new leadership at its organizational meeting Nov. 14. Although a school election was not part of the Nov. 8 general election, by Iowa Code all school boards “organize” and elect officers at the first meeting following the general election.
The board elected Bonne Silbaugh as president and Cindi Daubendiek as vice president. Both were elected to the school a year ago. Steve Fisher and John McConnell retired as board president and vice president; both remain on the board.
The board set the third Wednesday of each month at 5:15 for its regular meeting, with the exception of the March and November meetings. The board will meet March 8, 2023, due to spring break, and Nov. 13, 2023, due to the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) annual convention.
Board committee assignments are unchanged and are as follows: Bell Tower Community Foundation ex officio, Silbaugh; county assessors conference board, Steve Fisher; Jefferson park & recreation board ex officio, Daubendiek; negotiations, McConnell and Silbaugh;’ classified/administrative salaries, Michelle Fields, Fisher; School Improvement Advisory Committee, Fields and Daubendiek; School Foundation ex officio, Silbaugh; facilities, McConnell; insurance, Fisher; scholarships, McConnell and Daubendiek, and wellness, Fields and Silbaugh. Fisher previously agreed to serve as the 2023 IASB convention delegate.
The board will hold a work session Nov. 30 at 5:15 to develop board goals. An IASB facilitator will assist.
Prior to adjourning the “old” board and holding the organizational meeting, the board approved hiring Laura Marshall as district business manager and board secretary, effective July 1, 2023. She has worked with retiring business manager/secretary Brenda Muir for several years. The board also approved the resignation of instructional coach Brenda Onken for the purpose of retirement at the end of this school year.
The board no longer hears reports from school administrators during the meeting, but rather receives them as attachments to the agenda. Those reports are available to the public on the Board page, Agenda tab, of the school district website.
Instead, each building principal recognizes outstanding students and staff. Each honoree receives a certificate, and staring this month, a $10 gift card donated by Fareway. Honorees in November were: high school students Bella Linberg and Caleb Most, instructor Shawn Bennett of the iJAG program, and activities secretary Misty Bettey; middle school students Jadyn Weber and Aspen Jacobs, teacher Doug Brown, and associate Jill Colpitts; and elementary students Mishael Winkelman-Reutter and Easton Hupp, library associate Hailey Larson, and the third grade team, Tiffanie Flack, Brenda Lingren, Ashley Miller and Kevin Paulson. The elementary staff also recognized district technology director Brent Gerzema.
The board also heard a presentation from six FFA members who had attended the National FFA convention in Indianapolis.
