LONE TREE 

After spending the last few months periodically pondering a change to Lone Tree’s preschool program, the school board finally made a decision during their sole June meeting on Wednesday, June 5.

The board voted to keep the program as is. The preschool program includes one section of 3-year-old preschool, currently enrolling 15 students, and one section of 4-year-old preschool with 19 currently enrolled and another on a waitlist. The program is taught by one teacher and one paraprofessional.

Board action

One summer project advocated by Superintendent Tyler Hotz involved replacing the baseball and softball scoreboards as both could potentially malfunction. The board could not come to agreement on if the scoreboards truly need replaced, thus there was no motion to fix them.

The board approved student handbooks, their second reading of the 200-209.7 board policies, their 24-25 GWAEA PowerSchool contract, and appointed Business Manager Shelia Tharp as the new Board Secretary, effective August 1, as Administrative Assistant Renae Williams will be stepping down from the board secretary position effective July 31.

The board also entertained the purchase of a generator for the Wellness Center to be used by Johnson County Emergency Management in case of an emergency. Bids are still too high for the school to comfortably make any decision.

Next meeting: The Lone Tree School Board will not meet again until Wednesday, July 10 in an effort to cut down on their summer meetings. This lone July meeting will be held in the District Office, starting at 6:30 p.m. with a public hearing for the transfer of $55,000 in excess funds from the FY23 professional development categorical fund into the school’s flexibility fund.

Representatives of the Iowa Association of School Boards are expected at the business meeting to aid a conversation about the schools’ public purpose policy, which has caused confusion between Lone Tree’s FFA chapter and administration.