Minutes of the Ames Community School District Board of Directors

Minutes of the Ames Community School District Board of Directors Regular Meeting of October 20, 2025 Attendees. Voting Members: Pres. Kelly Winfrey, VP Sabrina Shields-Cook, Allen Bierbaum, Angie DeWaard and Aaron Rodriguez. Non-Voting Members: Scott Grimes, Sherri Ruzek and Student Representative Vienna Rossmanith. Members Present/Acknowledge Quorum. Pres. Kelly Winfrey called to order the Regular Meeting of the Ames CSD Board of Directors at 5:31 pm. The meeting was hosted at the District Office, 2005 24th St., and open to virtual attendance in accordance with Open Meetings Laws. Approval of Agenda. Motion made by: Angie DeWaard. Motion seconded by: Sabrina Shields-Cook. Voting: Dr. Kelly Winfrey – Yes; Sabrina Shields-Cook – Yes; Dr. Allen Bierbaum – Not Present; Angie DeWaard – Yes; Aaron Rodriguez – Yes. Celebrations and Recognitions. Ames High National Honor Society. Dir. Allen Bierbaum joined the meeting at 5:32 pm. Director of Communications Amy DeLashmutt celebrated Ames High's National Honor Society chapter, which received the National Honor Society's Overall Award of Excellence. Public Forum. Bruce Anton, Judy Lemish, Susie Petra, Herman Quirmbach and Sue Ravenscroft addressed the Board. Consent Agenda. All items listed under Consent were enacted by one motion. Approval as presented. Motion made by: Angie DeWaard. Motion seconded by: Sabrina Shields-Cook. Voting: Unanimously Approved. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting; Financial Report; Contract Approvals / Resignations / Changes; Open Enrollment; and Contracts and Agreements: 2025-26 Ames CSD-Drake University Head Start Memorandum of Understanding, 2025-28 Ames CSD-Grand Canyon University Field Placement Affiliation Agreement, 2025-31 Ames CSD-North Dakota State University Cooperating Teacher Agreement and 2025 Ames CSD-DMACC Career Academy Incentive Fund Grant Memorandum of Understanding. Reports. Associate Superintendent. Overview of ESSA Process. Assoc. Superintendent Dr. Jeff Hawkins reviewed the purpose of the Every Student Succeeds Act. He highlighted and briefly explained the processes districts must engage to support schools identified as in Need of Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), including reviews of resource allocation and data, self-assessment of the District's MTSS implementation, action planning, onsite visits and progress reporting. Dr. Hawkins reviewed a timeline for Ames CSD's plan to fulfill the requirements outlined by ESSA. He connected the District's work to the District's goals for 2025-26 and Objectives 2 and 3 of the District's Strategic Plan. District Iowa School Performance Profile Results. Dr. Jeff Hawkins reported on the results of the District's Iowa School Performance Profile (ISSP). Dr. Hawkins explained that the ISSP is grounded in ISASP scores as well as accounts for other tertiary data sets, such as attendance, graduation rates and staff retention rates. He reviewed updated demographics of the District's student population and provided an overview of the performance measures used to formulate the District's ISSP. Overall, the District's performance showed improvements in the vast majority of measures. He credited the improvements to the District's implementation of the Strategic Plan and success in enacting theories of action towards realizing the District's goals. He celebrated that all the District's schools improved their ISSP and met comprehensive status this year. He noted that three buildings are in their second year of targeted status but that those schools would shed that status if the schools again reach comprehensive status. Dr. Hawkins presented district-wide performance measures disaggregated by program and demographic group. He highlighted the District's growth in the goal areas of improved attendance and academic achievement and that the District has opportunities for additional growth in graduation rates, attendance and offering work-based learning experiences. DMACC Information Technology Career Academy. Dr. Jeff Hawkins reported that an Information Technology Career Academy will open at the DMACC Hunziker Center in the fall of 2026. He explained the Career Academy would offer students two semesters of course work that will result in a C+ Application Developer Certificate. He connected the new opportunity at DMACC to the District's Strategic Plan and the PK & Beyond initiative. Superintendent. Enrollment. Supt. Scott Grimes reported that the District's enrollment was tallied at the beginning of the month and certified on October 15. He compared certified enrollment from 2024-25 to 2025-26, illustrating a decrease in certified enrollment of 61.63. He noted that there are only a few public schools in Iowa that experienced even a slight increase in enrollment this year. He indicated that certified enrollment begins planning for class sizes, staffing and discussions with legislators. He forewarned that state revenue receipts are lower than had been projected, which likely foreshadows restrained funding from the state. He also noted that local and state birth rates are low, which is a leading indicator of future enrollment projections. He emphasized that lower enrollment and fewer kindergartners in Iowa public schools have been discussion topics among superintendents in professional groups such as the Urban Education Network, Metro Superintendents, Story County Superintendents and the Little Hawkeye Conference. However, Supt. Grimes acknowledged that the Ames CSD's enrollment decreased less than had been projected. He reported that 126 resident students utilized Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) last year but that this year's figures are not yet available from the state. Supt. Grimes acknowledged that certified enrollment impacts staffing and that possible future reductions to staffing levels may be achieved through attrition and an early retirement incentive. He reviewed this year's certified enrollment figures by building. He noted that enrollment is constantly changing throughout the year, that the District does not receive on-time funding and that there are challenges regardless of whether enrollment is increasing or decreasing. He expressed comfort in the level of support offered to the District by the Board, the District's staff, and the community of Ames and Story County. Supt. Grimes briefly reviewed information about the number of students enrolling in and out of the District from and to surrounding districts. He noted that the District continues to maintain a net gain of students through open enrollment. He further reviewed enrollment in the elementary schools and highlighted that class sizes are within the targets set by the Board. Facilities. Supt. Scott Grimes reported that the Facilities Cmte met recently. He noted that the work on the high school track is being finalized, bids are being received for the demolition of select buildings on the property at Northwestern Ave. and 13th St., a general refresh to Ames Middle School was discussed and that the District requests approval to sell obsolete property on the auction site GovDeals. Gifts to the District. Supt. Grimes reported the gifts donated to the District. Chief Financial Officer. Resolution to Consider Approving Transfer of Funds to the Flexibility Account Within the General Fund Expenditures and Set the Public Hearing for Proposed Resolution Approving Expenditure of Funds in the District's Flexibility Account. CFO Sherri Ruzek explained that the District requests approval to transfer $50K in extraneous funds originally allocated to the Home School Assistance Program (HSAP) to the Flexibility Account within the General Fund. She indicated that all the financial obligations of the HSAP were satisfied and attributed the availability of extraneous funds to savings realized by serving the program at the AMES Center rather than renting facility and storage spaces, which is how the program operated previously. She requested that a public hearing be set in November and that the Board consider approving the transfer of $50K to the Flexibility Account to support indirect costs incurred during the general operation of the AMES Center. Staff Early Resignation Notification Incentive. Dir. Sherri Ruzek requested approval to offer an early resignation notification incentive. She noted that the incentive is similar to the program that was offered last year, and it is a great tool for preparing and planning for next year's staffing and budget. She explained that, starting on December 1 and ending no later than January 15, a $1,500 incentive would be offered to up to 15 certified staff members tendering their resignations effective at the end of their current contract. If 15 qualifying staff members do not voluntarily resign by January 15, a $1,000 incentive would be extended to qualifying certified staff members until the sooner of February 13 or once a total of 15 qualifying early resignations are received. 2025-26 Retirement Incentive for Employees. Dir. Sherri Ruzek recommended the Board extend an early retirement incentive similar to incentives provided in the past. She explained that the incentive would be available to all employee classifications and that full-time (30+ hr/wk) employees who qualify must be 55 years or older by June 30, have worked for the District for 10 continuous years and must satisfy their current contract or letter of engagement. She explained that early retirements are an effective tool for planning for the following year's staffing and budget. She indicated that 48 employees are eligible for the program this year and would receive communication from the Department of Human Resources regarding their eligibility. She further explained that qualifying early retirees would receive 15% per diem of their accrued sick leave, accrued unused vacation leave and a $465 monthly stipend towards the District-sponsored insurance plan through Medicare eligibility. She cautioned that the early retirement program is re-evaluated annually and that offering a lump sum payout to early retirees is a more predictable method of budgeting. Supt. Scott Grimes asserted that the two districts in which he previously served transitioned their early retirement programs to fixed payout amounts that were limited to a predetermined number of individuals in specific employee classifications. Supt. Grimes foreshadowed that the District may not be able to maintain an open-ended benefit as part of the early retirement program next year and subsequent years. He explained that early retirement is not an entitled employee benefit but, rather, is a fiscal tool the Board may exercise to aid its management of the District's finances. Pres. Kelly Winfrey and VP Sabrina Shields-Cook thanked the administration for their transparency. Student Representatives. There were no comments. Board Members. Petition from Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. Pres. Kelly Winfrey explained that the Board received a petition with approximately 590 signatures from the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI) requesting the Board adopt a resolution proposed by the group. Pres. Winfrey thanked ICCI's efforts advocating for public education and highlighted that their proposed resolution urged the governor and legislature to set an annual 5% increase to State Supplemental Aid, maintain an income cap for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and phase out ESAs over five years. Pres. Winfrey highlighted that the Board ranked and voted to approve the Board's legislative priorities in August and that those priorities were submitted to the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) and the Urban Education Network (UEN). She emphasized that the Board's legislative priorities align with ICCI's advocacy and that IASB, the UEN and other organizations lobby on behalf of districts and their school boards. She explained that traditionally the Board has not approved resolutions proposed by outside organizations or resolutions concerning legislation over which the Board does not have direct purview. She further described the Board's involvement with IASB's Delegate Assembly and the lobbying efforts the Board engages through IASB's annual Day on the Hill event. The Board generally discussed their support for ICCI's advocacy, lobbying by IASB, UEN and School Administrators of Iowa, the work of local legislators and the Board's collective reservation to act on resolutions proposed by community groups. Each Board member generally expressed gratitude towards ICCI for their support and advocacy and encouraged the organization to continue to contact legislators. Pres. Winfrey encouraged the Board to continue to advocate for public education from within and outside the boardroom. Supt. Scott Grimes also thanked ICCI, the community of Ames and the greater Story County area for their support. He acknowledged that ICCI's efforts inspire him to be a better leader who actively engages the legislature. IASB BoardCon. Pres. Kelly Winfrey reported that the Iowa Association of School Boards' annual convention is November 19-20. She encouraged the Board to contact the Superintendent's Office if they are available and plan to attend the convention. New Business. Gifts to the District. Approval as presented. Motion: I move the Board approve the gifts as presented. Motion made by: Angie DeWaard. Motion seconded by: Sabrina Shields-Cook. Voting: Unanimously Approved. Policies for Discussion. Approval as presented. Motion: I move the Board to approve the policies as presented. Motion made by: Sabrina Shields-Cook. Motion seconded by: Angie DeWaard. Voting: Unanimously Approved. Polices: 401.2 Employee Conflicts of Interest (No Change), 401.4 Employee Complaints, 401.5 Employee Records (No Change), 401.6 Limitations to Employment References, 401.11 Employee Orientation, 402.2 Child Abuse Reporting, 403.4 Hazardous Chemical Disclosure, 405.2 Licensed Employee Qualifications, Recruitment, Selection, 501.8 Student Attendance Records (New), 503.6 Physical Restraint and Seclusion of Students (New), 503.9 Student Use of Personal Electronic Devices (New), 505.5 Graduation Requirements, 603.7 Career Education (New), 603.10 Global Education (New), 604.6 Instruction at a Post-Secondary Educational Institution (New), 605.2 Instructional and Library Materials Inspection and Display (New), 711.10 School Bus Passenger Restraints, 804.2 District Emergency Operations Plan and 904.1 Transporting Students in Private Vehicles. Resolution to Consider Approving Transfer of Funds to the Flexibility Account Within the General Fund Expenditures and Set the Public Hearing for Proposed Resolution Approving Expenditure of Funds in the District's Flexibility Account. Approval as presented. Motion: I move the Request to approve the Resolution to Consider Approving Transfer of Funds to the Flexibility Account Within the General Fund Expenditures and Setting Hearing on Proposed Resolution Approving Expenditure of Funds in the Flexibility Account for the board meeting on November 17, 2025 at 5:30 pm. Motion made by: Angie DeWaard. Motion seconded by: Dr. Allen Bierbaum. Voting: Dr. Kelly Winfrey – Yes; Sabrina Shields-Cook – Yes; Dr. Allen Bierbaum – Yes; Angie DeWaard – Yes; Aaron Rodriguez – Yes. High School Track and Bleacher Improvements Project Change Order #4. Approval as presented. Motion: I move the Board to approve the Change Order as presented. Motion made by: Dr. Allen Bierbaum. Motion seconded by: Aaron Rodriguez. Voting: Unanimously Approved. 2025 Elementary Playground Equipment and Surface Improvements Project Substantial Completion for Bid Package #2 (Caliber Construction). Approval as presented. Motion: I move the Board to approve the Substantial Completion of Bid Package #2 for the 2025 Elementary Playground Equipment and Surface Improvements Project. Motion made by: Dr. Allen Bierbaum. Motion seconded by: Angie DeWaard. Voting: Unanimously Approved. Staff Early Resignation Notification Incentive. Approval as presented. Motion: I move the Board to approve the staff early resignation notification incentive as presented. Motion made by: Dr. Allen Bierbaum. Motion seconded by: Angie DeWaard. Voting: Unanimously Approved. 2025-26 Retirement Incentive for Employees. Approval as presented. Motion: I move the Board to approve the retirement incentives for employees as presented. Motion made by: Dr. Allen Bierbaum. Motion seconded by: Angie DeWaard. Voting: Unanimously Approved. Disposal of Property through GovDeals.com. Approval as presented. Motion: I move the Board to approve the sale of obsolete property, including but not limited to, technology, equipment and furniture, on the online auction site GovDeals.com on an ongoing and as-needed basis as presented. Motion made by: Dr. Allen Bierbaum. Motion seconded by: Sabrina Shields-Cook. Voting: Unanimously Approved. Requests for Superintendent. There were no requests. Board Planning Calendar. The next Regular Meeting is November 3 at 5:30 pm. Ames Accolades. Supt. Scott Grimes introduced Ames Accolades, which provides District staff an opportunity to share positive feedback about the work of their colleagues. Supt. Grimes explained that the Ames Accolades will be shared at Board meetings and distributed to staff. Adjourn. Motion made by: Dr. Allen Bierbaum. Motion seconded by: Angie DeWaard. Voting: Unanimously Approved. The meeting adjourned at 7:01 pm November 1 2025 LIOW0399280