District Approves Chromebooks and Reading Wonder Curriculum
Oskaloosa Community School Administration
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Oskaloosa School Board met in open session on Monday night, where several teachers were recognized for their service to the district.
The Board heard presentations by the District Leadership Team and the Professional Learning Community.
The Board then heard from Dr. Mary Cooksley, Director of Curriculum & Instruction at Oskaloosa. She presented information on how well the schools are doing according to the staff and parents. Information like how well report card information is able to be utilized, communication in the district with parents and staff. The information available to parents on parent portal has been an important step in increasing awareness for parents on their students scoring and class information.
The Board approved the application of 4 foreign exchange students. They will come to Oskaloosa from Egypt, Italy and Tailand. The fourth student may be from China, but those details are yet to be finalized.
The Board approved the expenditure of $195,000.00 for the purchase of Chromebooks for the middle school. The filtering company that will be used to regulate what type of content is available to students from online sources is yet to be decided.
The Board approved the purchase of the Reading Wonder Curriculum. Reading Wonder Curriculum is designed specifically for the Common Core State Standards for Reading/Language Arts. The bill for the curriculum could reach $170,000.00. The plan is to have the funds for this program come from categorical money versus the general fund.
The rate paid to substitute teachers was discussed on Monday. Currently, the district pays a substitute $105.00 for a full day, and 52.50 for a half day. Superintendent Russ Reiter initially recommended an increase to $110.00 for a full day, and $65.00 for a half day.
After some discussion, board members were concerned the district would still be unable to attract the needed substitutes, since other districts pay at a higher rate. A motion was made by the board to pay substitutes $115.00 for a full day, and $70.00 for a half day. The motion passed, with Tom Richardson abstaining from the vote.
The Board’s next regular meeting would fall on Memorial Day, but it was agreed that a special meeting would be needed before that in order to finish negotiations with the teachers union. When the final details of that are available, a special meeting will be called.
