The Pleasant Valley board opened a discussion of legislative priorities on Monday, asking directors to review recommended IASB resolutions and prepare to identify their top items for the association’s platform.

Staff explained the timeline: local recommendations are due to the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) in August for a final platform that lobbyists and board delegates will carry into the next legislative session. The district sends representation to IASB meetings where resolutions are debated and finalized.

Directors repeatedly returned to funding concerns. The presenter said several federal Title programs normally arrive July 1 and that the district was awaiting approximately $87,000 in federal dollars that had not been released by that date. The group also discussed the district’s reliance on supplemental state aid (SSA) and the state property‑tax funding formula.

“We were 0.3 percentage points away from being in a budget guarantee,” a board member said, describing how a small change in SSA can have large budget consequences for a district. Board members noted that changes to SSA or at‑risk funding proposals could affect the district by roughly a million dollars in some scenarios.

Board members also flagged mental‑health services as a continuing priority. Staff noted that Pleasant Valley currently employs school‑based therapists and counselors in all buildings but that funding sources such as Scott County DCAT had reduced support. The presenter said a $10,000 federal title allocation typically used to support mental‑health staff was still pending.

Directors discussed state and federal uncertainty, including pending questions about Medicaid reimbursement for services the district provides. One director urged colleagues to remain in regular contact with state legislators year‑round, not only during sessions, because federal and state policy shifts are happening quickly.

The board did not finalize priorities at the meeting. Staff asked that directors come to the next meeting prepared with their top three priorities so the board can select three or four items the district will promote through IASB advocacy.

Staff recommended a short exercise at the next meeting to capture board members’ top three choices on easels; directors noted that last year the district’s top priorities included high‑quality teacher workforce, staff/student mental health, and PK–12 funding (SSA).