— Daily Freeman-Journal photo by Teresa Wood Webster City Board Directors Juli Wilcox and Board President Beth Van Diest visit with Northeast Hamilton Board Director Sara Zorn following the joint meeting of the boards Thursday night in Blairsburg. The boards are working at reorganizing the two districts into one and Thursday night's meeting drafted the petition.

BLAIRSBURG – The joint meeting of the Northeast Hamilton and Webster City school boards mapped out the future for a combined school district Thursday night at NEH, addressing the district’s name, board member representation, assets and liabilities, boundaries, petition timeline, property taxes and the goals of the reorganization.

Both boards convened independently and voted on agenda items, separately.

Then, both districts agreed to cease to exist as they are currently operating and to reorganize as one district. Under the reorganization proposal, the district will be named the Webster City Community School District with Learning Centers at Northeast Hamilton Elementary with PreK through 6th grade, Pleasantview Elementary PreK to 1st grade, Sunset Heights Elementary 2nd – 4th grade, WC Middle School 5th to 8th grade, WCHS 9th to 12 grade and Hamilton High Alternative.

A lengthy discussion centered on the composition of the boards as the reorganizational process transitions.

Both boards chose the alternative method of election for the interim board which allows board members to select directors from the existing boards. The number of directors selected from each district will be proportionate to the population. The interim board would include four directors from Webster City and one from the NEH board. The board members would be chosen by respective board members.

Next, the boards discussed the composition of the new board of the reorganized district. It would be comprised of five members with three from director districts and two At-Large directors. Again, the number of directorships are determined by the proportion of the population. The new Board of Education would draw the boundaries and submit those to the state for approval, explained Superintendent Mike Sherwood.

Northeast Hamilton School Board President Eric Patterson voiced his concern about the possibility of not having any representation from the smaller district on the new board and the NEH board discussed making all directorships At-Large seats.

“Do we run the risk of not having representation if all directors are At-Large?” he asked. His question was echoed by a district patron during the Q & A portion of the meeting.

Webster City Board Director Rich Stroner cautioned that that choice could lead to a voting block on the board that would dictate policy. He also questioned the possibility of whether or not a district could field a viable candidate.

Newly elected NEH Board Director Sally Greenfield outlined the current situation facing the NEH district. She said NEH entered into a partnership with Webster City when it closed its high school and now it has another decision to make.

“We need to look at this as one district,” she said. “We need to bring the kids together and be in this together and consider what’s best for the kids”.

Greenfield was optimistic that voters from both Webster City and the NEH district were intelligent enough to vote for what is best for the new district as a whole and that the candidates who run for the board would do it for the right reasons.

Both boards unanimously approved the motion.

The boards also approved the two-election cycle board phase-out plan with two board seats up for election in 2019 and three up for election in 2021.

The boards each approved the boundary profile developed by the Hamilton County Auditor’s office which will be submitted to the Iowa Department of Education. The boards also approved the motion that as of July 1, 2019, each district would be liable for their own General Obligation bonds. The revenue bonds after that time would become the obligation of the new district.

The boards each approved a revenue purpose statement which would be voted on as part of the reorganization election.

NEH Principal and Associate Superintendent Mike Kruger told patrons that the NEH district will benefit from state incentives due to the reorganization. In the first year, the uniform tax levy will decline by $1, $0.50 the following year and $0.25 in the third year of reorganization. Additional reorganization incentives may be available, he said. In addition, Kruger estimated that a property tax rate for the new district would be approximately $12.50 per $1,000 valuation.

As a formality, the Boards approved of the legal counsel waiver. Each district is currently represented by the law firm of Ahlers and Cooney of Des Moines and Danielle Haindfield will serve as the reorganization attorney. Since both districts are currently represented by the same law firm, the waiver directs all disputes to be settled by the districts and not by the law firm.

After all the agenda items of reorganization were addressed, Supt. Sherwood verified that the plan does conform with the AEA criteria and both boards approved Thursday’s actions on the petition for reorganization. The petition will be presented to each board at their individual district meetings later this month.

Kruger told the audience that the reorganization offers a lot of potential benefits for both districts.

For NEH, the teaching staff will be upgraded to the Webster City school district pay scale. The new district will also offer NEH teachers the ability to share across same grade levels. It will also allow a better transition for students advancing from sixth grade into middle school.

The NEH staff would also benefit from expanded resources available at the larger school, including available technical support, curriculum director and a buildings and grounds coordinator, Kruger said.

In turn, with some buildings in Webster City nearing capacity, NEH offers an opportunity to eliminate overcrowding, said Kruger. Webster City will also benefit with the addition of $200 million to its tax base and residents will see a $2 drop in property tax rates, explained Principal Kruger.

“Our goal has always been to keep this (school) looking as much as it does now,” said NEH Board President Patterson. “I feel pretty good about this and we’re excited. I’m really excited about it”.

One NEH patron voiced appreciation to the Webster City CSD.

“We want to thank Webster City for being flexible and working with Northeast Hamilton,” said one patron during the Q & A session. “We know it’s a change for you, too”.

“We want all kids to have a safe environment and we are excited about it,” said Webster City School Board President Beth Van Diest at the conclusion of the meeting. “I see this as a win for both sides. We are going to be a great community”.

Supt. Sherwood has set Nov. 1 as the petition filing deadline in order to give the AEA six months to develop an election schedule for the question to be put before voters by April 2018. The petition, including Thursday’s decisions, will be presented to each board independently for approval. NEH’s board meets on Oct. 19 and Webster City’s board will meet on Oct. 23. After the boards’ votes regarding the petitions, each district will be responsible for garnering signatures. The NEH district needs 200 signatures to qualify and the Webster City district needs 400.