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Kenowa Hills board approves teacher and staff tentative agreements, appoints HR director and buys K–8 benchmark platform
Summary
At a special meeting Aug. 1, 2025, the Kenowa Hills Public Schools Board approved tentative agreements with teacher and support-staff unions, a 1% transportation pay increase, central office contract adjustments, appointed Dr. Cherie Horner as director of human resources and authorized purchase of the iReady K–8 benchmark platform.
The Kenowa Hills Public Schools Board of Education on Aug. 1 approved a slate of personnel and contract actions affecting teachers, support staff, transportation workers and district administrators.
Member Courtade moved and Member Turner supported approval of a tentative agreement with the Kenowa Hills Education Association (Report #25-051). Member Hart abstained from discussion and the subsequent roll-call vote because of a disclosed conflict of interest; Secretary Roberts recorded the motion as carried (6 yes, 0 no, 1 abstention). The minutes do not specify salary or benefit changes in the body of the minutes beyond referencing the report number.
The board also approved a tentative agreement with the Kenowa Hills Support Staff Association (Report #25-052). Member Courtade moved the action with Member Hart supporting; Trustee Robinson abstained from discussion and the roll-call vote due to a disclosed conflict of interest. Secretary Roberts recorded the motion as carried (6 yes, 0 no, 1 abstention).
Separately, the board approved a 1% cost-of-living increase for individuals covered under the Kenowa Hills Transportation Association (Article XIII.1), a motion moved by Member Hart and supported by Member Courtade; the motion carried on a roll-call vote recorded as 7-0.
The board approved cost-of-living and longevity increases for Kenowa Hills central office support staff and administrators as delineated in Report #25-054. Member Courtade moved the motion, Member Hart supported, and the vote carried 7-0. The minutes note Superintendent Hopkins said the superintendent's contract will need to be revisited to discuss a stipend for performing human-resources duties; no further details were recorded in the minutes.
Personnel actions approved on the consent agenda included retirements, resignations and new hires. Notable items recorded in the minutes: Ken Long was approved as Director of Finance (effective Aug. 1, 2025) with a prorated starting salary of $123,335 and a prorated board-paid annuity of $13,396; multiple teacher hires were listed with start dates of Aug. 12, 2025. One recommended personnel appointment—Dr. Cherie Horner for Director of Human Resources—was removed from the consent agenda and approved separately. Member Roberts moved and Member Turner supported the appointment; the board voted 7-0 to accept the recommendation. The minutes list Dr. Horner's prorated starting salary at $114,853, a $2,000 degree stipend and a contract through June 30, 2026.
On purchasing, Member Hart moved and Member Courtade supported a purchase of the K–8 Benchmark Assessment Platform (iReady) from Curriculum Associates for $87,679.50. The financing for the purchase was recorded as $33,520.00 from Section 104 grant funds and $54,159.50 from the General Fund. The motion carried 7-0 (Report #25-055).
The board took no additional public responses at the meeting beyond the one public commenter recorded in the minutes. The session concluded with the scheduling of upcoming meetings (Aug. 11 committee workshop; Aug. 25 regular meeting; Sept. 8 committee workshop) and adjournment at 9:12 a.m.
The minutes reference the report numbers for each negotiated agreement and purchase; those reports (e.g., #25-051, #25-052, #25-053, #25-054, #25-055) would contain the full terms and are the primary documents for further detail.
