MACS board considers calendar, personnel
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The calendar for the 2025-26 school year and personnel were main topics of discussion at the Monday, February 10 meeting of the Mount Ayr Community Schools board of directors.
Calendar
District superintendent Jason Shaffer presented three potential calendars for the board to review.
Once calendar would closely resemble the current calendar with the first and last days of school set for Monday, August 25 and Friday, May 22, respectively.
However, Shaffer advised the board that the Iowa legislature is considering a proposal to allow schools to begin prior August 23, the earliest allowed by current Iowa law.
If the start date is moved forward, Shaffer presented two additional calendars reflecting those changes.
In each case, students could report to school as early as August 20, but the end date would remain nearly the same.
All three calendars stipulate 177 student contact days. The earlier start dates, however, would allow for an extended winter break and additional time set aside for professional development for teachers.
Shaffer also floated the idea of adjusting the daily start and closing times of school days.
He offered an 8:15 a.m. start time at the elementary and an 8:20 a.m. start at the middle/high school.
Elementary dismissal time would remain the same at 3:18 p.m., but the dismissal at the middle/high school would move five minutes earlier to 3:25 p.m.
Shaffer explained the elementary start time change would provide an additional 15 minutes per day of instruction during a time in which students are already in the building anyway.
[An extra 15 minutes per 177 days would equal 2,655 minutes or over 44 hours of additional instructional time per year.]
The extra five minutes at the middle/high school, he said, could be spread over the lunch period there.
The board did not act upon the adjustments to the daily schedule, but they did approve the adoption of the school calender with the August 25 start date. They agreed they could revisit the calendar decision if the legislature acts to allow an earlier start date. They could revisit the earlier start time proposal at that time as well.
Personnel
The board approved several recommendations regarding personnel:
• early retirement applications from special education teacher Tori Larson and elementary associate Anne Taylor;
• resignation of Dustin Larson as CTE instructor and all coaching;
• resignation of Julie Capps as high school band director;
• resignation of Tiffany Bolles as high school track assistant;
• resignation of Josh Vanderflught from middle school basketball;
• hiring Gary Clark as high school CTE instructor;
• hiring Ryan Victor as high school track assistant;
• hiring Issac Vos as spring esports coach.
Other business
In other business the board:
• approved the purchase of a new pre-school curriculum at a cost of $14,655;
• approved an out-of-state field trip for the first grade to visit Inspire U at St. Joseph, MO;
• learned a preschool information meeting and registration will be held at 6 p.m, on February 19 in the elementary library;
• set March 24 as the date of the first public hearing on the district budget for next year. A second public hearing will take place during the regular board meeting April 14.
• approved the annual Budget Guarantee Resolution. The resolution ensures the district receives a minimum one percent increase in state funding despite a decrease in certified enrollment.
• reviewed an overhead view of a proposed CTE center to be located in the practice field west of the bus barn. Superintendent Shaffer said the next step is to contract with an architect to provide design and cost estimates. The building would feature two classrooms, an auto shop, and commons area.
Shaffer said four school districts have expressed their interest to join with Mount Ayr for CTE classes at the center. They include Diagonal, Lamoni, Central Decatur, and Bedford. Southwestern Community College could utilize the space in the evening to hold CNA classes and other offerings.
The next regular meeting of the Mount Ayr Community school board is set for March 10.
