[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6690242,"mediaKeyId","2366731-16c153c9ba0017115a8f4f58d6e9befd","parentId",2366731,"title","Board approves consent agenda, grants, agreements, policies and early graduates","audioSeconds",199,"startMs",19000,"endMs",218000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2366731-16c153c9ba0017115a8f4f58d6e9befd&start=19&end=218","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2366731-16c153c9ba0017115a8f4f58d6e9befd/thumbnail_19000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6690242/Iowa/Board-approves-consent-agenda-grants-agreements-policies-and-early-graduates","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6690242-dffa58241fe0e8c9a18e30b4ed1e327a/orig.mp4?Expires=1777173322&Signature=UkcTl4c168aIWn-3pZ-DV1ps~HwZVTfq07msCL8hAWckH03kHLsfXYkE9DBl~8x4AbDMySd4oayT7gRTJ9YkIxq-WeTYlkHwEZgf2K4NxjkIz06l9ICm5ztTSVZEtTeV3AlbzzTk7npSNvrY7D0Wuyf8N4eGXxvdBQD7eqLETBG6dnhN5M8DH8cyBnwz38iGhg46sjNKdiehIHhgpLsiX3NHn~-kXIMG0JL2t7uZsB1N83tl-euh0Aoh-odKx8yxS~BeB5IX2XN4xa2ALZL5Vzl8-RIN44x8wexq-0D2WBd7RIyZi0wXg-fXGe5q~MJwuRXS8p2Yd~BWm~Spoo25WA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Southeast Polk Comm School District ","date","2025-02-21T01:14:24.307Z","article","The Southeast Polk Community School District Board of Directors approved a series of routine motions and grant awards during its Feb. 20 meeting, voting unanimously on the consent agenda and several individual items.

Votes at a glance
- Motion to adopt the Feb. 20 agenda: approved (motion made and seconded; roll call recorded as unanimous yes).
- Consent agenda (minutes, routine personnel and claims): approved (unanimous).
- Confirmation of next hearings/meetings for March 6 and March 27: approved (unanimous).
- Cooperative sharing agreements: approved (motion, second; unanimous).
- Prairie Meadows Betterment Grant: motion to approve proposed grant projects approved (unanimous).
- District Summer 2025 projects: motion to approve approved (unanimous).
- Second reading and approval of policies (600 series): approved (motion, second; unanimous).
- Second-grade of policies for annual review (annual review cycle): approved (unanimous).
- Early high school graduates: approved (motion, second; unanimous).

Several motions were seconded and carried with recorded roll-call \"Yes\" votes from board members present. No item was tabled or failed during the meeting.

Ending: Most items were routine approvals with limited discussion; significant policy or budget decisions were reserved for future meetings.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Southeast Polk Community School District Board Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The Southeast Polk Community School District Board of Directors approved a series of routine motions and grant awards during its Feb. 20 meeting, voting unanimously on the consent agenda and several individual items.","taxTitle","Southeast Polk Comm School District, School Districts, Iowa","taxId",38786,"location","Iowa","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6690247,"Southeast Polk board hears budget outlook, warned federal cuts could force tax increase",577,762000,1339000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2366731-16c153c9ba0017115a8f4f58d6e9befd&start=762&end=1339","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2366731-16c153c9ba0017115a8f4f58d6e9befd/thumbnail_762000.jpg","/articles/6690247/Iowa/Southeast-Polk-board-hears-budget-outlook-warned-federal-cuts-could-force-tax-increase","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6690247-d6dbb7526c5dfb08f757fac7f7f0ce48/orig.mp4?Expires=1777173322&Signature=WQ0mCn0UkEgQqc9exqjpxOq1F-tkyv9sJDgjqopcJSHzGNsirUEtEMDgapikNLwn3FCZzLw1A5dhYV7hWXhhaYOBV4DE1UVvnWgI-~-LC4QQ21LDh5JiicAWrxHVnXvR9Wnl4rpOD23vuZ9fDWNh3I~ELr~7zegFyRlAuJYuP87hZbMjl4YtQui1rC~aQzoWo3Gu-MYCZW~juVZDi2pDggTqSw~Ejg5qRGjDOcMRGpanSHz1Utyshlc8vdZABlJBVFFt~BE~yhiWzUeqUkCkXeg6YZpS0RxMjDQQZ2PrqXNiCCOD5YR-7pwsn0InL39UZ39HUoQ2ZfHtTuzv6Gn2VQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Southeast Polk Community School District officials presented January financials and a preliminary 2026 budget outlook at the Feb. 20 school board meeting, warning that a loss of federal special-education funding could force the district to raise property taxes by roughly $1 per $1,000 of assessed value to maintain current services.

The district's business services presenter said revenues are up 5% and expenditures up 7% through January, with personnel costs rising about 9.7%, electric and gas costs up 20.6% and building mechanical/HVAC repairs up about 58% compared with last year. The presenter added that, across all funds, revenues are down 6.2% but would be up 3.7% if debt proceeds are removed from the comparison.

The presentation framed the larger 2026-budget picture around Supplemental State Aid (SSA). The superintendent and business staff said the governor and Senate had proposed a 2% SSA increase while the House proposal was higher; the district is considering publishing its budget using a 3% SSA assumption to preserve flexibility even if actual SSA is lower. The presenter noted that moving the SSA assumption from 2% to 3% would change district receipts by only a few thousand dollars but gives the administration more options when finalizing the budget.

Why it matters: district staff told the board that federal programs fund substantial services. The business services presenter explained that the district receives IDEA-funded staff, Medicaid reimbursements for special-education services and roughly $6.5 million in food-service revenues (about half of which are federal reimbursements). \"If we didn't receive the money specifically for special education and everything else had [sic] held constant, in order to get that money back ... we'd have to increase our tax rate by about a dollar,\" the presenter said, describing the mechanics of restoring cash via property tax levies.

Board members pressed staff on timing and communications. The superintendent reported the district has reached exactly the Iowa-code minimum of 1,080 instructional hours and has missed 14.5 instructional hours this winter; he recommended waiting to decide on make-up days until later in spring. Several board members criticized posts on social media and outside comments that they said portrayed the board as having decided to raise taxes or cut programs, emphasizing that the budget numbers presented were hypothetical projections.

Discussion also covered publishing requirements. Business staff said state law requires the district to publish the maximum dollars it could receive (the Publication A notice) and that publishing a higher SSA assumption does not obligate the board to raise taxes; it preserves flexibility while the legislature finalizes state funding.

The board did not adopt final budget figures at the meeting. Staff told the board they expect to schedule two public hearings and aim for board adoption by April 10, noting the April 30 statutory deadline for final budget action. The business office also reported completion of the annual audit, continued work with auditors on the written report, and that the Government Finance Officers Association renewed the district's certificate for accurate reporting.

Board members asked for clearer, unified messaging to the public so that hypothetical projections are not presented as final decisions. The board agreed to continue discussions at upcoming meetings and to provide additional materials before public outreach.

Ending: Staff said they will return with refined projections and the information needed for Publication A and the required public hearings; no budget vote was taken at the Feb. 20 meeting.","District business staff presented January financials and a 2026 budget preview that flagged risks from potential federal funding losses and discussed publishing a Supplemental State Aid (SSA) assumption. Board members pressed for consistent public messaging after social media posts suggested tax increases and program cuts.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6690237,"Board hears updates from academic core task forces on literacy, math and science",792,2333000,3125000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2366731-16c153c9ba0017115a8f4f58d6e9befd&start=2333&end=3125","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2366731-16c153c9ba0017115a8f4f58d6e9befd/thumbnail_2333000.jpg","/articles/6690237/Iowa/Board-hears-updates-from-academic-core-task-forces-on-literacy-math-and-science","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6690237-787c9c65802968bb4df68334eb92b29c/orig.mp4?Expires=1777173322&Signature=C7ZiB7BEIyZRFVTqiszQScbQ43msLseNv5orUuBoJbOfkracSQd3xfc10GKXTcQuyZeQJI757je7fC4pKcojSbWdB7YwDFCbpfXes05pN1DJZ1ZbYBQdJM58lHztg~xS-woLr0LS2xSOCDyojPw08UZtsXJg3BJID5nTNSXVn9v0TylWxrDVtb1zvW5H1aEtKrih6QcLlAi-ZkTK81LGvrXaY6X2G9X1xKJCF3LeJSPyZaztCjzJVRFwpVe0Edo~WSDSeqRa2VpVCOHOv5jgegP2pvGusNcFVmteE2IoSGz1OiCdtw1TBdrjoMW9cd-OahL3TKTRUZK~eL8H9t5l5Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Southeast Polk Community School District staff updated the board Feb. 20 on a districtwide task-force effort focused on the academic core: disciplinary literacy, mathematics and science. The work is structured as a three-year initiative to strengthen Tier 1 instruction and to sustain improvements across K-12.

Task-force members told the board the work began in September and that this first year emphasized learning, data review and building common understandings across elementary, middle and high schools. The disciplinary literacy team reported analyzing reading data and said district averages for grades 3 through 11 showed about 73% of students meeting reading benchmarks; staff said the district's Tier 1 goal is 80% or higher and that instruction needs to reflect increasing complexity of texts and critical-thinking demands as students advance.

Math teacher leaders said elementary proficiency rates have been higher than secondary levels since the pandemic and the team is working to transfer elementary successes into secondary classrooms. The math task force described professional learning, conference participation and building-level goals driven by local data.

The science coordinator said state assessment data are available for fifth, eighth and tenth grades and the team is collecting additional near-term benchmark data (released state items and other measures) to track progress across third through fifth and ninth and tenth grades. Staff emphasized developing a guaranteed and viable curriculum so students have consistent, grade-appropriate science learning across multiple buildings.

The board and staff described the plan as: year 1 ' overview and alignment; year 2 ' implementation; year 3 ' impact and sustainability. Board members thanked teacher leaders and staff for the work and asked that future updates include measures of impact as the initiative moves into implementation.

Ending: Staff said they will return with spring updates and impact measures as the district moves from year-one learning into implementation.","District task forces reported progress on disciplinary literacy, mathematics and science work tied to district improvement goals and teacher leadership. Teams described year-one learning, a three-year plan and early data showing gaps to target for implementation.","actionData","errors"]

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Board approves consent agenda, grants, agreements, policies and early graduates

Southeast Polk board hears budget outlook, warned federal cuts could force tax increase

Board hears updates from academic core task forces on literacy, math and science