District to hold public hearing, vote on raising school lunch prices

A public hearing for the most recent budget amendment will take place at 6:15 p.m. In a previous meeting, Board Secretary/Business Manager Gayle Isaac said:

“I thought I had all my ducks in a row. I continued watching the expenses roll in and I got nervous.”

Isaac is asking the board to grant him permission to add another $939,581 to the budget, which would alter the total budget for the fiscal year to $21,517,614. Isaac is seeking the additional funds after recent expenses totaling $815,936 came in.

The board will vote on the matter in a later portion of the meeting and also vote to schedule a public hearing on the purchase of new school buses. If approved that public hearing would take place on June 10.

Another significant item on the agenda will be the vote on whether to increase the price of school provided meals. Students currently pay $1.25 for breakfast, and lunch costs $2.15 at elementary buildings and $2.25 at secondary buildings.

Steve McDermott will deliver his Superintendent’s Report, comment on his final Newton Senior High School commencement ceremony and discuss the possible addition of a July 15 board meeting. The district currently has meetings scheduled for July 8 and 22.

Elementary and Secondary Educational Services Directors Jim Gilbert and Tina Ross respectively, will discuss the initial Iowa Assessment data. The assessment determines how core composite and complete composite scores are computed for various grades within the state.

The district will have its second reading of school board policy sections 100 and 200 and vote on the matter.

The board will also vote on a method of sale for the former administration building/Maytag Mansion located at 807 S. Sixth Ave W. and valued at $167,357 by real estate website Zillow.com

During the last board meeting the board went into closed session and no final decision had been made on the sale of the property.

Staff writer Ty Rushing may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 426, or at trushing@newtondailynews.com.