BOARD OF DIRECTORS
NORTH LINN COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Annual Meeting
7:00 PM
North Linn District Office
3033 Lynx Drive
Troy Mills, IA
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
100: Call to Order and Determination of a Quorum
President, Jeffrey Boss, called the annual meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Present were Directors R Benesch, J Benesh, Krogmann, Michael, Hoover & Price, Elementary Principal Schott, Secondary Principal Stoll, Director of School Improvement Graven, Superintendent Breitfelder and Secretary Peyton. Audience members included Levi Benesh, Bonnie Benesh, Trent Benesh, Dana Schmidt and Katie Hatch.
200: Adoption of the Agenda
It was moved by R Benesch, seconded by Price to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion carried 7-0.
Board Recognition
The board recognized Levi Benesh for his contributions to the Cross Country team this year. Levi was ranked in the top 30 runners all season and went into the state meet ranked 24th and placed 17th at the state cross country meet.
300: Consent Agenda
Secretary Peyton presented the October financial reports. It was moved by J Benesh, seconded by R Benesch to approve the following consent items; Minutes of the October board meeting, bills, Secretary’s financial reports, Activity Fund report and Food Service report. Motion carried 4-0.
400: Audience Communications
There was no communication from the audience.
500: Old Business
501: Examine and settle books from the previous year
Secretary Peyton provided documents from Hiawatha Bank, Community Savings Bank and F & M Bank confirming the cash balances in the various bank accounts and showed the same balances on the bank reconciliation reports for June 30, 2024. It was moved by R Benesch, seconded by Krogmann to settle the books for the period ending June 30, 2024. Motion carried 7-0.
600: Adjournment
The time being 7:18PM it was moved by J Benesh, seconded by R Benesch to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 7-0.
Organizational Meeting 7:00 PM
North Linn District Office
3033 Lynx Drive
Troy Mills, IA
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
100: Call to Order and Determination of a Quorum
President, Jeffrey Boss, called the Organizational Meeting to order at 7:19PM. Present were Directors J Benesh, R Benesch, Hoover, Krogmann, Michael and Price, Elementary Principal Schott, Secondary Principal Stoll, Director of School Improvement Graven, Superintendent Breitfelder and Secretary Peyton. Audience members include Holly Greif, Cody Greif and Katie Hatch.
101: Election of the President of the Board for the 2024-2025 school year
Secretary Peyton served as President Pro-Tem and called for nominations for President of the Board. Director Ryan Benesch nominated Jeff Boss, Director Hoover seconded the nomination. Nominations ceased. Roll call vote: Ayes; R Benesch, J Benesch, Hoover, Krogmann, Michael, Price & Boss. Nay; none. Jeffrey Boss was declared the School Board President and took the oath of office.
102: Election of the Vice President of the Board for the 2024-2025 school year
President, Jeffrey Boss, assumed control of the meeting and called for nominations for Vice President of the Board. Director Jennifer Benesh nominated Ryan Benesch and Director Matt Michael nominated Director Matt Hoover, Director R Benesch seconded the nomination. Nominations ceased. Roll call vote for R Benesch: Ayes; Hoover. Nays; R Benesch, J Benesch, Boss, Krogmann, Michael & Price. For Hoover: Ayes; R Benesch, J Benesh, Boss, Krogmann, Michael & Price. Nays; Hoover. Director Matt Hoover was declared Vice President of the Board and took the oath of office.
200: Adoption of the Agenda
It was moved by R Benesch, seconded by Price to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion carried 7-0.
300: Informational Reports, Discussions, and Presentations
301: North Linn Robotics
Holly Greif and Cody Greif presented information about the robotics team and showed the board how their robot works. They discussed the challenge for the season and discussed plans for the meet hosted at North Linn on December 6th at 6PM in the middle school gym.
302: Superintendent Report
Superintendent Breitfelder shared information from the activities director report, shared the fire inspection report and an update on the parking lot lights. She also shared the communications plan that discusses 2-way communication from the district, telling our story accurately and reporting goals. She also shared about her student advisory committee meeting where she met with students from the middle school lighthouse team and shared about the School Safety meeting that was held immediately before the board meeting in conjunction with our SRO and the Linn County Sherriff’s Office. Approximately 25 people attended the meeting and there was some very good conversation held with those at the meeting.
303: Elementary Report
Elementary Principal Schott shared that the next Leader in Me assembly will be held on November 22nd, and that we had 2 staff members attend the Leader in Me Symposium last week and they are eager to share what they learned with the rest of the staff. He also discussed the recent Math & Literacy support from Grant Wood AEA and their work with intervention groups. He praised staff for their work on culminating activities in the classroom and shared there have been some really great activities for students at the end of their units. 3rd and 5th grade classes attended the Kaleidoscope performance at the Gallagher Bluedorn performing arts center in Cedar Falls on the 11th and everyone thought it was a great show! He shared about the recent world kindness day and science club activities and discussed the rescheduled parent teacher conferences on the last professional development day.
304: Secondary Report
Middle School/High School Principal, Kaitlyn Stoll gave an update on the Spanish curriculum we are using through Edmentum, and discussed how teachers are focusing on student goal setting as part of the Leader in Me training. She shared that they used a new format for conferences where families scheduled time with teachers which seemed to work better for staff as they were more prepared to speak with families. She also shared the updates to the course offerings for the 25-26 school year and shared the PSAT scores. She also discussed the recent Brain Health Day planned by secondary counselor, Julie Schmidt. We hosted a speaker in the morning who talked about resiliency and students had an opportunity to visit 4 stations in the afternoon; Mental Health Resources, Physical Games, Brain Games and Mindfulness. She hopes they will be able to offer more of these types of activities for students.
305: School Improvement Report
School Improvement Director, Kimberly Graven, shared information about the recent professional development and lighthouse meetings, the district Iowa School Performance profile rating and the various state reporting that was just completed. She also shared the goals that came out of the School Improvement Advisory Committee setting annual and long range goals for Reading, Science and Math scores on the ISASP.
400: New Business
403: Receive Monthly Board Meeting Dates and Time for 2024-2025
It was moved by R Benesch, seconded by J Benesh to hold school board meetings at 6:00 PM on the third Wednesday of each month in the North Linn District Office. Motion carried 7-0.
404: Receive School Financial Account Authorized Signers
It was moved by R Benesch, seconded by Price to approve Kerry Peyton, Jeffrey Boss and Leisa Breitfelder as signers on the district accounts at Hiawatha Bank and Trust Company and Community Savings Bank. Motion carried 7-0.
405: First Reading of Policy Recommendations
It was moved by R Benesch, seconded by J Benesh to waive the second reading and approve the policy updates to policies 507.09 and 507.09 R1 as presented at this meeting. Motion carried 7-0.
406: Receive Updated Bid for Cameras for the School Safety Grant
It was moved by Michael, seconded by Hoover to approve the camera bid from Communication Innovators, to add additional cameras to our schools in the amount of $40,685.16 paid for through the School Safety Grant. Motion carried 7-0.
407: Receive Quote for Auditorium Upgrades
It was moved by R Benesch, seconded by Hoover to approve the quote from DB Acoustics to upgrade our sound system for the middle school auditorium in the amount of $19,413.13. Motion carried 7-0.
408: Receive Addendum to Night Shift Contract
It was moved by J Benesh, seconded by Hoover to approve addendum #1 to the Night Shift Contract adding additional services. Motion carried 7-0.
409: Receive Quote from Edmentum for Spanish courses
It was moved by J Benesh, seconded by R Benesch to approve the quote from Edmentum for Spanish courses as presented for the second semester of the 24-25 school year. Motion carried 7-0.
410: Early Graduation Requests
It was moved by J Benesh, seconded by R Benesch to approve the early graduation requests as presented. Motion carried 7-0.
411: Receive 2025-2026 North Linn Course Description Booklet
Superintendent Breitfelder discussed the additions to the course booklet. It was moved by R Benesch, seconded by Price to approve the North Linn Course Description Booklet for the 2025-26 School year. Motion carried 7-0.
412: Open Enrollment Requests
It was moved by J Benesh, seconded by Hoover to approve 2 open enrollment requests into the district and 2 open enrollment requests out of the district as presented. Motion carried 7-0.
413: Fundraiser Requests
It was moved by J Benesh, seconded by Michael to approve the fundraiser request from Robotics to sell items made with their 3D printer. Motion carried 7-0.
500: Personnel
It was moved by J Benesh, seconded by R Benesch to approve the hire of Brian Price as sub bus driver. Motion carried 7-0.
600: Board Communications and Calendar
601: Board Communications
The board shared their appreciation for the communication from administrators and support for students and staff after the loss of a student.
602: Board Calendar
Superintendent Breitfelder shared upcoming dates with the board: 11/22 is the board visit to the elementary lighthouse assembly, 12/4 is a Legislative Forum and Monticello schools at 6PM, MS/HS Winter band & vocal concert is 12/12 at 7:30, the next school board meeting will be 12/18 at 6:00 PM and the Elementary winter program will be 12/19 at 6:30 in the middles school gym.
700: Adjournment
The time being 9:26PM it was moved by J Benesh, seconded by Hoover to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 7-0.
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Kerry Peyton, Board Secretary Jeffrey Boss, Board President
