BLAIRSBURG — The Northeast Hamilton School Board named Mike Kruger superintendent and principal for the 2018-2019 school year during its regular meeting on Tuesday night.

The Board unanimously approved a contract salary of $145,000 for Kruger, the current school principal and assistant superintendent. His employment package includes current benefits such as a health plan, vacation and phone usage. The contract approval came after the Board met in closed session for over an hour.

The Board also elected Board President Eric Patterson to serve as the NEH representative board member on the Webster City/NEH Reorganization interim board. This board will stay seated until 2019 along with the individual boards of the Webster City school district and the NEH school district. Patterson will continue to serve on the Webster City Reorganized School Board until his seat is up for election, either in Nov. 2019 or Nov. 2021.

The Board approved two applications for Open Enrollment. One application did not meet the deadline, but the Board cited the Good Cause Exception which is allowed by the State of Iowa.

Patterson noted that any future requests that do not meet the deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.  In this case, he noted, there were extenuating circumstances and so the board’s approval would not set a precedent for future applications.

“We want to do what is best for this kid,” said Patterson.

After opening the staff contract negotiation process, the Board received the initial bargaining proposal from the Northeast Hamilton Education Association by NEHEA representative Kim Schimp. The initial proposal asked for a salary increase that is halfway between the current NEH salary and that of Webster CSD.

Schimp cited that when the schools reorganize in 2019-2020, NEH teachers’ salaries will be increased to the Webster City rate. The current NEH proposal allows for the transition to be completed over two years time.

In other housekeeping matters, the Board approved the principal and interest payment authorization on the elementary school bonds Superintendent Mike Sherwood noted that the bonds will be paid off on May 1, 2019 because the Board has been making early payments. This action has saved district taxpayers over $400,000 in interest, he said.

The Board also approved the AEA purchase agreement which is a consortium of school districts and enhances the purchasing power of its members.

The Board approved the Official Canvas of votes from the April 3 Reorganization election with 194 votes cast in the NEH district. The vote tally for the reorganization question was 182 for and 12 against.  On the question of the Revenue Purpose Statement, 192 votes were cast with 178 voting aye and 14 voting nay.

Even though another late winter storm was bearing down on the area and the district already had four snow days, Kruger asked the Board to set the final day of school. The Board set the last day of the 2018-2019 school year to be Friday, June 1 with an early dismissal of 12:10 p.m.

Kruger reported the resignations of NEH Transportation Director Gene Greenfield and School Custodian Paul Christensen. Greenfield has served the district for 38 years and Christiansen for 20 years, noted Kruger. The administration is hoping to find an employee who will serve on a part time basis for both positions, he said.

Kruger also reported that the Mighty Trojan Day Care has attained Parent Aware Quality Star Rating – Level Three and in so doing, will receive a $1,200 stipend from the childcare organization.

In building updates, Sherwood reported that winter weather has postponed meetings with contractors and that next on the agenda is the window project.

Kruger reported that last week’s driving rain caused several breeches in the roof of Old Main and in the new building office and commons area. Caulking will repair the new building leaks, but the Old Main roof needs to be fixed, said Kruger.

The bigger facility problem is the boiler which heats the entire facility, said Kruger.  The boiler system’s galvanized pipes are springing leaks and he proposed that all of them need to be replaced.

In other facility reports, the infant and toddler day care room expansion will be completed this summer and a room in Old Main will be utilized for school age students this summer, reported Kruger.

In reports, Kruger summarized April events which included Maker Day on April 5, the NEH Spirit Club Carnival on April 12 and a Professional Development training session which focused on staff crisis protocol. Future events will include a Kindness Adventure assembly on April 19, a SWITCH program Luau on April 27 in conjunction with the school’s Walking Club, the NEH Spring Music Concert and Art Show on May 1 at 6:30 p.m. and the May 1 Distance Day Walk on the school playground walking track.  Pre-K Grandparents’ Day will be held on Friday, May 20.

Sherwood reported on legislative action which included bills that could affect the district.  They include: Operation Sharing which would limit the cap on districts that have employee sharing agreements and this would have a negative $125,000 impact on NEH; the extension of the Statewide Penny to FY2050 which allows school districts to issue bonds for construction projects; setting only two dates per year for all bond elections which would combine elections for municipal and school district votes; the debate of the Backfill Bill which was the promise of funds to help offset the fiscal impact of a property tax cut approved by the legislature in 2013 and would impact NEH by a loss of $86,000; a bill that requires all school districts to have a comprehensive security plan by June 30, 2019; flexibility for carryover funds; student collision protocol for concussions and training for district medical staff; and the Shaming bill which encourages discretion when pursuing the overdue accounts of students.

Prior to the regular meeting, the joint board meeting of Webster City, NEH and Stratford took place.  Subjects discussed were: professional development programs which included crisis management protocol and countywide training; school calendar coordination; sharing support personnel; and an upcoming September regional presentation on the management of difficult students.

Before adjourning, Board member Marlin Pruismann asked for clarification of the school’s policy pertaining to pets on the playground and on the walking track area.  Principal Kruger said it is posted that no pets are allowed but conceded that policing the area after hours and on weekends is difficult.

“The biggest problem comes when people don’t cleanup after their pets,” said Kruger, who noted the district experienced the same problems when the football field was in use.