Spring2011Archive

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Spring 2011 Archived Stories

Eight Student Musicians

Selected for Iowa Honor

Band

The Iowa Honor Band, featuring 108 of the finest high school musicians from Iowa and Nebraska, will present a free performance at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, in the Opstad Auditorium at City High School in Iowa City. Representing Council Bluffs Community Schools will be Katie Adams, clarinet, and Sabrina Fox, clarinet, both from Thomas Jefferson; and Ashley Cross, alto saxophone; Shannon Holmes, tenor saxophone; Natasha Konfrst, bass clarinet; Samantha Kunkle, french horn; Olivia Petersen, clarinet; and Luke Thallas, trombone, from Abraham Lincoln.

Board of Education Decides to

Continue Traditional Calendar

for 2012-13

Following a presentation of the results of the staff, parent and community input received during the Calendar Conversations over the past two months, the Board of Education voted January 25th to continue a traditional calendar in 2012-13.

Yellowjacket Wrestlers Go to State

Thomas Jefferson junior Mikey Wallace, 130 pounds, was rated #7 in the state and earned the title of District Champion. His season ended with a 36-4 record and competed at the Iowa High School Wrestling Tournament.

Thomas Jefferson senior Cody Hammers, 160 pounds was rated #8 in the state and earned the title of District Runner-Up. He had a 43-11 record rand competed at the Iowa High School Wrestling Tournament.

Football Players Sign to

Play at College-Level

On Wednesday, February 2nd, Abraham Lincoln football players signed national letters of intent to play college football. (Click on name for photo featuring the student, parents and ALHS Head Football Coach Justin Kammrad)

Iowa State

Jamison Lalk

Parents: Lyman and Lori Lalk

Northern Iowa

Austin Ebertowski

Parents: Jeremy and Lindsay Ebertowski

IWCC

Devin Thomas

Parents: Derrell Thomas and Kristy Large

and

Dan Hopper

Parents: Don and Jan Hopper

Student Maria Brown Draws Membership to Genealogical and Historical Society

Pictured from left are: Maria's sister, Stephanie; Board Member Richard Beck; Maria's niece, Audrey; Maria's mother, Angie; and Maria

On February 8, Tucker Career & College student, Maria Brown, spoke at the monthly meeting of the Pottawattamie County Genealogical and Historical Society. Maria, who was a finalist and awarded 3rd place honors at the Iowa Western Community College Public Speaking Tournament last October, spoke about her experiences growing up in a predominately Greek family. Her speech, entitled “It’s all Greek to Me!” discussed the history of Greece, Greek Culture, and common misconceptions about Greek-Americans.

Maria’s speech drew large numbers of membership to the annual meeting. Also in attendance were Maria’s mother, sister, brother-in-law, and niece, who are pictured below alongside Maria and Pottawattamie County Genealogical and Historical Society board member, Richard Beck.

All-City Festival Features Young Musicians

Council Bluffs Community School District students performed at the All-City Orchestra Concert at the Mid America Center on Tuesday, February 15th. The concert featured hundreds of students in grades 5 through 12.

Students Shine at the Dick Bauman Memorial Jazz

Festival

On Saturday, February 19th at the District Dick Bauman Memorial Jazz Festival in Glenwood 5 of 4A bands presented, Jazz 2 (all of 8 kids, 5 of them freshmen) placed 3rd & Jazz 1 placed 1st.

Outstanding soloist certificates were awarded to Luke Thallas, Joi Albertus, Jakson Cole, Olivia Petersen, and the Jazz 1 Saxophone Section.

Luke Thallas was named outstanding soloist of the day in 4A. Luke is also a candidate for the Dick Bauman Memorial Scholarship for outstanding trombone soloist in the district. It will be awarded following the 1A/2A festival next weekend.

Excellence Awards To Heroic Employees

Mike Henley, Marcia Lamb, Mike DeHart

Congratulations to three Council Bluffs Community School District employees who received the district's highest honor, the Award of Excellence, at the Board of Education meeting March 8th.

Marcia Lamb and Mike DeHart responded courageously to provide assistance to a co-worker and friend. On the evening of January 20th, the custodial team at Wilson Middle School arrived at the building for their shift to prepare the building for another day of school. That night, swing custodian Mike DeHart joined the crew and each went to their designated areas of the building. As typical, Marcia had given her co-worker and friend Steve Carson a ride to work. Never did she expect to be coming to his aid later in their shift.Tragically, though, Steve experienced a severe medical emergency and collapsed while working. Mike and Marcia called for emergency assistance, and Marcia performed CPR until the emergency medical professionals arrived. Steve passed away that evening, and is dearly missed by his co-workers at Wilson, our entire school community, and his family.

Mike Henley went above and beyond while plowing snow for the district on an early morning in January. Mike was putting down salt in the bus lanes at Roosevelt Elementary at about 4 a.m. when he realized there was a house on fire near the school. He immediately called 911 and tried to wake residents in the home. However, the house appeared to be vacant at the time. While fire and rescue squads were on the way, he noticed that the house next door to the burning house had also caught on fire. He proceeded to the house and knocked on the door until they woke up and answered. As a result, the elderly residents of the second home were able to get out of the house safely.

ALHS Inducts Four Alumni into

Hall of Fame

The Abraham Lincoln High School Hall of Fame committee has added four members to the school’s Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony occurred Thursday, March 24, 2011 during a public ceremony in the school’s auditorium. The event was held in conjunction with the school’s National Honor Society induction ceremony for students.

The four new members of the Hall of Fame include a posthumous honor to Dr. BentonKutler (1938), philanthropist and leader in dentistry; Kay Boortz Farrell (1956) business leader and safety champion; Stan Bahnsen(1963), former Major League Baseball player; and Michael J. O’Bradovich (1974), attorney and community volunteer.

Student Athletes Sign

Letters of Intent

TJHS senior Josh Skou (Click here for photo)signed to play football at Briar Cliff College.

ALHS senior Taylor Powers (Click here for photo) signed her letter of intent to play softball at Southwestern Iowa Community College. Taylor will be a four-year ALHS varsity softball starter and a three-time 4A honorable mention all-state honoree, three-time all-district west class selection, two-time all western Iowa, two-time all-conference, two-time all city, and five-time letter winner.

ALHS senior Jordan Gillenwater (Click here for photo) signed her letter of intent to play basketball at Briar Cliff College. Jordan is a four-year ALHS varsity basketball starter and has been on the All-City team for three years.

Tucker Center Students Advance in Optimist Speech Contest

Pictured is junior Maria Brown and on the right is senior Juanita Kerns.

Tucker Career & College Center students Maria Brown and Juanita Kerns were among the top five speakers in a city-wide level of competition on March 19 and have advanced to the next phase of the Optimists International 2011 Oratorical Competition.

Participation in the contest included students from grades 7-12, who spoke on the theme: If I were the leader of the free world, the 1st thing that I would address would be...

The event is sponsored as part of a collaborative effort by the Council Bluffs, Carter Lake, Crescent, West End, and MidDay Optimist Clubs. Maria and Juanita will next compete on April 2.

Abraham Lincoln Orchestra Tours

Los Angeles

The Abraham Lincoln orchestra completed a trip to Los Angeles from March 12-16. During the trip the students had a two hour clinic with Neal Stulberg, the director of the UCLA symphony orchestra and played a concert at Sony Studios. The students also visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Universal Studios, Santa Monica Pier and Beach, the Getty Museum, Chinatown, and the Farmer's Market.

Thomas Jefferson Students

Win Writing Contest

The Midlands of Iowa Reading Council held both a creative writing and poetry contest.Kyle McGlade’s story “I Am Exposed” won first place for the creative writing contest for the 9-12 levels and Angel McGuire’s poem went on to win 1st place for the state writing competition 11th grade.

In the poetry contest for the 9th and 10th grade, our winners were:

Izzy Banderas poem “You and Me” for 1st place and “Yesterday” for 3rd place

Sierra Ginn’s poem “One Day” won 2nd place

At the 11th grade level, Angel McGuirewon first place for her poem “Daddy’s Love”

At the 12th grade level, Joel Menke tied for 2nd place with “Maybe A Kiss” and Duane Wilson won 3rd place for “Vollkonmenheit”

WINGS Invites Students to Pursue Their Own Interests

On Saturday, April 16, Council Bluffs Community School District will host the second annual WINGS (Weekend Institute for Gifted Students) at Wilson Middle School (9 a.m. - noon). All students in grades 3-8 who are enrolled in a gifted program, or who have a unique ability or interest in a particular subject area are invited to attend. WINGS is open to all students in the area, regardless of where you are enrolled in school. The course content is both invigorating and challenging and classes are designed to stimulate the interest and creativity of bright students. Class offerings include: solar cars, penguins, ocean exploration, probability & statistics, musical theater, to name just a few! For more details and to register, go to: http://itsnt710.iowa.uiowa.edu/wings/

Thomas Jefferson Reading Teacher Patty Gillespie Earns National Honor

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation's largest children’s literacy organization, named Thomas Jefferson reading teacher Patty Gillespie as one of three recipients of the 2011 Anne Hazard Richardson RIF Volunteer of the Year Award. She will be honored at a RIF Gift of Reading gala in Washington D.C. in late May. She partners with the local Altrusa Club to fund the books. Besides working as a full-time teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School, she volunteers as the RIF coordinator, arranging book give-aways for freshmen at Thomas Jefferson for the past nine years and creating activities and materials to motivate students to read.

Kanesville Students Go Without Shoes to Raise Awareness of Less Fortunate

Kanesville student Gabi Galles (pictured in top photo on the right with principal Jenny Barnett) intiated a school-wide awareness project as part of the international Day Without Shoes. Many students and staff members spent the school day barefoot to recognize the millions of children and adults in the world who do not have shoes to protect their feet from injury or disease.

Thomas Jefferson Student, Nick Taylor, Accepted to Prestigious Arts Camp

Nick Taylor, 17, has been accepted and will attend Interlochen Arts Camp, the world’s premier summer arts program for aspiring artists grades 3 through 12. He will study Music at the Camp.

He has performed with the Iowa All-State Orchestra all three years of his high school career, taking second chair two of those years. At state contest he has routinely received one ratings and “Best-at-Center” two of his three years. He is part of the Omaha Area Youth Orchestra and also performs at church and with the Grace University arts department. Among the distinguished Camp alumni are Norah Jones, singer Josh Groban, opera and concert soprano Jessye Norman, conductor Loren Maazel, jazz pianist Eldar, actor Anthony Rapp, cartoonist Cathy Guisewite and many more.

Fifth Graders Sing and Dance at Music Festival

Friday, April 15th, fifth graders from all Council Bluffs Schools gathered to perform to the packed Thomas Jefferson Field House. Students incorporated musical instruments, dance moves and music of different countries and genres in their performances.

Bellows Appointed Abraham Lincoln High School Assistant Principal

Current Abraham Lincoln High School science teacher Bridgette Bellows has been named a new assistant principal at the school. Beginning in August, she will filll the role currently held by Cyle Forney who is moving to the Tucker Center as its new principal. Bridgette has been with the Council Bluffs Schools since 2006, serving at Wilson as a science teacher until this year when she joined the science department at Abraham Lincoln. She holds a bachelor's degree in environmental science, teacher certification and a master's in secondary education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Thomas Jefferson Student, Nick Taylor, Accepted to Prestigious Arts Camp

Nick Taylor, 17, has been accepted and will attend Interlochen Arts Camp, the world’s premier summer arts program for aspiring artists grades 3 through 12. He will study Music at the Camp.

Students Go to State Bowling Tournament

Thomas Jefferson Bowling teams competed in the Regional Sub-State championships on February 19th. Yellowjackets Sarah Muckey (373 2-game score) and Tyler Baxter (502 2-game score) were the regional champions, automatically qualifying for the State Tournament.

The TJ boys team also earned the Regional Sub-State Champion title and finished with the 3rd best score in the ENTIRE STATE OF IOWA with a 3,274, automatically qualifying the team for the State Championships.

Sarah Muckey and the TJ boy's team will compete inn Des Moines on Thursday and Friday for the State Championships. The coaches would like to thank everyone who came and supported the team.

Colin Dall

Abraham Lincoln senior bowler Colin Dall qualified for the State Bowling Tournament in Des Moines. Colin bowled a 492 series on Saturday at Regal Lanes to receive an at-large invitation to state. He will bowl at Plaza Lanes in Des Moines, Friday, February 25th.

DECA Members Place at State Competition

Congratulations to the following DECA members who competed at the DECA State Competition in Des Moines February 27-28.

Thomas Jefferson had 9 competitors with the following results:

MacKenzie Boner & Abi Torres—First Place Fashion Merchandising Promotion Plan

MacKenzie Boner—Second Place Apparel and Accessories Marketing. She received a First place medal for a role play

Barb Christensen--- Second Place Quick Service Restaurant Management. She received a First place medal for the exam, a First place medal for Role play #1 and a Third place medal for Role Play #2

Ashley Ross—Fourth Place Food Marketing She received a Third place medal for her exam and Second place medal for her role play.

Lauren Watson —Sixth place Quick Service Restaurant Management. She received a Third place medal for her role play.

Ben Renshaw— Seventh place Accounting Applications.

Spencer Bell—First place, state of Iowa, H & R Block Financial Literacy Challenge.

Boner, Christensen, and Torres are eligible to attend the International Competition in Orlando, FL.

Congratulations to the following ALHS Deca Members for their great performance at State competition on February 27 & 28:

Ryan Fee—First Place in Principles of Hospitality & Tourism
Emily Mintle—First Place in Business Services Marketing
Alex Olsen—First Place in Sports & Entertainment Marketing
Jamie Beck & Shanon Smith—First Place in Sports & Entertainment Marketing Team
Jamie Beck & Shanon Smith— First Place in Entrepreneurship Written Event
Savannah Dierks & Hayley Ross—First Place in Advertising Campaign Written Event
Tyler Dolch —Second Place in Automotive Services Marketing
Marisa Beller & Ali Valdez—Third Place in Fashion Merchandising Promotion Plan Written Event
Savannah Dierks—Fourth Place in Restaurant & Food Service Management
Alexis Prazak — Fourth Place in Retail Merchandising
Lisa Chapman — Fourth Place in Quick Serve Restaurant Management
Jenna Hyde & Heather Meyers — Fourth Place in Hospitality Services Team Event
Jenna Dunn — Fifth Place in Apparel & Accessories Marketing
Neil Carbis — Fifth Place in Sports & Entertainment Marketing
Josh Hiers — Sixth Place in Automotive Services Marketing
Ali Valdez — Sixth Place in Food Marketing
Erin Addison — Sixth Place in Retail Merchandising
Kylie Martin & Jordan Rehfeldt — Seventh Place in Travel & Tourism Marketing Team Event

Also Elected as Deca State Officers for the 2011-2012 School Year:
Ryan Fee as District III Vice President
Jordan Rehfeldt as State Secretary

Kanesville Hosts Blood Drive

Kanesville Alternative Learning Center is hosting a Blood Drive with the American Red Cross April 4, 2011. The blood drive will be from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. If the students get 30 pints of blood, one graduating senior will recieve a $250 scholarship from the American Red Cross. To donate call 328-6510 ext. 123 or email ssteinmetz@cbcsd.org

Link to Frequently Asked Questions

Link to Projected Revenue & Expenses

Questions about the Budget Proposal can be sent to

budget@cb-schools.org.

Abraham Lincoln

Principal Mullen to Retire; New Principal Named

Todd Barnett

Todd Barnett will be the new Abraham Lincoln High School principal, beginning July 1, 2011. He will replace Pat Mullen who announced this month he will retire at the end of this school year after serving as principal for two years. Barnett is currently the principal of the Tucker College and Career Center and supervisor of the district’s career and technical education programs.

Barnett has been with the Council Bluffs Schools since 1992, teaching social studies at Wilson Junior High and then at Thomas Jefferson High School. He was also a coach and became the dean of students at TJHS in 2003, an administrative intern in 2004 and an assistant principal in 2006. He was named Tucker Center principal and CTE supervisor in 2009. He holds a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Current Abraham Lincoln High School assistant principal Cyle Forney will be the new Tucker College and Career Center principal. He has been with the district since 1989, serving as a high school administrator at Thomas Jefferson and at Abraham Lincoln since 1994.

Forney’s administrative roles at A.L. will be assigned to Dr. Jason Plourde, current principal of Washington Elementary School, which will close at the end of this school year. Plourde has been with the Council Bluffs Schools since 1997 and became an elementary principal in 2007.

Barnett will add one member to his administrative team to serve the school’s 1,400 students.

Youth Art Month Display at C.B. Public Library

Student artists from Crescent, Edison, Franklin, Hoover, Rue, and Washington will be featured in the annual Joslyn Art Museum Association's (JAMA) Youth Art Month display at the Council Bluffs Public Library, March 11-April 8. The artwork was submitted to the 2011 JAMA billboard contest. Although the past several years of winners of the contest have been Council Bluffs students, this year's winning artwork was created by a student in Treynor. Council Bluffs students received special recognition in the contest. Congratulations to Washington first grader Kristal Davis who won 4th place, and the following students who received Honorable Mentions:

Brookelin Mendoza, Edison, 2nd Grade

Rachel Swanger, Edison, 2nd Grade

Kristen Yancy, Edison, 1st Grade

Ema Lee, Hoover, 1st Grade

Tucker Cain, Hoover, 2nd Grade

Hailey Kjeldgaard, Hoover, 1st Grade

Thomas Jefferson Teacher Nicole Vetter Named Red Cross Hero

Thomas Jefferson High School physical education teacher Nicole Vetter was honored by the Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross as the Call To Action Hero in the Heartland. She performed lifesaving CPR on her fellow teacher and friend Lori Williams who collapsed from a heart attack last year. The Heroes in the Heartland event was created to exhibit the gratitude both the Red Cross and the community feel towards individuals who have saved another person’s life or who have positively impacted the quality of life in the Heartland.

Budget Planning for 2011-12 Discussed at Board of Education Work Session

The Board of Education work session Tuesday night included a presentation on the District's projected budget shortfall for next year and a proposal to reduce expenses through staff reductions as well as program and operational changes. The presentation was part of the process leading up to a public hearing on the budget to be held April 12th. The district continues to experience financial challenges after the mid year reduction of State funds last year and continued enrollment decline. In an effort to address these financial challenges, district leaders developed the cost reduction plan to help restore the district's financial stability.

Students Excel in Speech Contests

Abraham Lincoln students at Walnut Hill Competition March 5th earned 2nd Place out of 16 teams.

The Abraham Lincoln High School speech team had 25 of 36 entires quailfy for the state competition in Glenwood on March 12th where students earned 21 Division I ratings and 4 Division II ratings! Three Thomas Jefferson students also qualified for State.

At the state competition, five ALHS student entries were deemed outstanding by the three judges and were selected to perform at the All-State Festival on March 28th in Cedar Falls at UNI. These students are:
Ronda Long-Birdsall in Acting
Jesse St. Clair in Storytelling
Hannah Goldapp in Prose
Seamus St. Clair is Public Address
Emma Preston in Original Oratory

The following students also participated in individual speech contest:
From Abraham Lincoln: Elle Cooper, Hope Philbrick, Derek Gilman, Maga Duvie-Okoruwa, Natlie Carlon, Kelsey Tekippe, Alex Brown, Brian Williams, Aurora Owens, Fransico Franco, Josh Hannan, Hannah Zimmerman, Kaitlyn Hammer, Danielle Rice, Kirsten Gallaher, Chelsea Eret and Megan Rief. From Thomas Jefferson: Brittany Allen and Tim Mantil.

Tucker Students Shine at Iowa HOSA Conference

Left to right first row: Beth Delanty, Brittany Rupp, Kailyn Vansoelen, Miriam Solorio, Daysha Kelly, Danielle Rice, Sam Myers. 2nd Row: Instructor Jessica Wunderlich, Matt Overly, Kyla Hartog, Caitlin Ronk, Aleisha Clayton, Mariah Figueroa, Carrie Hermsen, Taylor Bright, Danielle Peabody. 3rd row: Jon Jaeger, Jacob Hopkins, Morgan Darrington, Jordon Gillenwater, Shelby Bockert, Kirstie Griffis, Chevell Nelson-Myers, Megan Cheney, EmmyLou Bates, Kelsie Skow, Instructor Valiere Cannon.

From Sunday, March 13th through Tuesday, March 15th, one hundred and fifty-six (156) Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) members participated in the Annual State HOSA Conference in Des Moines. The conference was held at the Holiday Inn Mercy and the Mercy College Campus in Downtown Des Moines. Twenty-five students attended the conference from Tucker Center.

New State HOSA Officers were elected at the conference for the 2011-2012 year. Two students from the Tucker Center were chosen to fill these roles.

President:

Samantha Myers–Council Bluffs Tucker Center

Western Region Vice President:

Miriam Solorio – Council Bluffs Tucker Center

The following students placed in the various competitions at the state conference:

Medical Spelling

Kailyn Vansoelen - 3rd place

Medical Terminology

Kyla Hartog - 4th place

Medical Math

Jacob Hopkins - 3rd place

Jon Jaeger - 5th place

Beth Delanty - 6th place

Human Growth and Development

Brittany Rupp - 1st place

Morgan Darrington - 5th place

Taylor Bright - 6th place

Nutrition

Caitlin Ronk - 4th place

Pharmacology

Shelby Bockert - 6th place

Pathophysiology

Matt Overly - 2nd place

CPR & First Aide

Caitlin Ronk & Carrie Hermsen - 2nd place

Jon Jaeger & Jacob Hopkins - 3rd place

Extemporaneous Health Poster

Daysha Kelly - 1st place

Kailyn Vansoelen - 4th place

Job Seeking Skills

Chevell Myers-Nelson - 2nd place

Kirstie Griffis - 4th place

Prepared Speaking

Emmy Lou Bates - 4th place

Career Health Display

Miriam Solorio & Kelsie Skow- 6th place

Public Service Announcement

Jordan Gillenwater, Morgan Darrington, & Aleisha Clayton-1st place

Creative Problem Solving

Kyla Hartog, Matt Overly, & Mariah Figueroa- 1st place

Health Education

Brittany Rupp & Shelby Bockert- 4th place

Community Awareness

Megan Cheney, Danielle Peabody, & Danielle Rice- 1st place

Outstanding HOSA Chapter

Kelsie Skow - 4th place

Students who placed in the top three are eligible to attend the National Leadership Conference for HOSA on June 22-June 25 in Anaheim, California.

Kirn Middle School Students To Compete at State History Day

Congratulations to the following students from Kirn Middle School who earned local honors to represent the school and school district at the Junior State History Day Competition on May 2, 2011 in Des Moines.

Students in their categories are:

Historical Paper: Maddie Mendell
Individual Website: Scott Brown
Group Website: Jacob Kaufman/Gage Weber
Individual Exhibit: Avery Thomas
Group Exhibit: Paige Oamek/Julia Gibler
Individual Documentary: Calabryan Holder
Group Documentary: Abaigh Plummer, Lexi Konfrst, Abbi Harding, Taylor Morris, and Candy Heyer
Group Performance: Aly Sorensen, Claire Boes, Jessica Hipnar, Katie Pregon, Alea Dorsett, Mikayla Olson, and Sophie Knauss

Alternates to state include: Emma Sielstad (exhibit)and Kevin Roard (historical paper).

Also participating in the local History Day were: Nick Pomernackas, Kevin Brannigan, Elizabeth Retikis, Ryan McDermott, and Maddie Kinney.

Abraham Lincoln Athletes Receive Honors

Alex Olsen Jordan Gillenwater

Alex Olsen

2nd team All State Iowa Newspaper Association

3rd team All State Des Moines Registar

Jordan Gillenwater

3rd team All State, Iowa Newspaper, Iowa Basketball Coaches Asso. and Des Moines Registrar

Greater Omaha Metro Area Scholar Athlete Girls Basketball Recipient

District Shares Master Plan for C.B. Stadium and Athletic Complex

An initial master plan has been created to improve C.B. Stadium, including the football field, stadium, soccer fields, softball and baseball complex as well as stadium parking. The next phase will include seeking private donations and grants to fund the multi-million dollar project.

Board Adopts

2011-12 Budget

The Board of Education set the 2011-12 District budget following a public hearing at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 12th. The budget includes a plan to reduce the district’s expenses by approximately $3.5 million. To regain financial stability over the next several years, the District plan is designed to rebuild its reserve fund and anticipate another year or two of inadequate state aid.

The budget proposal was developed by members of the District’s administrative team of principals and department administrators. Five working groups researched possible changes and reductions in programs to achieve the necessary savings in elementary, middle school, high school, special education, and operations. The goal was to reduce spending, while keeping the quality of the educational program in tact.

Unfortunately, there will be fewer staff members next year, and about 16 teachers and nurses have been notified they will be affected by the reduction in the overall staff and will not have jobs in the district. Additional staff members will be reassigned within the school district to meet student needs. To achieve the necessary reductions, nearly $1 million in operational cost savings were also part of the plan, including discontinuation or reduction of contracted services for security, telephones, summer and temp labor, transportation and banking as well as a decrease in school and department budgets, reductions in printing and mailing costs, and an effort to reduce overall substitute teacher costs.

The next steps include careful watch on the Iowa Legislature to see if additional or unanticipated funding for education is confirmed prior to the end of the legislative session, which could allow some affected staff members to be called back to jobs within the district next year.

Click here to view the Budget Hearing Presentation

Previous Months

May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
August/September 2009
June/July 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008

Contact the C.B. Community School District: Phone (712) 328-6446 • Fax: (712) 328-6548
Educational Service Center, 12 Scott Street, Council Bluffs, IA 51503
The Council Bluffs Community School District shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, gender, marital status, citizenship, geographic location, socioeconomic status, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other protected trait or characteristic in its educational programs, activities or employment practices.