Ottumwa board approves substitute pay increase, school purchases, stadium lease and property sale

The Ottumwa Comm School District board unanimously approved a series of routine and facility actions at its meeting.

Certified substitute pay: The board approved a proposal to increase pay for daily certified substitutes from $150 to $225 per day for certified substitutes, a change administrators said would help attract certified and endorsed substitutes and support instructional quality.

Board policy: The board approved a first reading of proposed board policy updates.

OHS furniture purchase: Staff asked the board to approve purchase of 400 chairs and 200 tables for the Ottumwa High School gym and events. The district solicited an RFQ to six furniture vendors, received five responses and identified School Specialty as the low bidder; staff said purchasing will yield about a three-year return on investment compared with rental costs (staff cited a roughly $18,600 three‑year rental average at Bridgeview Center).

OHS gym floor replacement: The board approved awarding demolition and replacement of the old Ottumwa High School gym floor to Phillips Floor for $140,340. Facilities staff said the project is required after significant water damage from a sprinkler-system failure and that the work will be funded through insurance proceeds related to the failure.

Indian Hills — Schaefer Stadium lease: The board approved a five-year lease agreement with Indian Hills for stadium use (track and soccer). The presenter described a multi-year payment schedule in the transcript that appears as “first year 20000, second year '21, and then the last 3 years for 22 5” in the record; the presenter said the lease is intended to offset maintenance costs for track and turf.

Real estate sale — 1112 North Van Buren Street: The board approved the sale of the district’s construction trades project property at 1112 North Van Buren Street. The presenter said the total amount of the sale was $62,625,000 and that the buyer would take the property in its current condition; the transcript notes inspections will occur but the buyer agreed not to request additional improvements beyond what inspections identify as appropriate for the district to fix.

Vote counts: The transcript records motions, seconds and voice/hand-raise approvals but does not list individual vote tallies; where a mover and seconder were recorded in the transcript they are noted in the meeting minutes but individual yes/no votes are not provided in the record.

What’s next: Actions with associated contracts and purchases will proceed to implementation per staff recommendations; no board actions were tabled or failed during the meeting.