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Ames Community School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet

34 min · 1 public speaker

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 34 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Ames school board approves Chromebook purchase and special education aid request 28:31

  • The board heard staff reports on a proposed calendar adjustment, enrollment, facilities, technology and the prior year's special education and EL excess costs. 12:44
Item by item (15)
  1. Call to order and agenda 7:28
    • The meeting was called to order with 6 of the 7 members present. 7:28
    • The agenda was approved 6⁠-⁠0. 7:53
  2. Celebrations and recognitions 7:48
    • District staff recognized a middle school student for results in an international math competition. 7:48
  3. Public forum and consent agenda 9:58
    • A speaker at public comment recognized district teachers who have served at least 30 years, with a combined 308 years of service. 10:44
    • The board then took up the consent agenda. 12:06
    • The consent agenda passed 6⁠-⁠0. 12:35
  4. Calendar adjustment 12:35
    • A staff member said the state now has 2 count days, with the second on January 15th, and proposed ending the first semester January 15th. 12:44
    • The staff member said Tuesday would be the teacher work day and second semester would start Wednesday. 14:20
    • The staff member said the adjustment would return to the board at the next meeting for a public hearing. 14:20
  5. Enrollment update 15:06
    • A staff member said in-seat counts as of last week showed 90 kids in the elementary and the secondary down 59 kids, and said these were not certified enrollment numbers. 15:06
    • The staff member said the online school has 26 students, including 2 open enrollment students from other districts. 15:06
  6. Facilities, technology and gifts update 16:14
    • A staff member said the first phase of the Northwestern and 13th Street project, cement work, would go out to bid soon. 17:19
    • The staff member said the Chromebook order would be placed after board approval because prices are increasing October 1st. 17:46
    • The staff member listed gifts to the district, including $5,000 cash. 18:16
  7. Prior year financial report 20:11
    • The chief financial officer reported a 1.65% increase in the special education deficit, a little over $65,000. 20:11
    • The chief financial officer said EL excess costs decreased almost $163,000 from the year before. 20:11
    • Asked about support for non-public schools, the chief financial officer said the numbers would be gathered and that bus routes into St. C's went from 2 last year to 1 this year. 23:15
  8. Board member comments 25:46
    • A speaker asked members to say whether they plan to attend IASB and said an email would follow on board development reading. 26:35
  9. Gifts to the district 26:14
    • A motion was made to approve the gifts as presented. 27:14
    • The gifts were approved 6⁠-⁠0. 27:26
  10. Northwestern and 13th Street parking project 27:26
    • Art Baumgartner moved to approve plans and specifications, form of contract, bid notices and estimated total cost for the parking and driveway project. 27:35
    • A second motion set a public hearing for October 19th, 2026, with notice to be published no sooner than September 30th, 2026. 28:04
    • Both motions passed 6⁠-⁠0. 27:58
  11. Chromebook purchase 28:23
    • Aaron Rodriguez moved to approve the purchase of Dell Chromebooks as presented. 28:31
    • The purchase passed 6⁠-⁠0. 28:46
  12. Elementary food services equipment 28:46
    • Art Baumgartner moved to approve the purchase of point-of-sale equipment for elementary food services from Howard Technology Solutions. 29:00
    • The purchase passed 6⁠-⁠0. 29:25
  13. Elementary audiovisual equipment 29:25
    • Art Baumgartner moved to approve Bloom's quote for new interactive flat panels. 29:38
    • A speaker asked why one quote was significantly more expensive, and a staff member said it was full retail price. 29:52
    • The motion passed 6⁠-⁠0. 30:26
  14. Special education and EL requests 30:25
    • Art Baumgartner moved to approve a request for modified allowable growth and supplemental aid for the 2025⁠-⁠2026 special education deficit of $4,033,538.67. 30:39
    • Art Baumgartner moved to approve a request to the School Budget Review Committee for modified allowable growth for EL excess costs in the amount of $458,146.67. 31:14
    • Both requests passed 6⁠-⁠0. 31:04
  15. Requests, planning calendar and adjournment 31:37
    • A request was noted for information on district spending for non-public schools. 31:37
    • The next regular meeting was set for October 5th at 5:30. 32:38
    • The motion to adjourn passed 6⁠-⁠0. 33:08

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Ames CSD - School Board Meeting - September 21st, 2026”