The final arrangements for bidding on the Dewey Field improvement projects and an agreement with Wildwood Hills Ranch highlighted the first monthly meeting of 2018 for the Perry School Board.
Monday’s gathering began with Board President Kyle Baxter reading a letter from Director Casey Baldwin, who was absent.
Baldwin informed the board that he had recently accepted a promotion in his career, a move that will require some adjustments to his schedule and which will involve no small amount of travel. He noted he may miss one or two additional meetings and apologized in advance if he should have to.
Baldwin noted he would remain in close contact with Baxter and the board and intends to remain as closely involved as possible until his career adjustments are finalized.
Mike Murphy of Larson Engineering updated the board on the bid process for Phase One of the Dewey Field project.
Murphy noted bids would be accepted beginning Jan. 16 and would then be available for board action at their Feb. 6 meeting. Work is expected to begin April 2, with the concession area, entryway and site improvement process slated to be finished Aug. 10.
An Aug. 17 target has been set for completion of the north bleachers and press box project. All Phase One work is to be completed by Aug. 31, in time for the season opener.
Monday’s meeting started with a report from sixth grade science teacher Angie Beaudet and freshman science and animal science teacher Toni Prombo, who both recently attended a National Science Teacher Association regional conference.
Beaudet demonstrated a hands-on experiment she will use in classes on evaporation. She mentioned the value of learning new approaches and ideas and thanked the board for the opportunity to attend the conference.
Prombo spoke of the “Next Generation Science Standards” and noted the sixth and seventh grades were already using those standards, with the eighth grade and all high school grades piloting the programs next year. The elementary will follow later, Prombo said.
A focus on STEM ideas for the classroom was another area Prombo discussed, saying more hands-on activities help students absorb lessons that might otherwise be difficult to comprehend. She also expressed an interest in tying agriculture into class lessons and curriculum, an idea several board members spoke in support of.
Director of Learning Supports Laura Skeel and PHS Counselor Tami Valline approached the board to encourage entering a partnership with Wildwood Hills Ranch.
The 360-acre camp is located outside of St. Charles, southeast of Winterset. The camp accepts students with troubled backgrounds or who have a difficult time assimilating with fellow students.
Skeel and Valline visited the camp and reported on the wide variety of supportive and character-building activities available to students ages 8 to 18, many with behavioral issues. The pair noted they identified several students in the district who would benefit from attending the camp.
They said students can attend Wildwood Hills one weekend each month and up to 12 days over the summer. The camp has 11 full-time staffers and over the summer brings in up to 70 additional helpers, many of them former camp attendees. More than 100 students from numerous districts attend the camp, which is largely funded by corporate sponsorship.
There would be no cost to the district, they said, unless the district chose to provide transportation to and from the camp. Wildwood asks that a school staffer attend one day during the summer session.
The board agreed to enter into a partnership, without discussing whether or not to provide transportation.
Also approved was a budget request application of $9,919.45 for administrative costs at the Woodward Day School, which is attended by 10 Perry students.
The board then gave consent to an application for administrative costs for Grandwood Consortium. Grandwood is a special education school with expertise in the education of students with mental and behavioral disabilities. Perry currently has two elementary and one high school student attending Grandwood.
Early graduation requests for Rueben Chavez and Alberto Gonzalez were approved, as were a wide variety of revisions to various board policies.
Contracts were approved for Abigail Housmen, FCCLA advisor, and from Dennis McDonnell, Extended Day for Summer School. The board also accepted the resignation of Jeff Fox as varsity boys cross country coach.
In a final action, the board agreed to the purchase of a 2018 Chevrolet Suburban from Bob Brown Chevrolet. After a $3,500 trade-in, the cost to the district will be $38,876.
The Perry School Board meets the first Monday of each month in the Brady Library at PHS. Meetings begin at 6 p.m. and the public is welcome to attend.
