Superintendent's Message for February 2023

Greetings Charger Nation!

The second semester has begun and the school year is technically half over but we still have a lot of work to do.  I am so proud of how the year has gone thus far and the students' successes that have been exhibited.  Our students are excelling in the classrooms, in extracurricular activities, in their personal interests and in the community as a whole. When I pick up the paper, turn on the radio, attend an event, or listen to patrons in the community, all I hear are good things our students are doing.  That is not only exciting and wonderful to hear, but really makes me proud to be a Charger!!!!!

This month has been very busy at both the local and state level.  I will attempt to catch you up to speed but please reach out to me if you have any questions about our school or something you hear that you may just want further information on.  I believe in an open door policy and no question, concern, or clarification on an issue is too small to contact me.  My contact information is at the end of every monthly message.  

Local Items from our School Board

On March 7th we will have a special election for our school district.  On the ballot will be two items.  The first one is called the Revenue Purpose Statement.  By voting YES to this statement, you will allow the school district to utilize the State’s SAVE tax dollars that we have been using for the past ten years.  This is to renew it for our district and allow us to use it locally.  It is not a new tax but simply a way to inform taxpayers how we will use the money to help our school and to extend the approval to do so.  This money has been used to maintain our current buildings and is already being collected by the State of Iowa. I can not stress enough that this is NOT a new tax, and it comes directly from money generated throughout the State when goods and services are bought.  Some people may associate this with the 1 cent sale tax that has been around for quite some time.  It helps the school district keep local taxes down and relieve local property taxes.  Please share this information to help dispel any rumors or misnomers about this raising taxes or costing Chariton patrons additional money.  It is a win-win for the school and our Chariton residents.    

The second item on the agenda is to elect a new board member for District 1, to our board.  The reason we need to do this is that the school board appointed this particular board member due to an unforeseen vacancy.  Since the School Board appointed the position, the rules state the Board seat must be put on the next school election to allow the people to vote on who fills this term. Since we are running the special election for the revenue purpose statement, the District 1 board seat must be put on the ballot.  

On Monday, January 9th, the School Board voted to eliminate director districts when electing board members for our school.  This change was carefully considered due to the long-standing tradition of having director districts.  Before making this change, the school board held a public hearing that was well attended.  The Board listened to everyone that wanted to speak for or against it.  In the end, the Board voted to make the change to move to all at-large seats on the School Board, which eliminated director-district boundaries.  Why did the Board make the changes to at-large districts? They felt there would be less board disruption between elections, prevent having open seats if a Board member moves while serving their term, avoid upsetting election timelines to fill vacant positions, and fewer chances of an unfilled seat if no one from the director district runs.  

The Board voted to make the following decisions: change current director districts to at-large districts, continue to have a five-member board, and make all seats on the board at-large with the following criteria.   Nominees would have to reside within the school district boundaries and voters could vote for all open seats. If three seats are open and six people run to serve on the school board, the three people with the highest votes win the open seats and will serve on the school board.

This change will go into effect on July 1, 2023, which is why it does not affect the March 7 special election.  The following link can answer additional questions about the process.  Iowa Associations of School Board's FAQ: Redistricting following a census

At the State level

Governor Reynolds has recently signed the Education Savings Account (ESA) bill into law. The bill states when a student enrolls in a private school $7,598 will be deposited into the parent’s education savings account. The majority of Iowa Superintendents, including me, do not support this bill and feel it will adversely affect Iowa public school funding.  We will work through the challenges of how it will affect our school as we move forward.  Hopefully, the Governor and the Legislators will adequately fund our public schools as well this year. We appreciate everyone who supports public schools in Iowa and the Chariton Community School District.  The dedication of our staff to your students and their education will continue to be our top priority.  

Facilities Improvements and Construction Update:

• Van Allen & Columbus HVAC Improvement Project
  • Drawings and specs will be sent to distribution to the contractors. 
  • Bids are due February 15 and will be opened that day at the district office.
  • A public hearing will be held on Monday, February 20, 2023 at a special School Board meeting to receive public comments and award the project to the winning contractor.
• Reynolds Field Artificial Turf and Storm Water Improvement Project
  • Drawings and specs are completed and the project has gone out for bids to interested contractors.
  • Bids are due February 15 and will be opened that day at the district office.
  • A public hearing will be held on Monday, February 20, 2023 at a special School Board meeting to receive public comments and award the project to the winning contractor.
• Van Allen Playground Renovation
  • The design team will be sending drawings and specs for board review on January 27 for approval by the board on Feb 13.
  • Bids are due March 7 and will be opened that day at the district office.
  • A public hearing will be held on March 20 at the School Board meeting to receive public comment and award the project to the winning contractor.
• Middle School Settlement Project
  • Both indoor and outdoor soil testing has taken place over the past several weeks
  • The last laser scan and crack-monitor observation (of three) will take place February 17.
  • After that time, we will have the information we need to craft a report that will be ready to review in March/April of this year.

Student and Program Celebrations

Charger Manufacturing Program was asked to make a sign, planters, and tables for Braden Lane on the Chariton Square.  The alley will no longer allow car traffic and with the students' work it will enhance the pedestrian area for our community. The following Chariton Community School students completed the work with the guidance of their talented instructor, Seth Vernon.  The items and students are as follows - Sign: Wyatt Chipp, Ethan Werts, Clayton Logston, and Heston Irving. Planters: Drake Smith, Dallas Furman, Jayden Allen-Winston, and Adam Govaert. Tables: Octavio Garcia, Blayne Beaty,and Clayton Owens.  Thank you for sharing your talents and making our community a better place.  

GO CHARGERS and THINK BIG !!!!  

Mr. Baker

Phone - 641-774-5967

Email- brad.baker@chariton.k12.ia.us

Twitter -  @Super_Charger