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Ottumwa school board approves 2026-27 calendar, employee handbook and a 50-cent cut to school levy
Summary
The Ottumwa Comm School District board voted to approve the 2026-27 school calendar and employee handbook, authorized a budget-guarantee option and approved a locked natural-gas contract while announcing a proposed 50-cent drop in the district’s school property tax levy (from 14.66 to 14.16).
The Ottumwa Comm School District Board voted Tuesday to approve the district’s 2026-27 school calendar and employee handbook, authorized a contingency budget-guarantee resolution and approved a locked natural-gas contract while district staff said they are proposing a 50-cent reduction in the school portion of the property tax levy.
The board’s calendar committee presented several adjustments to the proposed 2026-27 calendar, including moving November parent-teacher conferences, avoiding school on Dec. 23 with an early dismissal on Dec. 22, adding teacher work days in January and February, and shifting spring break and March conferences to align with regional schedules. Committee member Brad said the changes were made after feedback from parents and staff and recommended board approval; the board moved, seconded and approved the calendar by voice vote.
Sarah Hopkins, the district’s HR manager, described the employee-handbook updates as additions intended to increase transparency about HR practices. “The changes that you have in front of you are additions rather than edits just to get some more transparency to how we practice in HR,” Hopkins said. The board approved the handbook changes after committee review.
On district finances, staff announced a proposed reduction of the school levy from 14.66 to 14.16 per $1,000 of taxable valuation — a 50-cent drop. A finance presenter explained the adjustment and cautioned that county property-tax statements can appear misleading because rollback and valuation assumptions (the county statement assumes a 10% valuation increase) affect the printed percentage change; using the district’s estimate of a 5% residential valuation increase, staff estimated the typical homeowner would see about a 4.8% decrease in school-related taxes.
The board also took a formal step on the budget-guarantee program, authorizing the district to request a state “budget guarantee” (101% of budget) should declining enrollment or other financial conditions require it. Staff said the authorization is precautionary and does not obligate the district to use the guarantee. The board approved the resolution by voice vote.
For energy procurement, staff recommended renewing participation in the Iowa Local Government Risk Pool to lock natural-gas pricing; the contract was presented at $197,493.90 for the year, roughly $20,000 less than the prior year. The board approved entering the contract, which staff said reduces the district’s exposure to market spikes.
Votes at a glance: the board approved the consent agenda; adopted the 2026-27 school calendar; approved the 2026-27 employee handbook; approved minor policy updates (Items C and D); authorized the budget-guarantee resolution; and approved the natural-gas contract. In all cases the board moved, seconded and carried the motions by voice vote with no recorded roll-call tallies announced.
The board’s next scheduled public hearing on the property tax levy is set for April 6; final levy approval will be considered at the board’s late-April meeting.
