Ottumwa school board approves Hazel Health teletherapy, OHS fire-alarm contract and multiple summer facility projects; flags confusing property-tax notice

The Ottumwa Community School District Board of Education on Feb. 20 approved a range of contracts and projects including a districtwide teletherapy memorandum with Hazel Health, awarded the replacement of the Ottumwa High School (OHS) fire alarm and intercom system, and cleared multiple summer facility bids while district finance staff cautioned residents that upcoming property-tax notices will likely show large percentage increases that do not reflect final tax rates.

The board voted to allow Hazel Health to provide teletherapy services in district buildings at no direct cost to the district, a program the district said would be funded by a state grant and by billing insurance or Medicaid where available. “We were selected, by the state to do this two year trial,” Mike said during the presentation, describing a rollout beginning in July with equipment and training provided to district staff. The board approved the Hazel Health memorandum of understanding by voice vote.

Superintendent and finance staff also walked the board through changes to property-tax notice formatting that the district must submit by the March 5 deadline. John, a district staff member who led the explanation, said the notices include an assumed 10% increase in assessed value and a rollback factor that together can print a large apparent increase even if the district does not raise its tax rate. “That statement’s gonna show some big numbers. They don’t reflect how it’s actually gonna play out,” John said, urging the public to look at the tax rate and to await the district’s formal budget presentation later in March for clearer figures.

On capital projects, the board awarded multiple summer contracts for OHS and other district facilities. The board approved the OHS fire alarm and intercom replacement contract to Van Monen at a bid price of $368,760 after staff said three firms submitted bids and the winning bid was roughly $80,000 below the next-lowest. Board member Dave Wallbrenner urged close oversight of the project given the discrepancy in bids: “When we see this big of a discrepancy ... sometimes it feels like the change order it up,” Wallbrenner said. Staff told the board the bid specifications were engineer-reviewed and the vendor has recent positive work history with the district.

Other approved facility items scheduled for summer work included: Dalma Elementary carpet replacement ($77,232.89), James Elementary epoxy flooring ($12,970), OHS locker-room and coaches-office epoxy ($48,789), OHS wrestling-room window installation ($14,000), OHS media-center carpet ($35,543.77) and lighting upgrades (rooms 206 and 208, $13,250), exterior OHS lighting improvements ($203,000 total, described as $36,500 to finish downlighting on the building, $52,000 for walkway lighting and $115,000 for competition-gym perimeter lighting), and asbestos abatement and air monitoring in an OHS hallway (REW Services, $12,933; Eocene for air monitoring). The board approved those bids together.

The board also approved a demolition and controlled-burn agreement with the City of Ottumwa for training exercises on selected houses during spring break; staff clarified that three houses would be used for controlled burns and the fourth house would be demolished rather than burned because of a utility pole that feeds nearby houses. The board approved a sanitation services agreement with Bridge City Sanitation LLC, an FRK agreement for architectural support on Eisenhower secure entrance and James classroom walls/doors, and the sale of a construction house for $270,000 with a closing date set for March 12.

In other business, the board approved a request from the Ottumwa Youth City Council to attend the National Youth Service Learning Conference in Minnesota; Volunteer Iowa covered $4,260 in registration fees and the youth council said it was applying for additional grant funds for lodging and meals. The group requested to take six students and two advisors. “We have been invited to attend the National Youth Service Learning Conference in Minnesota,” Isabella Hoffman, speaking for the group, told the board during the presentation.

The board approved the 2025-26 school-year calendar after staff described two main calendar changes: two floating teacher days at the start of the year and moving an end-of-semester teacher work day from January into Presidents Day in February. The board also accepted a first reading of several policy updates, including a required Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) information-security policy and clarified language in the purchasing and bidding policy to note a district preference for local vendors where costs and other considerations are relatively equal. The policy changes were presented as a first reading and were advanced by the board.

Votes at a glance: most motions were passed by voice vote and recorded as approved. Six board members were present for roll call and one member, Jan Weetrick, was absent; board practice for these motions was unanimous approval of the items presented.

The superintendent said the district will present more detailed budget information at a later March meeting, and staff emphasized that the statutory format for the March tax notices limits how the numbers are displayed and can produce misleading percentage changes. The board adjourned after brief board member items.