LONE TREE

The Lone Tree school board held a workshop meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 7. This meeting followed the final two public forums about a four-day schedule and is the final discussion on the topic until a potential vote on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

The board decided to hold this meeting in the library rather than the district office to host a public comment. There, two parents and two teachers greeted the board to discuss the four-day calendar.

Middle school Social Studies teacher Jacob Hoyle attended, representing a larger body of staff. He wanted to directly address parents who thought staff was being left in the dark on a calendar change. He strongly sides with transitioning to a four-day schedule.

“Not everybody is on board with the four-day thing but I will say that the majority [of teachers] are considering it,” Hoyle said. “They feel that there are several different good ideas about it [and] there’ll be an attractive opportunity to get new teachers [and students] here. We’re having too many teachers that are turning over.”

Hoyle is also part of a task force to help raise morale at the school. He believes this is a good start.

“I think that the majority of the teaching staff would agree that a four-day week would be an improvement to the culture and the community as a whole,” Hoyle said.

Elementary Counselor Joel Herman represented those in the elementary wing of the school and spoke about the four-day calendar as well.

“The goal of the proposed change is teacher retention and 95% of our teachers are in favor of this calendar change. The data speaks for itself: students, teachers and community will be stronger and able to grow more effectively if we can retain our teachers and staff,” Herman said. “We also believe having a full day of professional development would be more effective as a staff compared to the current after school Wednesday meeting. The stronger our professional days are, the stronger our teachers practice. That helps our students understand that while there may be just a few teachers every day, they still believe in this.”

Herman later stated that he would be willing to look for other job opportunities if Lone Tree remains at five days while surrounding districts make a change. Ultimately, his concern is student learning; if all factors exacerbate teacher retention, students suffer the consequences.

“Understand, my impact will be far greater if I leave than if I stay,” Herman remarked.

  Two parents spoke during public comment. Brent Parizek favored the change as a tool for teacher retention. He feared that if the board does not make a change, they’ll need to drastically raise wages, otherwise they’ll further struggle to attract/retain staff.

Barb Danielson gravitated in the center, not convinced a four-day week would boost retention rates but also knew some action is needed to alleviate pressure. She surely represented some parents who couldn’t attend the meeting, even if she didn’t mean to.

“I’ve been a part of several area development meetings and revitalization committee attempts and the major roadblocks to growth in Lone Tree are a lack of childcare, a lack of business opportunities and a lack of third places – places that you can be that are the big draw of our town. We need to acknowledge these roadblocks; [Lone Tree] does not have the capacity to absorb and strain our limited resources,” Danielson said. “I acknowledge that school is not a daycare, and it’s not your job to come up with a solution [but] it’s hard to find a high schooler to babysit for date night, let alone rely on them for a childcare gap. I don’t even think childcare is the biggest concern, it’s just a huge issue.”

“We need to make big changes; I think we’re all open to change. But the solution as it’s presented doesn’t feel like something our small town can handle,” Danielson added.

Danielson believes the four-day calendar will not help retention rates but if it does, it will be short-lived. She believes the school’s culture needs revamped, stating “[teachers are] asking to be listened to and valued.”

Danielson later said, “It sounds like school culture has been improving,” but added that a calendar change could ruin improvement.

Danielson’s ultimate hope was that the school implements drastic schedule changes to improve teacher developmental time and other minor factors, staying at five days rather than going full steam ahead.

The five board members later discussed the topic and seemed mixed. Some challenged it while others supported it. A big concern was that each public forum discussing the topic swayed towards negativity.

Some board members believe it could be a tool to help the school but also worry they might disenfranchise community members in the process.

Superintendent Tyler Hotz recommends the board votes for a four or five-day calendar on Wednesday, Feb. 21. If voted in favor of, the board will spend subsequent meetings working out the various details that required a vote first.

Wellness Center

If Lone Tree is threatened by dangerous weather such as a tornado, blizzard or derecho, their only community shelter is the fire station.

However, Dave Wilson, coordinator of the Johnson County Emergency Management services, believes the fire station is a poor place for people to shelter. He believes buildings like the Wellness Center are much more valuable for a community with a displaced populace.

Thus, Wilson visited the school board to discuss the possibility of using the Wellness Center – owned by the school – as emergency shelter. 

This gives adequate shelter during the event of a storm and a place to stay if enough residents are displaced from their home. 

It would not be used if just one person or family needed the service. For example, if a house burnt down, a resident could contact Wilson who could get them in a hotel room. The county would continue to work with the individual but would not use the Wellness Center for one person or family.

What are the details?

The county provides all the necessary tools and does the work. They would scope the Wellness Center and designate areas to use in the event of a disaster. They’d set up cots and hook up a generator, if needed. They’d assign the Medical Reserve Corps, the Red Cross, or a county deputy, depending on the severity and availability of each.

Additionally, while the county is overseeing the center, they’re financially responsible for any damages of the premises.

One board member asked if the American Legion was up for consideration as well. Wilson said that it is but is not an ideal location for community shelter.

“[The American Legion is] a place that serves alcohol, not ideal. [Shelter is] typically in places that have ADA compliance, have a shower, has some type of kitchen facilities, is already a known community [center] and meets the environmental building compliance needs,” Wilson said. “[The American Legion is] certainly not as modern or up to date on different building and fire codes as the Wellness Center.”

“Predominantly, [the Wellness Center is] the ideal location in your community,” Wilson added.

The board seemed to favor this proposition but took no action at the work session.

Marine biology field trip

Lone Tree is on the path to approve a one-day marine biology fieldtrip to Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. Marine biology is a new course offered by the school, taught by high school science teacher Hunter Luttrell.

Luttrell believes the trip is beneficial to student learning and gives the students something enjoyable to look forward to. Luttrell remarked that his students have expressed interest.

Currently, nine students ranging from freshmen to juniors take the course, meaning the field trip would be a small set of students that are high school aged.

Any out-of-state trip needs approval by the board. Action could not be taken at the work session, but the board seemed to be in support of the trip.

Next board meeting: The board will come together Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the school library for their next meeting. This is a regular meeting and will likely feature a vote on the four-day calendar, among other things.