Approves $98,000 project at Linduska Field
The Greene County Schools board of education has slated a special meeting for Tuesday, Jan. 25, to discuss the search for a new school superintendent.
The board accepted superintendent Tim Christensen’s resignation at its regular meeting Jan. 19. During his 15-year tenure with the district, all as superintendent, Christensen guided the reorganization with East Greene, and worked through two failed bond referendums and the third successful vote that led to the construction of the new high school and career academy, as well as repurposing the former high school as a middle school. He has also worked toward a mutually beneficial relationship with the Paton-Churdan district. His resignation is effective at the end of the school year.
The board also accepted the resignation effective at the end of the school year of high school math teacher Patty Fisher, who has been in the district for 18 years. The board accepted year-end resignations for the purpose of retirement from pre-kindergarten associate Kaija Kuusisto-Wolf (26 years of service), bus driver Meladee Graven (23 years), and kindergarten teacher Jennifer Zmolek (16 years). The retirees are eligible for the $1,000 early notification stipend approved at the December board meeting.
In another personnel matter, the board approved hiring Audrey Hinote, now district math coach and school/family liaison, as elementary principal starting with the 2022-23 school year. She is a 2003 Jefferson-Scranton graduate and started teaching in the district after completing college. She will be contracted for 220 days at an annual salary of $96,000.
The board had accepted Johnson’s resignation for the purpose of retirement at the December meeting.
In other business, the board set a public hearing on the 2022-23 calendar for the next regular meeting Feb. 16. Superintendent Christensen said he proposed three different calendars to staff and the majority of those who responded preferred the calendar he presented to the board. The calendar sets Aug. 23 as the first student day of the school year, with staff having six work days prior to that. Students would have a full week at Thanksgiving and two full weeks over the Christmas holidays as vacation, with staff vacations shorter due to professional development days. There will also be one Monday off for students and staff in October, January, February and April. The last scheduled day of school for students will be Friday, May 26.
The board voted to move forward with renovations to Linduska Field, the football field located at the middle school. District grounds director Shawn DeMoss told the board the field has “a very large crown above and beyond the specs of a football field” at the south end, and a “valley” on the west (home) sideline. He said the field needs to be laser graded to a more level surface. That will require removing and replacing the watering system. Tiling would help with the drainage issues at the sideline. New sod would be put down to assure the field is useable for the 2022 football season.
DeMoss said the project will take 2-3 weeks, depending on the weather, but it needs to be started during the spring track season. Some home meets may need to be changed due to materials and equipment on the track.
The project would make the field more suitable for holding soccer games eventually, DeMoss told the board.
The site at the high school includes space for a new athletic facility, but there are no plans to build it in the foreseeable future. “I wish I had a crystal ball to see what that looks like, but I don’t know,” Christensen said. “The reasonable plan to me is to get the field in very good shape.”
Activities director Todd Gordon had also briefed the board at the December meeting of the need for new lights, saying the current lights are obsolete and cannot be repaired if they fail or are damaged by weather.
“I can’t say that I’m ready to do lights, with the budget and everything… but I would recommend moving forward with this work on the field,” Christensen said.
The board approved a bid from Iowa Athletic Field Construction Company of Webster City for $98,170 for resurfacing and installation of an irrigation system at the football field.
During his monthly report to the board, Christensen talked about Greene County Development Corporation’s Diversity Project, an effort to recruit Latino workers to the county. He plans to hire an additional English Language Learners (ELL) teacher for students whose home language is Spanish for the next school year. Board member Michelle Fields suggested the district look into adult education Spanish classes.
Complete minutes are available under the Calendar/Agenda tab on GreeneCountyNewsOnline.
