T-R PHOTOS BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Marshalltown Community School District Superintendent Theron Schutte, center, addresses board president Sean Heitmann, left, and board member Leah Stanley, right, about a voluntary incentive for employees who produce proof of completed vaccination against COVID-19. The board approved the incentive by a 5-0 vote.
About three weeks after the Marshalltown school board tabled action on a vaccine or weekly testing mandate for district employees, Superintendent Theron Schutte and Director of Business Operations Paulette Newbold presented a new proposal that would provide a monetary incentive for staff members who share the information voluntarily during Monday night’s regular meeting.
Schutte said the data would be useful in determining how many individuals would need weekly testing in January if the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate is upheld in court. It would also help administration in deciding whether the testing could be completed with the district’s available staff or if it would have to be conducted elsewhere.
According to Schutte, the district intends to make testing as accessible as possible to employees by not forcing them to find their own testing center and potentially using the school’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to cover the costs.
The main goal of the incentive, he explained, is to help the school district adequately prepare when the need arises and budget for the testing costs accordingly. The goal is not to force the vaccine on staff members who have not yet received it, he said, but rather to provide options if they choose not to get vaccinated.
“Whether people are for it or against it is really kind of beside the point,” Schutte said. “We need to be prepared in the case (that) we have to implement it.”
T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY From left to right, Rep. Sue Cahill (D-Marshalltown), Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour) and Sen. Jeff Edler (R-State Center) attended Monday night’s meeting to discuss legislative priorities and take questions from Marshalltown school board members and administrators.
A motion to approve the $150 financial incentive carried in a unanimous 5-0 vote by all board members present. Jan McGinnis and board Vice President Sara Faltys were absent.
Anna Wolvers, who spoke during the public comment period, criticized the proof of vaccine incentive and referenced the Nuremberg Code in her remarks, expressing opposition to both vaccine and mask mandates. Haley Williams, who expressed similar sentiments in opposition to vaccines and masks in schools, submitted another comment via email, and Newbold read it aloud during the meeting.
Dr. Nora Ryan, Director of Human Resources for the Marshalltown Community School District, presented a slightly modified version of the master contract with the Marshalltown Education Association including additional language that had previously been omitted. A new side letter was included detailing how new teachers’ salaries would be evaluated, and it sparked a conversation about how the contract would affect the district’s hiring processes amid nationwide staffing shortages.
“We are in desperate need of bringing onboard staff, so we are using this as an additional way to hopefully bring in more applicants,” Ryan said.
New board member Zach Wahl asked Ryan if the MCSD had considered hiring recruiters to deal with the problem, and she responded that while Marshalltown hasn’t taken such a path yet, larger districts like Ankeny have begun to hire them with annual salaries as high as $80,000. The contract amendment ultimately passed by a 5-0 vote.
Sen. Jeff Edler (R-State Center), Rep. Sue Cahill (D-Marshalltown) and Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour) addressed the board on Monday, covering topics such as how teachers’ salaries could be raised, student mental health and how best to serve students in need of special education.
The board recognized Lennox Industries for being an outstanding career readiness partner, and Schutte thanked the company for providing both financial support and career readiness to students. Director of Plant Operations Miguel Gutierrez and Human Resources Director Jess O’Neill accepted the recognition on behalf of Lennox.
In other business…
• Heard presentations from Rogers Elementary, Central Rivers Area Education Agency and the MHS Student Board representatives.
• Approved Hannah Al-Mazroa’s research project “English Language Learners and Word Problems: How can their Scores on Math Standardized Assessments increase?”
• Accepted an anonymous donation of $15,553.14 to be put toward the Welcome Center.
• Approved first readings of board policies 404.1 regarding employee conduct and appearance and 407.3-E1 application for retirement.
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Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611 or
smeyer@timesrepublican.com.
- T-R PHOTOS BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Marshalltown Community School District Superintendent Theron Schutte, center, addresses board president Sean Heitmann, left, and board member Leah Stanley, right, about a voluntary incentive for employees who produce proof of completed vaccination against COVID-19. The board approved the incentive by a 5-0 vote.
- T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY From left to right, Rep. Sue Cahill (D-Marshalltown), Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour) and Sen. Jeff Edler (R-State Center) attended Monday night’s meeting to discuss legislative priorities and take questions from Marshalltown school board members and administrators.
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