The regular monthly meeting of the Mount Vernon Community School District School was held on November 13, 2023. The following topics were addressed during the meeting:
Approval of Agenda: The meeting agenda was approved with one amendment to the Personnel section.
Public Comments: No public comments were made during the meeting.
Superintendent Report: Dr. Batenhorst thanked all the candidates who ran for spots on the School Board, and congratulated Jeremy Kunz, Lance Schoff, Jason Clark, Suzette Kragenbrink, and Kristi Meyer for their election or reelection to the School Board. Dr. Batenhorst then discussed the logistics for the December 11th meeting when the transition to the new Board will take place.
Program Division
School Highlight: Washington Elementary Principal Kate Stanton provided an overview of the programming and activities at Washington Elementary School, including sharing details regarding the fundraising activity going on to upgrade the Washington Elementary Library, as well as how the school assists students who are experiencing stress and anxiety in school.
Superintendent Search: President Nannette Gunn provided an update on the timeline and recruitment activities related to the search. The Board held a special meeting last week to determine the top candidate qualities to include in the recruitment materials. The Board also decided to stick with the original search timeline that will wrap up with the selection of a new superintendent in January of 2024. Early feedback from the search committee has been positive with respect to potential candidates.
Iowa School Performance Profile: Dr. Batenhorst reviewed the District’s Iowa School Performance Profile with the Board, hitting the highlights and sharing that the District and its three schools typically surpass state averages in most every category on the profile.
Personnel Division
Approval of Personnel Contracts for New Hires: The Board approved the hiring of individuals for support staff and coaching positions for the 2023-2024 school year.
Facilities Division
Activities Complex Update: Dr. Batenhorst provided an update on how the punch list issues have been addressed for the activities complex, and provided an update on the landscaping work.
Administrative Division
Certified Enrollment: Dr. Batenhorst shared an overview of the District’s Certified Enrollment for the past four years. For this year the District is +12 with its enrollment; as resident enrollment dropped by 15 students, and increased by 27 with its open enrollment.
School Board Election Results: Dr. Batenhorst shared that the unofficial election results revealed that Jeremy Kunz and Lance Schoff were re-elected to the Board, while Jason Clark, Suzette Kragenbrink, and Kristi Meyer were newly elected to the Board. The results will become official after the required vote canvas that will take place by November 21st. The new Board members will be sworn in on December 11, 2023.
Policy Update: The Board approved the Second Reading of the 500 Series of policies that are up for review this year. The 500 Series relates to students.
Reports: No reports were offered during this portion of the meeting.
Unfinished Business: Dr. Batenhorst reviewed details of the IASB Convention with the Board, and also provided a timeline for the completion of a study of the District’s Standards Based Grading protocols.
Consent Agenda: All items in the Consent Agenda were approved as presented.
The next meeting of the Board will take place on Monday, December 11, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. This evening will include the annual finance meeting, the swearing-in of new members and election of officers, and a regular business meeting.