Newton school board has another full agenda

While there doesn’t seem to be any items on the agenda for Monday night’s Newton Community School District board meeting that would generate long, passionate discussions, it could still end up being a long meeting.

There is a long list of things the board is set to tackle on Monday. There are 10 items alone under the agenda’s “Learning, Leadership and District Business” section. Monday’s meeting, to be held in the Emerson Hough conference room, is set for 6:30 p.m.

There are no items on the agenda directly related to potential building reconfiguration. The board hosted two public forums within the past week on that topic.

The action-only items on the agenda including a bond sale to help pay for a major construction project at the district’s Berg School Complex. Consideration of sealed bids, directing the sale of the $1,730,000 worth of general obligation school refunding bonds and the redemption of 2007-series bonds are listed as three separate items.

Director of Business Services Gayle Isaac will then lead a discussion about referendum use of collected taxes versus the S.A.V.E. program. The board voted Jan. 12 to pursue a new-build option of the aging Berg Complex.

While the Berg Complex is technically the newest main school building in the district by a few years, the 1963 shell has numerous air-flow, electrical, plumbing, lighting and classroom-size issues that would be difficult to resolve without creating a new building.

Preliminary cost estimates put a new Berg building at close to $28 million, before features and other many design choices are discussed. The district’s bonding capacity is $28,255,000.

The district is considering using an outside service to collect on past-due food service accounts. At least one representative from Transworld Systems will make a presentation at Monday’s meeting.

A public bond vote in September is possible, but the board could also pursue a February 2016 election. Director of Pre-K-8 Educational Services Jim Gilbert is scheduled to make presentation on kindergarten changes. Another action item involves recommendations for the 2015-16 school calendar.

State legislation is still pending regarding both the state education budget and whether school will be allowed to begin before Sept. 1, so the board might end up approving a “Plan A” and a contingency calendar.

The board will also address a possible change of site for the March 23 board meeting. The meeting is currently slated to take place at Thomas Jefferson Elementary, but it could be moved to the Hough building; a special budget work session will take place after that night’s regular meeting.

Newton Schools has marked out the night of March 30 as a budget workshop night also, if needed. The state legislature had not sent a balanced education budget to the governor’s desk as of press time Friday, and the board must prepare and publish a budget 10 days prior to the April 13 meeting where it will be presented.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com