The Perry Community School District Board of Education met in regular session Monday.
At the meeting, the Board heard from high school band teacher Brandon Weeks who spoke about options for disposing the old band uniforms and instruments. Weeks says they don’t have space to store the items so he wants to try and make some money off of them. He wants to start by selling them wholesale to see if there is interest, followed by potentially asking a seamstress to make pieces into smaller items such as bags and purses. He also mentioned the possibility of asking another school if they would like to purchase the uniforms at a highly discounted rate compared to what they would pay for new ones. Weeks added that the uniforms they want to dispose of are either broken beyond repair or too expensive to fix. The Board gave weeks permission to dispose of the items.
High school special education teacher TJ Maylum then gave the Board an update on The Grow project. The project is set up outside the high school and students work together to plant, care for and sell produce. Maylum says it started as a small greenhouse project and has since turned into a summer destination for students. He says they plan to again sell items at the Perry Farmers Market this summer and donate items to those in need through the market and the mobile food pantry. Maylum says they are still growing and there is a lot of room to expand near their current location. He said the possibility to have this project become a class for the high school has been discussed with the Director of Teaching and Learning and may be an option they propose in the future. Maylum ended the update by thanking the Board for their support and allowing them to start this project.
The Board then heard a list of commendations and accomplishments by students and staff before Superintendent Lynn Ubben gave an update on the end of the 2015 state legislative session. The House and Senate wrapped up late last week with a 1.25 percent allowable growth and a one-time spending of $55.7 million. The bill now needs to be signed by Governor Terry Branstad before it goes into effect.
Next the Board discussed recognizing the Gay Straight Alliance as a school affiliated student group at the high school. Maylun, teacher Alyse Garcia and recent graduate Christian Loaiza spoke on behalf of the group that has been meeting after school once per week for the past year. Loaiza, who served as the group’s leader, says he was happy with the support he received here at Perry when he came out of the closet. He said the group talked about issues relevant to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual Questioning (LGBTQ) community and served as a safe place for people to talk and get support. Throughout the group’s existence so far, Loaiza says more and more people attend meetings and expressed appreciation for the group. Garcia said the main goal is to create that safe space for those who need it and also increase acceptance in the school. Goals for the next school year include participating in the Day of Silence, attending conference for LGBTQ youth and bringing in guest speakers. Maylum said he found out about the club through flyers that were put up with information about their gatherings. He commended Loaiza for creating this group and organizing the efforts. Maylum said the reason they are requesting the Board’s support in becoming a school affiliated group so that they can potentially do fundraising in the future and have the district’s support if something were to come up. The Board unanimously approved the request.
An agreement with 21st Century Rehab for sports medicine services was then approved. This renewal will provide an athletic trainer/physical therapist 1-2 nights per week during practice time and at all regular season varsity football, wrestling and basketball events.
Board policy changes in regards to the role of school district administration were then approved.
The support staff salary roster was then approved, along with the Special Education Service Delivery Plan and participation in the School Administrators of Iowa mentoring and induction program.
The Board also approved personnel resignations, transfers and hires. Ubben says with the exception of some title positions they have been asked to wait and see on, the district’s staff is set and all positions are filled for the upcoming school year.
Finally the Board was reminded of their annual retreat on Wednesday at 8am at the Hotel Pattee.