District staff presented an update on the Regional Innovation Center (RIC), describing course offerings, funding sources and early capacity and partnership questions.

The presenter told the board the district has amassed donated equipment and outside funding to furnish the center, saying, “They donated $4,000,000 total,” and that the district received a $1,000,000 state Career Academy Incentive (CAPT) grant to support four required career academies. The presentation listed 37 unique courses delivered as 76 class sections, with 1,178 student enrollments counted in RIC seats and 522 distinct students (“unique number of 522”) attending RIC courses this year.

Why it matters: the RIC is intended to expand career-technical opportunities in the district and for neighboring districts via partnerships. Board members and staff focused on two operational issues: seat allocation for students from other districts, and the near-term ability to calculate the RIC’s operating costs.

District staff said the RIC will prioritize North Scott students because the district made the bulk of initial capital investments: “We put in a majority of money. We’re going to prioritize our students unless something changes the way the way that would happen,” the presenter said. Staff also noted that districts wanting guaranteed seats will need formal agreements and that the pricing and seat-allocation model remains to be negotiated.

The presentation described partnerships with Eastern Iowa Community College (EICC) to host or furnish some programs; the presenter said EICC donated equipment and that EICC staff will teach some courses. The board was shown details of funding sources for the center including an American Water grant to furnish a robotics room and donations from local builders and Tri City Electric for construction shop equipment. The presenter listed many named instructors and staff associated with RIC classes and said some staff now spend a majority of their time at RIC (for example, one instructor covers roughly 60% of his schedule at the center).

On operations and cost analysis, the presenter said a full-year of occupancy is needed to determine accurate utilities and staffing costs: because air-conditioning units were installed only this summer and have been running continuously, the district cannot yet finalize year-to-year cost estimates. Staff described which positions represent new or increased time at the RIC (for example, custodial and administrative time has increased) and said the staffing cost analysis will be completed after more months of operation.

Board members asked how neighboring districts would access seats and whether curricula taught at the RIC would count toward students’ home-district course lists. The presenter said the district has begun outreach to neighboring districts and to EICC to ensure the RIC courses are added to other districts’ course catalogs and handbooks so students can enroll.

The presenter outlined next steps: finalize staffing and cost analyses after a year of operations, clarify seat-allocation and pricing with partner districts, and bring updated policies and agreements back to the board. Staff indicated policy updates are pending and will return to a future meeting for formal consideration.

Ending: Staff described the RIC as an early success on programming and community support, while emphasizing that formal agreements and a year of operational data are needed before the district can finalize pricing, seat guarantees for outside districts, and a full cost model.