Joins pool to reduce risk of natural gas cost increases
The Greene County Community Schools board at the Feb. 14 regular meeting approved the retirements of staff members who have been with the district a total of 136 years. Including teaching experience in other districts, the retirees-to-be have worked in Iowa schools for 153 years.
Retiring at the end of the current school year, and their current teaching assignment, are Kelly Olson, high school special education, 13 years; Heather Berglund, fifth grade science, 33 years; Teresa Brown, elementary special education, 34 years, and Ann Hicks, school nurse, 35 years.
Also retiring is Deb Marquardt, Career Academy (education strand), and various classes. She has been with the Greene County district for 21 years, but her prior teaching career totals 38 years, including 10 years at Paton-Churdan.
“We’ve been blessed. Thank you,” board member Cindy Daubendiek said in accepting their resignations.
The district is not offering an early retirement incentive this year. Retirees will receive payment for unused sick leave.
The board held a public hearing on the proposed 2024-25 school calendar. No one spoke at the hearing and the calendar was approved as presented. Teachers will return to their classrooms Aug. 16, with the first day for students set as Friday, Aug. 23. Senior graduation will be Sunday, May 18, 2025. The last attendance day for students will be Thursday, May 22, 2025.
However, superintendent Brett Abbotts explained that the state legislature may approve moving the first allowable student attendance day to Aug. 20. If that happens, the board will reopen the calendar and school will begin the earlier date.
Click here to see the calendar as approved.
School will dismiss early Mondays the same as this year, except supervision will be available at the middle school for students who participate in extra-curricular activities that involve an after-school practice. The supervision is intended for students who live outside of Jefferson to minimize transportation inconveniences.
The district took steps to protect the general fund from increasing energy costs. See a related article about an optimization project at the high school.
In another move, the board approved a resolution to join the Iowa Local Government Risk Pool.
The pool transfers the risks of increases in natural gas costs due to weather-driven demand and other market forces away from the school district. That protects the budget from unanticipated increases, and it allows the cost of natural gas to be paid from the management fund rather than the general fund.
Members of the pool pay a single premium at the beginning of the fiscal year to cover all natural gas services for the year. The premium is based on 125 percent of the average historical usage at the lowst price the pool is able to lock in prior to the winter season. Cost for the district for the coming year will be $124,865. If natural gas cost increases beyond that, the pool will cover the increase.
The pool operates through 28E agreements with districts. There are 177 Iowa school districts in the pool, Abbotts said, including every district contiguous to the Greene County district.
The board received data from the January MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) testing. Students in grades K-11 completed the online tests for the second time this school year and the fifth time all together. Data shows not only student proficiency in reading and math compared to national norms, but also each student’s growth in the test areas. Teachers use the data to provide targeted enrichment for students to assure academic growth.
The data is complex, but the short summary is that “we’re heading in the right direction as a district,” Abbotts said. Student performance has grown 6 percent district-wide in reading and 10 percent district-wide in math.
The board approved purchases from the PPEL fund for building and grounds including a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 4 X 4 pickup truck from Karl Chevrolet at a cost of $43,131.40; a 9-ft V-snowplow from Hiway Truck Equipment of Fort Dodge at a cost of $10,900; an H&H 16-ft gooseneck dump trailer from Olsen’s Outdoor Power of Atlantic at a cost of $14,666; and a 2023 Kubota skid loader from Rueter’s of Grand Junction at a cost of $35,850 after trade-in. Total cost is not to exceed $110,000.
After a brief discussion of the date for the regular March board meeting, the board decided not to change it. The next regular meeting of the board will be Wednesday, March 13, during spring break. The board will hold a special meeting March 27 for a public hearing on the 2024-25 budget.
