Sheldon, Iowa – The Sheldon Community Schools Board met in regular session on Monday evening, August 13th, in the high school library.
There were 14 open enrollments, six out of the district and eight in, presented for consideration, which were all approved. The deadline for submitting a request for open enrollment in public schools in Iowa is September 1st for children entering Kindergarten, and March 1st for all other students. Private schools, however, do not have deadlines, which is why some of the requests were submitted at this late date.
There was one resignation, from a middle school instructional associate that was approved, and five new contracts which were presented and also approved.
Cindy Barwick announced that magazine sales for 6th – 8th graders will begin at the end of August. With the rash of scams that have been reported in the area recently Barwick wanted to reach out to the community, especially to those who do not have children in school, to assure them that if they are approached by a middle school student, it is not a scam. She also shared that the middle school will be phasing out letter grades this year, and providing parents with a more detailed, skill-based report card for their children.
A point of interest for those involved in marching band and color guard was discussed at the meeting. Currently, students in sports, cheer, and swing choir are not required to take PE; their extracurricular activity counts as their requirement for physical education. This is being expanded to include marching band and color guard, since they are both very physical activities as well.
Superintendent Cory Myer touched on the Public Education & Recreation Levy, or PERL, stating that while the Sheldon School District has not implemented this, it may be something they want to keep on the radar. Myer also talked about the unequal district cost per pupil, sharing that uneven distribution of revenue from sources such as casinos, is being revisited and refigured. While this is a step in the right direction, there’s still a lot of room for improvement.
The next regular meeting of the Sheldon Community Schools Board has been tentatively set for Wednesday, September 12th, 2018, at 5:00 pm in the high school library.
