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Columbia CUSD 4 board approves up to $31M in debt certificates, adopts amended budget and advances district library policy work
Summary
The Columbia CUSD 4 Board of Education voted unanimously to authorize up to $31 million in debt certificates for a high-school construction project, approved the FY25 amended budget, signed intergovernmental agreements with Dupo for career and language courses and discussed a new library reconsideration policy that would bar re-review of a challenged book for four years.
The Columbia CUSD 4 Board of Education on Monday voted to authorize the issuance of up to $31 million in debt certificates to complete a high-school construction project, approved an amended fiscal-year 2025 budget and advanced multiple intergovernmental partnerships for career and language courses.
During a public hearing before the regular meeting, Superintendent Dr. Grody said the district presented the amended budget for 30 days with no public comments and noted that the education (ED) fund is about $734,000 in the red and the operations and maintenance (O&M) fund about $112,000 in the red, partly driven by unbudgeted purchases including a $575,000 ELA curriculum and new scoreboards. "I emailed it out to y'all. We had it on display for the last 30 days. There's been no comments, questions, or concerns brought to me regarding that," Dr. Grody said. The board approved the amended FY25 budget by roll call.
On the financing measure, board members heard from bond counsel and district legal counsel and then voted to approve the resolution "providing for the issue and sale of not to exceed $31 million of debt certificates to alter, repair, and equip district facilities." The motion carried on a roll-call vote with all present members voting yes.
The board also approved several administrative and contracting items on a largely unanimous consent: hiring para-professionals and teachers, extending the district's participation in the MSVIC employee-benefit and property-casualty pools, appointing Superintendent Dr. Grody as the district representative to the MSVIC board with Assistant Superintendent Dr. Gayy as alternate, and engaging new auditors (transcript spelling: Shufleboil) after a competitive review.
Administration brought three intergovernmental agreements with Dupo for instructional pathways and shared programming. The board approved agreements that will allow Columbia students to attend electrical pathway classes on the Dupo campus taught with union participation, host Dupo students in Columbia's German language courses at the high-school level, and accept Dupo students for agricultural education classes. Administration noted the arrangements may make students eligible for additional state vocational funding.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Gayy led a substantial presentation and board discussion about a draft district library/media plan and a formal reconsideration process for challenged materials. She said the draft plan is broken into three parts: selection procedures, a reconsideration procedure and an appendix of supporting resources. "Once a book is in this process, you cannot relook at that book for four years," she said, describing a provision borrowed from other districts' policies aimed at stabilizing collections and reducing repeat challenges. Board members pressed on practical details: whether parents would have access to lists of library holdings or classroom collections, whether materials would be removed from circulation during a complaint, and whether community members should sit on reconsideration panels. Some trustees said they preferred keeping review panels composed of district staff rather than an external community member to preserve consistent oversight.
Dr. Gayy also announced a $9,000 Project Lead The Way (PLTW) grant for the district's STEM program and described plans to pilot VR headsets in science classes. The district confirmed induction and mentoring events for new staff on June 25 and July 21–22.
In a facility update, trustees and administrators described recent onsite progress for the high-school addition: flatwork and concrete pours, conduit runs around the building, brickwork and window framing tie-ins, a planned dumpster enclosure, and stair installation. The board discussed scheduling a July walkthrough and a possible August ribbon-cutting when the project reaches further milestones.
The meeting concluded with routine board business and adjournment at 7:52 p.m.
Votes at a glance - Debt certificates (up to $31 million): approved, roll call — yes: Adam Hempkin; Andrea Corey; Greg Meyer; Lisa Schumacher; Tyson Search; Norin Friedrich. - FY25 amended school budget: approved, roll call — unanimous among present members. - Auditor engagement (Shufleboil, transcript): approved, roll call — unanimous among present members. - Intergovernmental agreements with Dupo (electrical, German, agricultural courses): each approved, roll call — unanimous among present members. - MSVIC employee benefits and property/casualty pool term extensions and board appointment of district representative: approved, roll call — unanimous among present members.
What happens next The board will adopt final policy language on library media and reconsideration at a future meeting; administration will circulate proposed wording ahead of the July meeting. The district will complete financing paperwork and proceed with the high-school construction work and schedule a site walkthrough for trustees before the planned ribbon-cutting later this summer.
