School Board Summary - 12/21/2020

The Camanche School District’s Board of Education met on Monday, December 21stPlease note that these are not the official minutes.  The official Agendas and Minutes from the Camanche Community School District school board are available and posted on our school district website (camanche.k12.ia.us).  

Items to highlight from this school board meeting would include:  

  •  The topic regarding the District’s use of an Indian Mascot was brought to the Board’s attention by an attendee during Public Forum.  The Board recognizes the topic of using Native Americans and related imagery as team mascots/nicknames is receiving much attention at the national level and this may generate school and community discussions about our school mascot.  The Board plans to discuss this topic as an agenda item at next month’s meeting.
  •  Superintendent Parker and the Principals updated the school board about the Hybrid Learning Plan.  At the beginning of the 2nd Semester, the high school and middle school plan to adjust their schedules for students.  Starting on January 19th students at these two buildings will attend in person every other day as opposed to the schedule that was followed during the 1st Semester.  This should allow our students to have more regular contact with their teachers instead of going multiple days without seeing their teacher in person.  The elementary school will continue to follow its current Hybrid Learning Schedule.
  •  Camanche Schools already has a mandated face covering rule in place, but the school board modified this mandate to follow best practice recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and the Iowa Department of Health.  Basically, face coverings are required to be either face masks or a minimum of a two-ply gaiter.   Any exceptions to this must be approved by an administrator.  Our goal is to keep COVID-19 infections to a minimum and to safely return to in person learning as soon as we are able to do so.
  •  Business Director/Treasurer Aude suggested that the Board consider an Early Retirement Incentive for this school year in response to the economic challenges the Pandemic has caused.  The Board requested that this item be placed upon next month’s agenda for their consideration.
  •  The Board approved the Social Studies Department’s recommendation to update their course offerings.  All state requirements would continue to be met by this proposal and the modified course offerings would be better aligned with the state’s social studies academic standards. 
  •  The Board took action to allow the District to apply to the state for supplemental funding to offset additional expenses for programing for at-risk students and dropout prevention.  Funding from this resource helps to support the District’s Family Resource Center, At-Risk Instructor, and an alternative high school option.  Results from this support can be seen in Camanche’s trend of a significantly improved graduation rate.
  •  Andrea Rumler from Winkel, Parker, & Foster, CPA presented the 2019-2020 Audit Report to the Board.  She indicated that the overall audit was of good standing and a clean report.
  • The Board voted to enter into a 28E Agreement with Eastern Iowa Community College and neighboring school districts in order to provide enhanced Career and Technical Education training opportunities for our students.

As is usually the case, the school board completed the meeting by approving administrative recommendations regarding personnel.