Ottumwa school board appoints new director, approves multiple contracts, adopts social‑skills curriculum and insurance renewals

The Ottumwa Comm School District board on June 16 appointed Dusty to fill the unexpired term of former director Jeremy Weller and approved a package of contracts, personnel settlements and fiscal items including adoption of a new social‑skills curriculum and insurance renewals.

The board voted to appoint Dusty to the board vacancy left by Jeremy Weller and swore him in at the meeting. Board members who discussed the two applicants — Dusty and Emar (also referenced as EMR in the record) — praised both letters of interest and said either candidate would be an asset. Several members cited familiarity with Dusty’s business experience as a factor in their vote. The board recorded the motion as passed by voice vote; a numeric roll-call tally was not specified in the minutes.

The board approved a number of construction and services contracts for district facilities. Major contract awards included Tomah High School renovations to Bayou State for $196,270; Musco for Fourth Street entrance parking‑lot lighting at $65,000; embark I.T. for Schaefer Stadium sound system at $43,310; Pickett for Eisenhower Elementary furniture at $43,093.27; B & T (Caden Concrete referenced in the record) for Eisenhower concrete repairs at $32,500; Land of Oz for Eisenhower landscaping (amount not specified in the record); McClure for the OHS Athletic Center alley project at $13,214.90; Walsh for Evans Middle School classroom door work at $13,265; Environmental Edge (Dustin Smith) for Wilson Elementary asbestos abatement at $25,750; and Floor to Ceiling for construction‑trades flooring at $23,180.10. For several projects the board noted how many requests for quotes were sent and how many bids were received; in one high‑school phase the board said it sent 19 requests and received a single bid. The board approved each contract…