The Heartland School Board met for its regular meeting on Monday, April 14th at 7 p.m. with a full agenda. Board members present were Lacey Gloystein, Ryan Goertzen, Jennifer Hiebner, Jeb Mierau, Tyler Newton, and Tammy Ott. Superintendent Jeremy Klein and HCS principals Tim Carr and Dana Reinke also attended.
Here are a few highlights of the long list of discussion & action items the Board covered:
Annual Report: Superintendent Klein said the Annual Report is completed and ready to be published on the Heartland website. “I thought some good and interesting information was included in this report about how we compare to the state and other schools. I hope our patrons will be made aware of this information,” said Ryan Goertzen.
He pointed out the inconsistency in Heartland math scores, which were significantly higher in the 8th grade but showed a considerable drop in the 11th grade. Klein said math scores have been inconsistent, but are still higher than the state average. He noted that science scores for juniors have seen improvement.
Gloystein and Hiebner reported on the joint Heartland/Hampton committee’s progress in designing the new H&H branding and logo with a marketing firm that has been hired. The committee comprises two board members from each school, administrators, and representatives from each booster club.
“We are excited about how this is going and have met with Unanious marketing firm a few times. They have toured both schools and will provide us with 5-6 branding concepts, which we hope to narrow down to two. We want to incorporate a brand that will work well in various applications such as apparel, uniforms, vehicle wraps, and signage,” said Gloystein.
Gloystein emphasized that uniforms need to be ordered no later than April 29th, so the committee plans on making its decision ASAP and isn’t sure if it will present it to the students to vote on. Miearu asked whether the two school boards would be voting on the decision, and there was discussion about whether that was needed or possible. Chairman Tyler Newton said they will discuss the matter with Hampton.
Superintendent Klein provided a building and construction update, stating that everything was progressing on schedule. “They are aggressively working on the activities entrance because we would like it to be open in time for graduation, but I’ve been told it probably won’t be ready in time,” said Klein.
He stated that the project has 22 change orders and eight owner contingency adjustments, but he still anticipates it will come in under budget. Klein asked the board for feedback on two proposals to address a temperature control issue in the west high school’s north-south corridor. It was discovered that there is an air gap with no insulation between the ceiling and the wall. Klein presented two options for the board to consider, and they opted to insulate the wall beam and underdeck.
Two of the action items on the agenda—Superintendent and Principals’ Compensation Recommendations—took a considerable amount of time for discussion before a vote was taken. Goertzen, who is on the Negotiations Committee, explained their recommendation of a 3.2% increase.
Mierau stated he would not vote for this increase because he didn’t believe administrators should be paid more than teachers. His comments led Goertzen to explain the role of a superintendent as that of a CEO, who is responsible for 50 employees. “We are very confident in the great job Jeremy is doing and commend him for his continued work on instilling a winning culture at Heartland,” said Goertzen.
He pointed out the importance of Elementary Principal Dana Reinke’s increased workload in prepping for the upcoming Five-Year Evaluation. Tammy Ott said that if Heartland didn’t pay our superintendent the normal salary for school administrators, they would not be able to hire one.
“I am confident and trust the recommendations from the negotiating committee,” said Gloystein. The pay increases for the superintendent and principals were passed 5-1, with Mierau being the only no vote.
Other actions taken included accepting a turnkey proposal from Mainstay Communications for cameras, a door access and paging system, and relocation of the IT room.
“Mainstay has been good to work with on this complete upgrade for our security system and replacement of all cameras, since they are familiar with our infrastructure. They are working with us on keeping costs down by utilizing existing cable, and I am very happy with their bid,” said Klein.
The board accepted the Mainstay bid with a unanimous vote of 6-0.
Superintendent Klein asked the board to explore other uses for the newly acquired Kroeker Grain complex property. Some ideas discussed at the meeting included the often-proposed community center, a school greenhouse, the amount of additional parking space required, and the method and timing for surfacing the area with pavement or gravel.
Other ideas included leaving room for Main Street business development and exploring ways to lease the property to other entities. The board instructed Klein to visit with the City about the property.
Even though the school is in the midst of a large construction project, the board discussed future capital projects that must be addressed as soon as the current construction is complete.
Some future projects discussed were track resurfacing, classroom carpet replacement, additional exterior lighting at the new west track entrance, ag building facia, theater lighting replacement and upgrades, and playground surface upgrades.
Ott mentioned some needs in the Vo Ag building, such as a new air handling system, additional welding equipment, and remodeling to accommodate additional workstations, such as the plasma cutter.
“I’d like to see us prioritizing the upgrade of the existing elementary and high school restrooms. They are almost embarrassing and extremely outdated,” said Mierau. Superintendent Klein agreed that they could look at scheduling this project sooner on the list.
The board adjourned at 8:38 p.m. and will reconvene on Monday, May 12, at 7:00 p.m.
