[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-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",[32,76,88,100],{"_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",6069792,"mediaKeyId","3066730-afca6978579ed88ee7eb9499414702f2","parentId",3066730,"title","Votes at a glance: Marshalltown board actions Feb. 10, 2025","audioSeconds",4591,"startMs",8025000,"endMs",12616000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3066730-afca6978579ed88ee7eb9499414702f2&start=8025&end=12616","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3066730-afca6978579ed88ee7eb9499414702f2/thumbnail_8025000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6069792/Iowa/Votes-at-a-glance-Marshalltown-board-actions-Feb-10-2025","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6069792-5ac66a24857173bf2fc52461a7075868/orig.mp4?Expires=1770523088&Signature=ag1LdmuVtqCBoY2IAdly5yxKHNYfafq9UiMBz5Dxuy3adTHk97ENFhcbGYBlIfd00UwcfVLwoVfKg0XS-vG1nFRKA2xRxX6EaIOzu8G~ICx~V0MLFj2hhhFU-DbzwGbvtrAEI0fuwR5Ze0B4QxvK-sxcrUh-vQf09Xy3MCAVcIZADZ~dE5LZRfAYv2UCYafCsUVqDnOrNQrkRiiCKncw34901M8-SCpOIXwU5tGD4DYhB9S7FX1l4C0XyyO38ksbZ4qIzohlwgqYWYnVVg~OO37lODdjfoKQgnrJGja7fF56E5LjEWJRnPwD~mTpF5KjNAn-2oZ6hvmQVej8psp4lA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Marshalltown CSD","date","2025-02-03T00:00:00Z","article","The Marshalltown Community School District board recorded the following formal actions at its Feb. 10, 2025 regular meeting. Items listed reflect motions, vote outcomes and key details as captured in the meeting transcript.

1) Consent agenda (personnel, contracts, open enrollments, interagency agreements) — Outcome: approved; voice vote recorded as 7–0. Included: hiring Benjamin Leconner as district director of special education (appointment effective July 1, 2025, as presented in consent agenda).

2) Retirement recognition for Dave Doherty — ceremonial; no policy action.

3) Public hearing: Proposed 2025–26 school calendar — Hearing opened and closed; final action on calendar later in meeting.

4) Approve proposed 2025–26 school calendar — Motion carried 7–0 (calendar adopted as presented).

5) Flashlight Insight pilot (English learner benchmarks) — Approve pilot quote $12,500 (Title III funds) — Motion carried 7–0. Staff to pilot in spring 2025 and report back.

6) Flashlight/Elevation follow-ups — No licensing vote; staff to return with cost/frequency options and Elevation licensing recommendations.

7) Cambro Pro Cart Ultras (food transport carts) — Approve purchase of 4 carts, low bid Douglas, $27,468.95 — Motion carried 7–0.

8) Solution Tree All Means All institute (teacher-quality professional learning) — Approve purchase agreement, $284,525, to be paid from Teacher Quality funds (TQ) — Motion carried 7–0.

9) Flashlight pilot (again listed on agenda) — (duplicate of item 5) approved 7–0.

10) Miller High School CTE change order No. 9 — Approve change order totaling $86,464.76 (CTE project change order #9) — Motion carried 7–0. Board discussion indicated remaining contractor items and an upcoming final change order to resolve unresolved adjustments.

11) Audio Enhancement / elementary AV quote (Bloom) — Approve quote $1,242,303.58 — Motion carried (voice recorded as 6–0 in transcript; board moved forward with phased camera plan deferred to later date).

12) Piper Sandler financial services agreement (bond fiscal agent) — Approve financial services agreement for forthcoming bond and revenue bond sales — Motion carried (recorded as 6–0 with 1 abstention on related item in transcript).

13) Piper Sandler dissemination agent agreement (EMMA filings) — Approve dissemination agreement — Motion carried (6–0 with 1 abstention recorded on related financial matters).

14) Approve purchase of four Cambro carts (repeat of item 7) — Motion carried 7–0.

15) Policies — Approve updated language in policies 502.09 (interviews of students by law enforcement/outside agencies) R1, 506.02, and related exhibits; waive second reading — Motion carried 7–0.

Misc.: The board discussed the certified budget timeline, pre-levy options to accelerate bond repayment and an instructional support levy renewal process; no action on ISL was taken, but staff will return with resolutions and timelines ahead of the April 30 certified-budget deadline.

Ending: For follow-up on any vote above, the responsible department is listed in the board minutes. Staff will return with required implementation reports and additional financial detail as required by board requests.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Marshalltown CSD Presentation February 3, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","A concise list of formal actions taken by the Marshalltown Community School District board at its Feb. 10 meeting, with amounts, outcomes and next steps.","taxTitle","Marshalltown Comm School District, School Districts, Iowa","taxId",38276,"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},6069797,"Board OKs $1.24 million elementary audio-visual / paging system; cameras left for later phase",589,6694000,7283000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3066730-afca6978579ed88ee7eb9499414702f2&start=6694&end=7283","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3066730-afca6978579ed88ee7eb9499414702f2/thumbnail_6694000.jpg","/articles/6069797/Iowa/Board-OKs-124-million-elementary-audio-visual-paging-system-cameras-left-for-later-phase","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6069797-e1588eb1291ee9852608d9a06e14bf4d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770523088&Signature=gAPgRjOj-cg-Pas9jf1v508i0HXOenNUV1pZpEg7Z6EdfwAng-TldQzbVTW2SZl6CZnauu-7bpOSR83EbGc738Ps46Etv~N7VoWJ3O4uYs6A2Bb~Dvh~n22nHqFUZ4uuZQni6Sv5i5SqfHHaMEPmxSEsp9Pj7~hxu-VGN6l98e2N7U63OkxHzmKSOKWiU~3l6Y0vc2Qla6kvGQuXWN6XMjSKg15f1mu8XwRvfMr5nMSYWsFMEAk6l2A3fGsJhGTQ-gs04NcGaBb8v-~nKhSV0Q37giU1kTYvyRH5R7QYW8cdysRdURcVFzZoSJj0tZEcelNes71gFAcwQcI~x~vlzw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Marshalltown Community School District board voted Feb. 10 to approve a $1,242,303.58 contract to install audio enhancement systems—paging, bells, intercom and classroom audio—across the district’s elementary schools, with classroom camera expansion deferred to a later phase.

Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte and technology staff said many elementary buildings lacked consistent intercom and hall/ gym paging, a situation they called a safety and operational gap. The approved package, delivered by Audio Enhancement through Bloom, includes classroom audio amplification, building-wide paging and prerecorded drill functionality. The system was described as scalable to add classroom-view cameras later, but the district recommended postponing camera installs this summer to limit the number of IP devices and switches to commission during a busy construction and deployment season.

Audio Enhancement regional director Emma Washbush presented system capabilities: prerecorded drill templates, live announcements from anywhere in the district network, integrated bell/paging across gyms and cafeterias, and future integration options with security-camera feeds. District staff stressed the phased approach was chosen to ensure reliable summer deployment and to reduce training and network workload for IT staff.

Board action: The motion to approve the Audio Enhancement quote from Bloom for $1,242,303.58 carried (voice vote recorded as 6–0 in the transcript); one board member was recorded as abstaining on a later financial item but the audiovisual motion passed. The board instructed staff to proceed with summer installation scheduling and to return with a camera-phase plan if budgets and IT capacity permit.

Ending: District leaders said the system will provide consistent bell and paging functions long requested by elementary principals, add safety features such as layered prerecorded emergency communications, and create a technology backbone that could support classroom cameras in a later, funded phase.","Marshalltown board approved a $1,242,303.58 quote to upgrade paging, bells and classroom audio in all elementary schools; the board declined adding classroom cameras now to reduce summer installation complexity and cost.",{"_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},6069804,"Board approves $12,500 pilot of Flashlight language benchmarks for English learners",1374,6446000,7820000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3066730-afca6978579ed88ee7eb9499414702f2&start=6446&end=7820","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3066730-afca6978579ed88ee7eb9499414702f2/thumbnail_6446000.jpg","/articles/6069804/Iowa/Board-approves-12500-pilot-of-Flashlight-language-benchmarks-for-English-learners","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6069804-04501d7b086616fa40ba7d355791604a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770523088&Signature=RhuxoGuN6nuPzeCAUsmQwMdA~Lu~D-Eo2CfpHSEioAyWs6KqBRn0OB0JudDrUOrJVWn2tzAGxUnqQOpE7Qbg6iAdT1tGSSMRuc95eJ-sZmVG2EatBKYgte8hvDdIXK7Wbn7o5NFYfqTYk-hMh-JdCzMfkUWsE5C1ahPUkob97f6MiEkAPXd3jKgT8iRFnlhUqc8qK772DChZ1o9bplxQavJqj59Y5r5diEnOYVcgc8M0NWj9bo74viPZvkhsjAMe5HbBEAqxaQUJ3PwLfcww2zD-NogKiGJCDes4kYHoqDaA-luuWoH-xZqY-HGPUJ22y69AjjlETA2~DaD1gj4qEQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Marshalltown Community School District approved a $12,500 pilot on Feb. 10 to test Flashlight Learning’s benchmark assessments for English learners and review a data-management platform called Elevation, which district staff say will provide benchmark and progress-monitoring data beyond the once-a-year ELPA21 assessment.

Rachel Inks, the district’s EL coordinator, presented the Lau plan and the district’s LEAP goals for English learners, saying elementary and intermediate buildings exceeded state targets on ELPA21 growth while secondary buildings lagged. Inks described Flashlight Insight as a benchmark that measures speaking, writing and related subskills and that can be administered two or three times a year; Flashlight’s scoring of spoken and written prompts is performed by trained raters and produces targeted next-step recommendations for students and teachers.

Why it matters: Inks told the board the district currently lacks frequent, comparable districtwide benchmarks for EL speaking and writing, meaning teachers rely on once-a-year ELPA21 and local qualitative checks. Flashlight and Elevation together are designed to provide more frequent indicators so teachers can adapt instruction. Inks said she budgeted the pilot from Title III funds and will return with recommendations about scale and cost (per-pupil options were presented) after teachers evaluate the pilot.

Board action: A motion to approve the Flashlight pilot in the amount of $12,500 passed 7–0. The board also discussed a future request to license the Elevation platform (data visualization) and to select one of several frequency options (two or three benchmarks per year, K–12 or 1–12), with estimated annual costs presented to the board for later consideration.

District context: Inks described the pilot as targeted (initial administration planned for spring 2025) and said one school (Woodbury) would assess all students so the district could compare EL and non-EL language indicators. Staff emphasized that the pilot’s deliverable is diagnostic: benchmarks should help teachers target instruction rather than replace annual ELPA21 reporting.

Ending: The board approved the pilot and asked staff to return with teacher feedback and cost scenarios for scaling Flashlight and for implementation of the Elevation data platform.","Marshalltown board approved a district pilot of Flashlight Learning’s benchmark assessment for English learners and discussed a data-management platform (Elevation) to track EL growth.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6069808,"Marshalltown board reviews attendance data, state law implications after ‘day without immigrants’",2126,4291000,6417000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3066730-afca6978579ed88ee7eb9499414702f2&start=4291&end=6417","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3066730-afca6978579ed88ee7eb9499414702f2/thumbnail_4291000.jpg","/articles/6069808/Iowa/Marshalltown-board-reviews-attendance-data-state-law-implications-after-day-without-immigrants","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6069808-3ea74846ec643c0a3b01f34e0052f162/orig.mp4?Expires=1770523088&Signature=hOkt5labU8DGAMWoCTJm4oomRcKhpR3aK35a6mMc3-24rJFd2k-cAdpReruyQs47dtr5bDrKdTL67shD6mB9joPOe0ctUCMP3T1knS2PRk6tVkJO4O9X-m5h8aUyNHSXIqqfZoPOhwy-G1cuT0ibJWy5zI0UzXjpyvmB50lY9UqQmgM6Uwg2pEB8ngOIesTQlF7y2rRiFarmvyLk2-v~UpEBLP0wCgyOuGYpjB2KQf6MNYTq~wnAqSGHZJV0KDRk59iQrrGznPYGqVGwxAj1w~yZbV-sXHb0Ll6Y9KrYvQFFzQZIf3bTg6YUXu7BHX5UGf62PzrFQUzyQwrEvqjDuw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Marshalltown Community School District officials on Feb. 10 presented detailed attendance data, described how state reporting differs from the district’s internal counts, and outlined steps the district is taking to address chronic absenteeism after a large absence event tied to a community action.

District attendance lead Dr. Elizabeth Harris Medina told the board that the district treats unexcused absences as its priority for intervention and that state reporting counts all absences (excused and unexcused). She said the district had 5,325 active students at the end of the fall semester and reported 598 students with unexcused absences (about 11 percent) while the state’s chronic-absence figure (which includes excused absences) was roughly 24.6 percent for that reporting window.

Those differences matter for how and when the district intervenes, Harris Medina said: “We really want to focus on those unexcused absences because that’s where we see the danger,” she told the board. She explained the district follows the new Iowa attendance policy thresholds (10 percent: notice; 15 percent: mandatory attendance meeting; 20 percent: truancy) and that filing certified letters and required meetings can be costly and time-consuming.

Why it matters: Board members pressed staff to explain family trips, coding, and exemptions. The district allows five excused family-trip days if parents notify the school five days in advance; further days become unexcused. Principals told the board those local practices influence families’ choices and sometimes create confusion: “Right now they’re viewing it as they have 14 days,” Principal Anelle Garza said, describing a typical parent calculation that combines excused and unexcused allowances. The district is working to standardize coding and messaging across buildings.

Interventions and results: Harris Medina summarized a tiered set of strategies the district is using. Tier 1 is broad messaging (monthly attendance notices, school climate work); Tier 2 includes early intervention such as outreach and attendance groups; Tier 3 includes individualized plans, home visits and, when necessary, referral to the county attorney. She reported a fall-to-winter improvement: chronic absentee rates rose in January during widespread illness but remained below last year’s peak (a 4 percentage-point improvement compared with the previous year at the same point).

Impact of Feb. 3 action: Woodbury Elementary principal Annelle (Anel) Garza described participation in a Feb. 3 “day without immigrants,” saying the school experienced a 38 percent absentee rate that day and that staff held debriefings to support students and employees emotionally. Garza and other staff framed the event as an example of community voice and said the district’s follow-up emphasized safe spaces and support for returning students.

Board discussion and next steps: Board members and administrators agreed the state law’s fixed reporting windows complicate comparisons with semester-based local calculations. Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte and staff said they will continue – and scale – attendance meetings and parent education sessions, expand districtwide best practices learned in buildings such as Woodbury, and continue to work with state representatives on clarifying legislation and implementation realities.

The board did not take formal action on policy at the meeting, but staff said they will return with clearer metrics, proposed standardizations for coding family trips, and a recommended communications plan for parents and staff to reduce confusion about excused versus unexcused absences.

Ending: District leaders told the board they will keep reporting attendance trends and outreach outcomes at future meetings and pursue grant, community and state-level options to reduce chronic absenteeism and support at-risk students.","District staff presented new attendance figures, explained differences between district and state reporting, and described outreach and interventions after a large student absentee event tied to immigrant solidarity actions.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Votes at a glance: Marshalltown board actions Feb. 10, 2025

Board OKs $1.24 million elementary audio-visual / paging system; cameras left for later phase

Board approves $12,500 pilot of Flashlight language benchmarks for English learners

Marshalltown board reviews attendance data, state law implications after ‘day without immigrants’