Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Regular Board Meeting 02/06/2025 - 06:00 AM
201 Port Neal Road, Sergeant Bluff, IA 51054 Elementary (3-5)
School Art Room
MEETING MINUTES
Mission Statement
In partnership with parents and the community, the SB-L Schools will challenge students to take personal responsibility for their education and to apply their learning to a diverse and changing world. Attendees
Voting Members
Matt Britton, Board Director
Tammy Matthey, Board Director
Lillyan Rodriguez, Board Director
Jeff Wright, President
Jason Gehling, Vice President
1. Call to Order
The regular February 2025 meeting of the Sergeant Bluff-Luton Board of Education was called to order by President Jeff Wright at 6:00 a.m. The meeting was held in the Elementary School Art Room.
2. Approval of the Agenda
Motion made by: Tammy Matthey
Motion seconded by: Lillyan Rodriguez
Voting:
Unanimously Approved
3. Public Hearing for the School Calendar
A hearing for the 2025-2026 Calendar was held. No public comments were made.
4. Welcome Visitors & Guests
President Wright welcomed the visitors and asked if anyone present wished to address the board. No oral or written comments were made.
5. Approval of minutes from the previous meetings
The minutes of the meetings of January 2025 were reviewed by the board. Motion made by: Jason Gehling
Motion seconded by: Matt Britton
Voting:
Unanimously Approved
6. Approval of the Secretary’s Monthly Reports
Motion made by: Jason Gehling
Motion seconded by: Lillyan Rodriguez
Voting:
Unanimously Approved
7. Approval of Current Bills
The current bills were reviewed by the board.
Motion made by: Matt Britton
Motion seconded by: Lillyan Rodriguez
Voting:
Matt Britton - Yes
Tammy Matthey - Abstain
Lillyan Rodriguez - Yes
Jeff Wright - Yes
Jason Gehling - Yes
8. Recognition
The following recognitions were provided:
Sergeant Bluff-Luton High School is one of 847 schools to receive @College Board's Female Diversity Award in 2024 for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles. Congratulations to Mrs. Pomerenke and her students for receiving this award. Congratulations to our Girls wrestlers that qualified for the state wrestling tournament: Halle Mosaquites, Viviane Pettigrew, and Abby Kueffer.
Congratulations to the boys wrestling team winning the conference wrestling tournament and qualifying for the state dual tournament. We had 9 individual conference champions! Drake Howard, Jayce Curry, Dax Koedam, Ben Walsh, Ayden McRoberts, Logan Dunn, Bo Koedam, Zay Ellington, and Kaleb Pendergast. The wrestling team had an undefeated dual season. Congratulations to the 8th grade students who were selected and performed in the Wayne State College Honor Band on January 25th. Charlotte Timmons, Sara Odell, Julianne Rassel, Josiah Mitchell
Congratulations to the following students who were selected to play in the 6th Grade Strong Foundation Honor Band at North High School on Jan 28th. Sami Anderson, Nora Tague, Bella Capetta
Shout out to Kati Struck and the 4th Graders for their performance at their concert last Friday afternoon. Shout out to the SBL School Play cast and stage crew as they put on their first play under the direction of Meredith Ritchie.
Newsbreak Top 25 schools in Iowa - SBL #13
The Middle School students participated in a math bee in South Sioux City. The SBL 8th grade team placed 3rd overall and Andrew Philip placed 1st in the 7th grade individual competition.
8th grade: Easton Boettcher, Josiah Mitchell, Sara Odell, Nigel Philip, and Theo Tague
7th grade: Cadence Humphal, Ella Norton, Ava Ostrem, Andrew Philip and Graham Savage
9. Administrative Reports
a. Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Konopasek
Mrs. Adams discussed the enrollment numbers and a new 2nd grade student teacher in the Primary School. Preschool, TK and Kindergarten registration will begin next week. The Kindergarten parent night and Kinder Camp will take place on May 6th. The next professional development day is Feb 17th. The Primary FAST Celebration has taken place. The Early Childhood team was discussed.
Mrs. Konopasek discussed the Elementary School safety protocols concerning student learning and code
drills. The January newsletter analytics were provided. Attendance in the Elementary School has been good with a few students reaching the 10% and 15% absentee percentages. The Winter Fast Bridge numbers and the Reading Plan Components using Panorama and Google Docs were discussed.
A presentation on K-8 Character Strong Curriculum was given.
b. SitelogIQ presentation on the East Campus Project
Ric D'Amico with Site Logic presented on the East Campus construction site. He provided pictures and explained what construction has been completed so far and the planned layout of the fields and buildings. He discussed what impacts the budget and timelines. At this time, the logistics and planning are on time. He provided a timeline of what to expect each month moving forward.
c. Mid-Year FAST Assessment Reporting
The Admin team provided a Mid-Year FAST Assessment update.
10. Action Items
a. Resignations
1. Resignations
Recommendation to approve the new resignations as presented:
Kuhl, David - High School Asst Football Coach
Husen, Troy - 7th Grade Boys Basketball Coach
Bateman, Savannah - High School Associate (WITCC)
Zuercher, Gina - Middle School Special Education Teacher
Stueland, Terri - High School Cook
Meredith, Marsha - High School Asst Softball Coach
Motion made by: Matt Britton
Motion seconded by: Jason Gehling
Voting:
Unanimously Approved
2. Resignations for Early Retirement
Recommendation to approve the Early Retirement resignations as presented:
Wegner, Kristine, 2nd Grade Teacher - Early Retirement Request and Resignation
Huju, Roberta, 6th Grade Math Teacher - Early Retirement Request and Resignation
Little, Tami, District Librarian and Elementary School Computer Science Teacher - Early Retirement
Request and Resignation
Motion made by: Lillyan Rodriguez
Motion seconded by: Matt Britton
Voting:
Unanimously Approved
b. New contracts
Recommendation to approve the new contracts as presented:
Ball, Michelle - High School Asst Track Coach Step 1 $2,691
Gill, Tom - High School Asst Track Coach Step 1 $2,691
Motion made by: Jason Gehling
Motion seconded by: Tammy Matthey
Voting:
Unanimously Approved
c. Ahlers Bond Engagement
Motion to approve Ahlers & Cooney as the Sales Tax Revenue Bonds Counsel.
Motion made by: Tammy Matthey
Motion seconded by: Lillyan Rodriguez
Voting:
Unanimously Approved
d. FY26 Calendar Approval
Motion for approval of the 2025-2026 Calendar. Motion made by: Matt Britton
Motion seconded by: Jason Gehling
Voting:
Unanimously Approved
e. Resolution Directing the Sale of Sales Tax Revenue Bonds
Motion to approve the resolution directing the sale of $5,500,000 School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds for $5.5 million, with Pioneer Bank purchasing $1.5 million and Huntington Bank purchasing $4 million. Mr. Janzen reminded the board these are bonds related to the local option one cent sales tax; no property tax dollars will pay for these bonds.
Motion made by: Matt Britton
Motion seconded by: Lillyan Rodriguez
Voting:
Unanimously Approved
f. AEA Flow-Through Funds
Mr. Janzen provided an update/reminder on the changes to AEA flow-through dollars based on the legislation that was passed during the 2024 legislative session. This was a discussion item. Action is expected at a future board meeting.
g. 2025-2026 Staffing Proposal
Superintendent Janzen proposed utilizing some of the AEA flow-through dollars to add an Assistant Middle School Principal/District Special Education Director. This was a discussion item. Action is expected at a future board meeting.
11. Superintendent Report
a. District Advisory Meeting
The next District Advisory Meeting will be March 19, 2025.
b. Legislation
Superintendent Janzen shared information regarding some bills proposed in the legislature. The topics included: school start date, supplemental state aid proposed by the governor and legislation regarding cells phones in school and social media.
c. 2025-2026 Staffing
Superintendent Janzen shared that the permanent ELL position created for the 2nd semester this year will
be advertised for next year's permanent position. As with any other vacancies, Janzen reported they would analyze class sizes with any potential recommendations.
d. Electronic Payments for School Enterprise Systems - Point of Sales
Mr. Janzen discussed moving forward with the new electronic payments system.
e. Set Date for 2nd Public Hearing of FY2026 Budget
The board will set the date for the 2nd public hearing for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget at the next board meeting.
f. Set Special Meeting to approve Sales Tax Revnue Bonds
Mr. Janzen and the board set the Board Meeting date of February 18th at 6:00 a.m. to approve the Sale of Sales Tax Revenue Bonds.
12. Adjourn
Adjourn at 7:59 a.m.
Motion made by: Matt Britton
Motion seconded by: Lillyan Rodriguez
Voting:
Matt Britton - Yes
Tammy Matthey - Vote Not Recorded
Lillyan Rodriguez - Vote Not Recorded
Jeff Wright - Vote Not Recorded
Jason Gehling - Vote Not Recorded
Board President Board Secretary
Published in the Sergeant Bluff Advocate weekly newspaper, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. The SB-Advocate is the Official Newspaper for the Sergeant Bluff-Luton CSD and is an Official Woodbury County newspaper. (PN#021325-00023)
