Central School Board approves wage increases and technology purchase

The Central School Board approved a two-percent wage increase for Certified, Coaches, Drivers, and Management positions with a six-percent raise for the School Business Official. They also approved a dollar increase for Classified staff and a starting wage of $15.50 per hour.

They approved the purchase of 154-thousand dollars worth of Ipads, Computers, and Cases from Apple.

The Board also approved the purchase of a Chrysler Pacifica Van at a cost of 42-thousand.

Doug Nielsen resigned as Custodian, Heidi Glawe from Food Service, Blake Rodenberg as Assistant Football Coach, Greg Lower from Maintenance, and Abby Heitman as Co-Head Girls Wrestling Coach.

CENTRAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 

ELKADER, IOWA 

April 20, 2026– 6:00 PM 

Board Meeting 

President Josh Embretson called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. Board Present: Jarod Bormann, Abby Heitman, Andrew Clark, Michael Whittle, Marcus Belser, Jared Funk, and Josh Embretson 

Staff: Micah Gearhart, Amy Pope, and Allison Walch 

Guests: Angela Bergan, Staci Schmeling, Kaitlyn Kuehl-Berns, Jenny Rose Approved Agenda 

Abby Heitman made a motion to approve the agenda for April 20, 2026. Jarod Bormann seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Communication Reports 

Elementary Principal-Mrs. Pope, ISASP Testing will start for all tomorrow. Mrs. Stannard has done a phenomenal job helping get this in place for us! Thank you to Mr. Gearhart for leading last week’s Professional Learning on Standards vs. Curriculum. We are preparing for the last week of school. The assembly, color run, and family picnic are on the last day of school. We will be having it at the football field. Then we will have our color run around the horse track and end the day with the family picnic at the city park. 

MS/HS Principal & AD-Mr. Reinhart, Teachers have been working on May Term; learning goals, assessment of learning, and daily lesson plans. Teachers have also been working on priority standards for their classes for next year. ISASP Goal Setting: Every student set individual goals for the ISASP score this year. The focus is on expected growth and proficiency. The Athletic Banquet has been replaced with an Activities Celebration during the school day. Our goal is to have more students present for the advertising of opportunities, as well as the celebration of successes. This change will also take pressure off the evening calendars in May. Superintendent-Mr. Gearhart, The UIC Conference has a scheduled meeting for April 29th in Boone, where potential changes could affect Central, as there is a proposal into the realignment committee to remove members of the UIC Conference to form a new conference. With the Property Tax Reform, they are coming closer to a resolution, with anticipated impacts on schools, including reductions in PPEL, Voted PPEL, reductions in SAVE, and districts' Unspent Authorized Balances. The facilities committee met to discuss summer projects; radon testing has been completed, with no further action required for the next five years. Consent Items 

Printed Minutes-March 17, 2026, March 23, 2026, April 14, 2026 Bills-Michael Whittle and Jared Funk 

Treasurer's Report 

Employment 

Resignations 

Custodial-Doug Nielsen 

Food Service-Heidi Glawe 

Assistant Football Coach-Blake Rodenberg

Maintenance-Greg Lower 

Co-Head Girls Wrestling Coach-Abby Heitman 

Coaches 

Activities Director, Aaron Reinhart 

Head Cross Country Coach, Mark Bauder, Assistant, Martha Bauder, JH Cross Country, Joel Helgerson. 

JH Football, Hazen Loan. 

Head Volleyball, Kelly Erickson, Assistant, Brooklyn Amsden, JH Volleyball, Staci Schmeling, & Jill Stannard. 

Head Boys Basketball Coach, Brady Stramer, Assistant, Blake Rodenberg, JH Boys Basketball, Peter Thompson & Hazen Loan. 

Head Girls Basketball Coach, Mark Wiley, Assistant, Emily Frieden, JH Girls Basketball, Katie Wiley, & Allison Burkle. 

Boys Varsity Wrestling, Joe Koehn, Assistant, Tim Rupard. 

FFA Advisor, Meghan Bond. 

Student Council, Trisha Schroeder. 

Band, Emily Schultz. 

Chorus, Stacy Heston. 

Jared Funk made a motion to approve the consent items. 

Marcus Belser seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Learning and Leadership 

Jenny Rose, the Clayton County Youth Mentoring Coordinator, along with Mrs. Angie Bergan, Central’s School Counselor, presented on the youth mentoring opportunities in Clayton County. The program can be School-Based mentoring or Community-Based mentoring. 

Budget Hearing 

The second public hearing for the 2027 budget opened at 6:29 pm. Receive Written Comment 

No written statements were received. 

Receive Oral Comment 

No oral comments were received. 

The public hearing closed at 6:30 pm. 

Contracts 

Certified 

Abby Heitman made a motion to approve the certified contracts for the 2026-2027 school year with a 2% increase. 

Andrew Clark seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Classified 

Michael Whittle made a motion to approve the classified work agreements for the 2026-2027 school year with a $1.00 per hour increase and setting the starting wage at $15.50. 

Abby Heitman seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Coaches 

Jared Funk made a motion to approve the coaching contracts for the 2026-2027 school year with a 2% increase. 

Marcus Belser seconded. Motion carried. 7-0

Drivers 

Andrew Clark made a motion to approve the drivers' work agreements for the 2026-2027 school year with a 2% increase. 

Jarod Bormann seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Management 

Abby Heitman made a motion to approve the management contracts with a 2% total increase, with the exception of the SBO. 

Jared Funk seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Marcus Belser made a motion to approve the SBO contract at 6% for the 2026-2027 school year. 

Andrew Clark Seconded. Motion carried 7-0. 

Insurance Provider 

Andrew Clark made a motion to approve entering into a contract with 3E to provide health insurance for the Central Community School District for the 2026-2027 school year.  

Marcus Belser seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Administrative Benefits Alignment 

Abby Heitman made a motion to create an administrative compensation handbook to include family insurance benefit equivalent to the 750 Family PPO plan and evaluate annually, provide cash-in-lieu option for verified insurance coverage of administrative staff, set personal days to align with certified staff handbook language and 

grandfather provisions for administrator benefits above this amount for administrators employed at Central during the 25-26 school year. Jarod Bormann seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Apple Purchase 

Jared Funk moved to approve the Apple Purchase for 55 staff computers, 125 student computers, AppleCare Warranty for student computers, and 70 iPads with cases, totaling $153,996.50. 

Abby Heitman seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Geo-Comm Contract 

Abby Heitman made a motion to approve the Geo-Comm Contract. Marcus Belser seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Alternative High School 28E Agreement 

Andrew Clark made a motion to approve the Alternative High School 28E Agreement with NICC. 

Jared Funk second. Motion carried. 7-0 

Home School Assistance Program 

Marcus Belser made a motion to approve starting a Home School Assistance Program at Central for the 2026-2027 school year. 

Abby Heitman seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Van Purchase 

Abby Heitman made a motion to approve the purchase of a 2026 Chrysler Pacifica from Brown’s for $42,047.00 

Marcus Belser seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

List of Graduates 

Andrew Clark made a motion to approve the 2025-2026 list of graduates, pending

the final completion of all district and state graduation requirements.  Jared Funk seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Second Reading of Policy 

Abby Heitman made a motion to approve the second reading of the following policies 

Code No. 210.01 ANNUAL MEETING 

Code No. 210.02 REGULAR MEETING 

CODE NO. 210.03 SPECIAL MEETING 

CODE NO. 210.04 WORK SESSIONS 

CODE NO. 210.05 MEETING NOTICE 

CODE NO. 210.06 QUORUM 

CODE NO. 210.07 RULES OF ORDER 

CODE NO. 210.07-R(1) RULES OF ORDER-REGULATION 

CODE NO. 210.08 BOARD MEETING AGENDA 

CODE NO. 210.E1 BOARD MEETING AGENDA-EXAMPLE 

CODE NO. 210.8E2 BOARD MEETING AGENDA-EXAMPLE (WITH CLOSED SESSION) 

CODE NO. 210.9-CONSENT AGENDA 

CODE NO. 710.1 SCHOOL FOOD PROGRAM 

CODE NO 710.01-R(1) SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAM-SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAM CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE 

Code No. 710.1E1 SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAM NOTICES OF NONDISCRIMINATION 

Jarod Bormann seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

First Reading of Policy 

Andrew Clark made a motion to approve the first reading of the following policies CODE NO. 211 OPEN MEETINGS 

CODE NO. 212 CLOSED SESSIONS 

CODE NO. 212.1 EXEMPT MEETINGS 

CODE NO. 213 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN BOARD MEETINGS CODE NO. 213.1 PUBLIC COMPLAINTS 

CODE NO. 214 PUBLIC HEARINGS 

CODE NO. 215 BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ RECORDS 

CODE NO. 215.1E1 BOARD MEETING MINUTES 

Marcus Belser seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Board Discussion 

Crossroads Academy in Decorah, which specializes in intensive behavior support, is closing in July 2026, creating a regional need for such services. A consortium of superintendents is proposing to establish the Bridge Learning Center at the Elkader AEA facility to provide short-term behavioral and regulation support for students, functioning as part of the resident district’s special education continuum. Central is

exploring the feasibility of serving as the fiscal agent and supporting the program through services like billing and food support, with an initial shared cost for renovations and start-up expenses. 

Closed Session 

Jared Funk made a motion to go into closed session at 7:26 PM. Abby Heitman seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Roll Call: Abby Heitman-yea, Jarod Bormann-yea, Marcus Belser-yea, Andrew Clark-yea, Jared Funk-yea, Michael Whittle-yea, Josh Embretson-yea. Marcus Belser made a motion to return to open session at 8:32 PM. Jared Funk seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

Roll Call: Abby Heitman-yea, Jarod Bormann-yea, Marcus Belser-yea, Andrew Clark-yea, Jared Funk-yea, Michael Whittle-yea, Josh Embretson-yea. Adjournment 

Marcus Belser made a motion to adjourn the meeting. 

Andrew Clark seconded. Motion carried. 7-0 

The meeting adjourned at 8:32 PM.