Cedar Rapids Community School District work session, Sep 14, 2026
1 h 42 min
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 1 h 42 min.
- Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened
What happened at this meeting
Cedar Rapids board reviews draft criteria for bell schedules and transportation plan 40:04
- The board approved the consent agenda on a roll call vote. 38:48
- District staff presented draft decision-making criteria for bell schedules and transportation for the 27-28 school year and asked for board feedback before returning the criteria for formal approval at the next board meeting. 40:12
- A staff member said a final recommendation could come to the board by December 14th, a date the staff member called tentative. 1:10:22
- Cindy Garlock presented draft legislative priorities grouped into 4 categories, along with a separate document on educational savings accounts. 1:16:09
Item by item (10)
- Opening 2:49
- Scott Drzycimski said the meeting began at 3:30 with a work session on the board's goals for the year and that the board had already approved the agenda. 2:49
- Student and staff highlights 2:49
- District staff recognized students from Washington High School, Taft Middle School and Viola Gibson Elementary. 3:27
- A staff member described a new Student Rider of the Month program in which bus drivers, van drivers and attendants nominate students for safe, respectful and responsible behavior. 7:51
- Public comment 10:32
- Scott Drzycimski said 2 speakers were scheduled and each would have 5 minutes. 10:43
- A speaker at public comment raised bullying in schools, cited Senate File 2428 and said the turnaround time for investigations needs to speed up. 11:40
- A second speaker asked the board to allow students to use phones during lunch and passing time, citing House File 782 and student safety. 17:23
- Board reports 21:44
- Cindy Garlock said the Legislative Advocacy Core Committee met on September 1st and discussed how to better communicate advocacy opportunities to the public. 21:52
- Scott Drzycimski said the Facilities and Finance Committee toured the Meadow Creek Elementary School construction site. 23:19
- Scott Drzycimski said Larson lowered the guaranteed maximum price for the Hoover and Meadow Creek projects by nearly $6.5 million. 23:19
- Superintendent report 25:46
- The superintendent recognized 5 high school seniors named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. 25:46
- The superintendent said the Safe Zone Sports program is returning and expanding, and that participating schools saw a 9% decrease in office referrals and a 34% decrease in physical aggression incidents last year. 30:30
- The superintendent said the district is projected at a loss of 275 students from last year's count, representing about a $2.8 million revenue consideration, and noted it is not a final count. 36:06
- Consent agenda 38:04
- Change order agenda 39:03
- The board heard a motion and a second to approve the change order agenda and held a voice vote. 39:03
- Bell schedule and transportation criteria 39:45
- A district staff member said staff were not bringing a preferred bell schedule or transportation plan and instead sought board feedback on proposed criteria before bringing them back for formal approval at the next board meeting. 40:04
- Staff described criteria that first test operational feasibility and financial implications using green, yellow and red ratings, then weigh developmentally appropriate start times, extracurricular access and transportation flexibility. 48:52
- In response to a question about ride length, a staff member said Iowa law sets 60 minutes on a bus for K-8 and 75 minutes for 9-12. 55:05
- Legislative priorities 1:15:41
- Cindy Garlock presented 4 priority categories, including adequate and predictable school funding with a request for a 5% SSA. 1:16:09
- Cindy Garlock said a second document asks for more transparency and accountability from institutions that receive educational savings account funds. 1:23:17
- Laura Zimmerman asked whether the board could gather broader input from teachers and families on priorities, and Cindy Garlock said the committee plans to meet with legislators in October and hopes to hold a community-focused gathering with legislators in December. 1:30:24
- Announcements and adjournment 1:40:43
Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.
What was said
What board members said, in order
I have some very beautiful graphs that have come through UEN, um, that have, have that information that I will definitely share with you. Um, the last decade we've been significantly underfunded through the last decade compared to inflation, um, and I particularly bad right now with costs the way they are.Cindy Garlock · Director1:29:13
Other meetings
Other meetings of this board
Video: posted by the district as “Board of Education | Work Session & Board Meeting - September 14, 2026”