At their meeting earlier this week, the Webster City Community School Board heard presentations from its director of teaching and learning Jama Hisler and school building admistrators regarding school attendance and discipline matters at all attendance centers in the district. They each addressed how they handle discipline issues with each student and presented statistics from their schools.
Webster City school superintendent Matt Berninghaus walked the board through the hiring process for the Pleasant View Principal and High School Assistant Principal positions.. The process will consist of the following. They are to establish position criteria, launch an elementary principal stakeholder survey to the staff and community, advertise the open position, initial screening of applicants, conduct a phone interview of select applicants, conduct fit interview of selected applicants followed by the selection and recommendation of the Pleasant View Principal and High School Assistant Principal to the Webster City School Board. Berninghaus also proposed providing family health benefits to the new Pleasant View Principal and High School Assistant Principal as this would be considered a typical administrative benefit package and would allow the district to attract and retain high quality administrators.
Superintendent Berninghaus announced a recent meeting he had with Gene Gourley, Phil Voge as well as school district representatives regarding the potential of a Career Agriculture Academy in Webster City. The group scaled back the project down and hope to construct the project during the 2024-25 school year and anticipate the completion of the project in time for the 2025-26 school year with an educational focus on meat science, livestock production and animal science. The group is looking to find out where the board’s thoughts are regarding support of the Career Agriculture Academy.
In other matters at this week’s meeting, the Webster City Community School Board approved the request from the High School basketball team to sell raffle tickets for a half court shot, the Prom to seek parent donations and to hold a bake sale, High School boys soccer to host an indoor soccer tournament and the High School girls soccer team to sell apparel for the upcoming season.
The Webster City school board accepted a $500 donation to the Webster City FFA program from Alberta and Phil Voge, a $1,700 donation to the Northeast Hamilton Elementary School from the Friends of Williams and a $2000 donation to the Northeast Hamilton Elementary Nurse Special Needs fund from Shirley and Robert Hansel.
A cooperative agreement with the University of Iowa was approved by the Webster City School Board to provide student of the College of Education to apply the methods, skills and standards of licensed professionals. Resignations from Middle School Special Education instructor Sarah Ausenhus, paraeducator Tim Willaby and secretary Rubi Ramos were accepted by the board. The early retirement requests from high school math teachers Trish Bahrenfuss and Karen Daniels, Kindergarten instructor Mary Jane Hinderks, Title 1 instuctor Denise Vulgamott,Technology and TAG instructor Julie Pagel,Special Education instructors Brenda Cummins Watson and Amy Steen, TAG instructor Patsy Brock and Administrator Kelly Reis.
The board approved the following hirings including Trey Tempel for High School English, Deb Nelson as a 10 month secretary for Pleasant View and Paraeducator Megan Crawford at Pleasant View.
The next meeting for the Webster City Community School Board will be held on Monday,February 12 at the school office at 6:00 P.M.