District works to solve support staff truancy

Qualifying Creston Community School District staff will be eligible for supplemental compensation this year, following approval Monday night by the school board.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed House File 2612 on March 27, requiring that “if funds are appropriated by the general assembly to the department of education for [FY25], to make all payments to school districts required under subsection 2, such funds shall be used to provide a funding supplement to each school district during [FY25] to supplement education support personnel compensation.”

Supplement education support personnel are defined as full- and part-time staff who are not salaried. Educators at the school district would not fall into this category. Examples for these staff members include bus drivers, janitors and cooks. The state distributed $40,203 to the school district, with funds meant for these education support personnel.

The district has put together a supplemental compensation schedule to equitably dole out this money, though various restrictions apply. District superintendent Deron Stender said the goal is to encourage staff to drop truancy and absentee rates.

“If you’re doing your job, it’s not even a problem, it’s just an extra benefit,” Stender said. “It’s a great thank you to those who are contributing to our children and the services they provide.”

Staff must be present for at least 90% of their scheduled work hours, not be on an improvement plan or have any disciplinary action and must stay employed through the end of the school year to be eligible for the program.

Based on prior data, Stender estimates less than 50% of support staff will be eligible for the program.

In other school board news...

Stender said Creston is still open to working with the Orient-Macksburg school district regarding the breaking up of boundaries. Creston and Winterset school districts objected to the proposed distribution in July. Due to these objections, a vote will no longer be able to take place in September regarding dissolution of O-M’s district.

“When we rejected it, it wasn’t because we don’t want the land, we just don’t feel there’s a benefit, because the land is not continuous. Some places were landlocked or you had to go all the way around the district to get to the other side,” Stender said. One of Creston’s suggestions included cutting boundaries at county lines, meaning Creston would get the students from Union and Adams counties.

The district is also still working with Keystone Equity Group, LLC to place housing on the ECC land. The group is working to get TIF funds with the hope of filling in the floodplain. The current plan includes houses and apartments for low- to moderate-income families. The agreement between the district and Keystone is good until June 30, 2025. Stender said he is open to hearing other ideas.

The following resignations and contracts were approved for August 2024.

Resignations: Maggie Arnold, yearbook; Brenda Cook, paraprofessional; Susan Springer, paraprofessional; Toby Williamson, bus driver; Adrian Flores, head girls soccer coach; Laura Palmer, cook.

Contracts: Crystal Harvey, paraprofessional; Megan Shinn, paraprofessional; Trish Dickinson, ninth grade volleyball coach; Noemy Aguirre, paraprofessional; Adrian Flores, head boys soccer coach; Carmen Ponce, paraprofessional; Flor Aguirre, cook.