LONE TREE

Dropping Mondays or Fridays from the school week in the next academic year is a proposal under consideration at Lone Tree. 

The Lone Tree school board met on Wednesday, Dec. 6, for a flurry of different actions. Before examining how the calendar might be changed, the board honored Joel Yedlik for his 18 years of service on the school board. Yedlik officially retired after the annual meeting concluded.

New board member Jennifer Eden and re-elected Alex Ogren were inaugurated; the board then voted for board positions, re-electing Robert Sladek as President and electing Ogren as Vice President.

The board elected to keep their meeting times the same heading into a new year.

School calendar

Superintendent Tyler Hotz used this meeting to present the board with a proposed four-day school week. Hotz presented two different versions of this proposed change, one making most Mondays a day off. The school year would begin on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, and conclude Thursday, May 22, 2025. There would be three Mondays throughout the course of the year where students would have school.

The other option dedicated Friday as the day off. It held the same start and end dates but saw seven individual Fridays as school days. This is because many holidays are on Mondays. On a week with a Monday holiday, the students would come to school on Friday to conclude their four-day week. 

The change would add 45 minutes to the school day while making Wednesday a full day regardless of which option is chosen.

Fridays have the most absences and that is why Hotz prefers this schedule. Making Fridays a universal day off could help attendance on other school days.

The normal calendar was also presented. It would be used if a four-day option is not.

Hotz presented these calendars in response to retention of staff and students being named as a top priority by both the board and administration. Other nearby districts are toying with the idea of a four-day school week, and doing the same could help Lone Tree remain competitive. Lone Tree also plans on keeping their wages competitive to help bring in new staff and retain them.

The four-day week could save money, but it would not take from teachers’ pockets.

Of possible issues, daycare was a main topic of discussion. Hotz admitted that he did not have plans for a daycare ready to present but administration is looking into it to make sure everyone in the community could transition to a four-day school week easily. This means incorporating daycare in some way to give parents stability.

Another challenge is transportation for athletics on the non-school day. The board would need to iron out the details but still planned on providing transportation for the athletes who need it. 

Lone Tree hopes to receive community feedback on this calendar. To see the calendars, go to Lone Tree’s school website. Then find school board under the district tab. From here, click on “Online agenda/minutes.”

Here, click on “Go to meeting.” The calendar is under the Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, meeting as item 26 H.

This change could come as early as next school year. However, it is more likely that the district will continue with another traditional year with more scheduled days off to prepare the community.

No final decisions were made at this workshop meeting.

WoodRiver Energy savings

One way Lone Tree could pay their teachers more while transitioning to a four-day school week is by working with WoodRiver Energy.

WoodRiver Energy offers a program that allows a school to pay a premium for a controlled price on their natural gas purchases. This controlled price could be paid out of the management fund, saving money in the general fund which could then be put in teachers’ pockets. 

The premium is paid at the beginning of the year and is 125% of the schools’ average historical usage. Since it is a locked price, it would save money in the event of natural disasters.

WoodRiver Energy operates in Iowa and has 139 districts participating with a 99% retention rate.

Although they did not take action at the work session, Sladek did raise some concerns.

“I can almost guarantee you we’re going to pull that money and give it to teachers, and we can’t go back. Then next year comes up and we can say, ‘we can undo it’ [if WoodRiver Energy increases their rate], but you’re going to have [angry] teachers or we’re going to deplete something else,” he said.

His fear is being trapped into payment with no real escape, hence the 99% retention rate.

The board will keep looking into WoodRiver Energy before making any final decisions.

Potential preschool changes

Lone Tree has a choice to make. The board was presented with three options for preschool. Two would change the program and one is the status quo.

The two new options rid the program of 3-year-old preschool. Specifically, one has school for kids four days a week with a prep for the teachers, and the other proposes a five-day week which would need specialized scheduling.

Lone Tree is one of the only districts in the area to offer 3-year-old preschool, which some of its 13 students travel to attend.

This topic should see a resolution sooner rather than later as the district needs to make a swift decision on maintaining the 3-year-old program.

Board workshop: HVAC update

The board was met by Shive-Hattery representatives to discuss the school’s HVAC trajectory for the gym system replacement and the boiler systems.

The gym system will cost the school $45,000 and if all things go according to plan, the system will be ready before the start of next school year.

The boiler system is a different story.

Shive-Hattery presented multiple different options for the school to consider. The board hopes to have a plan for their boiler system sometime next year before voting in November to secure the necessary funds for the large project.

Next meeting: Lone Tree will next meet on Wednesday, Dec. 20, in the school library at 6:30 p.m. for an official board meeting.