Highlights from the January 8th Board of Education Meeting
Below are highlights of the January 8th Board of Education meeting.
Please remember, these are just highlights and should not be considered the official minutes.
The Board of Education discussed their visit to the Success Center on December 13th. During the visit, board members were paired with students who had been assigned their own workstations to assist with food preparation and to serve lunch. Conversations between the board members and students during lunch included what they have learned while at the Success Center and tasks they are responsible for at their various jobs. The students are very dedicated and were eager to show their various responsibilities. Great job to everyone at the Success Center for a wonderful visit!
Updates from recent Marion City Council meetings were also shared during the meeting. Updates included the recent appointment of former Linn-Mar school board member Rene Gadelha taking the oath of office as a new city council member. Tyler Ayala-Pagan, a 2014 Linn-Mar graduate, also took the oath of office to become a Marion police officer after attending the police academy. Planning and development was also a topic of discussion. The city council discussed plans on how Echo Hill Road will run between Winslow Road and Lucore Road, in addition to preliminary site development plans for two areas within the district.
During the Board Book portion of the meeting, Superintendent Shepherd mentioned that area superintendents have discussed the possibility that an Education Savings Account (ESA) bill could come up during the current Iowa legislative session. Such a bill could mean that students would receive a grant equal to state funding. These funds could be used for private school tuition, textbooks, and online learning. Funds that are not used by students by graduation could potentially be applied to college or university tuition.
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be January 22nd when Dr. Shepherd will share his annual State of the District address at 5:00 PM.
To view the full agenda and exhibits; visit the Board/Policy website.