The Ruthven-Ayrshire Board of Education held its regular meeting with the following in attendance:Vice-President Jill Conlon,  Director Susan Sikora, Director Amy Loder and Rob Allen.  Administration in attendance included Superintendent Marshall Lewis, SBO Josh Bader and Board Secretary Angie Woods. Absent: President Darin Malm, Director Stephanie Fay, Director Heather Ruehle and Principal Courtney Cook.  All motions were unanimous unless otherwise noted. 

Call to Order:  Vice President Conlon at 6:05 pm in the Boardroom in Ruthven, Iowa. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Review of District Mission Statement- Director Susan Sikora.

Approval of Agenda: Allen moved to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried. 

Guest:  Master Teacher Amy Sikora. 

Board Learning: None at this time.

Board Members Communication: None at this time.

Business & Action Items:

Consent Items:  Motion by Allen to approve the Consent Items. Seconded by Sikora. Motion carried. 

Minutes- June 19, 2025 Regular Board minutes.

 Bills/Claims- Presented by Bader 

 Financial Reports - Presented by Bader.

Action Items:

Activity Calendar- Loder moved to approve the August 2025 Board Calendar.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.  The August board meeting will be held Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.

PLAEA 25-26 Service Agreement- Sikora moved to approve the service agreement with the PLAEA for the 25-26 School year.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion Carried.

IASB Legislative Priorities- Allen moved for the board to support the following Legislative Priorities: Mental Health,Local Accountability & Decision-Making, Supplemental State Aid and Unfunded Mandates. Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried.

Staff Handbook- Loder moved to approve the 25-26 Staff Handbook.  Seconded by Sikora.  Motion carried.

Coaches Handbook- Motion by Loder to approve the 25-26 Coaches handbook.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

Student/Parent Handbooks- Sikora moved to approve the 25-26 elementary, middle school, and high school student/parent handbooks.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried.

Board Policy- Loder moved to approve the following policies with changes. 103- Equal Educational Opportunity, 401.2- Equal Employment Opportunity, 401.17- Limitations to Employee References, and 501.9- Chronic Absenteeism and Truancy.  Seconded by Sikora.  Motion carried. 

Personnel: None at this time

Administration Reports:

Principal report- None given.

Superintendent report- Mr Lewis presented his report.

Informational Items: None at this time

Adjournment:

 Sikora  moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 pm.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

 

The Ruthven-Ayrshire Board of Education held its regular meeting with the following in attendance: President-Darin Malm, Vice-President Jill Conlon,  Director Susan Sikora, Director Amy Loder and Director Rob Allen.  Administration in attendance included Superintendent Marshall Lewis, Principal Courtney Cook, Director of Student Services Chad Francis,  SBO Josh Bader and Board Secretary Angie Woods.  Absent: Director Heather Ruehle and Director Stephanie Fay. All motions were unanimous unless otherwise noted. 

Call to Order: President Malm  at 6:00 pm in the Library in Ruthven, Iowa. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Review of District Mission Statement- Director Sikora.

Approval of Agenda: Allen moved to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried. 

Guest:  Master Teacher Amy Sikora, Seniors Emma Bland and Shane Moran.

Board Learning: None at this time.

Board Members Communication: Loder asked to give the parents whose child attends an event due to the reading contest be given an activity ticket for that event so they may attend.

Open Campus: Loder moved to approve Open Campus for the Senior Class of 2026.  Seconded by Sikora.  Motion carried.

Consent Items:  Motion by Sikora to approve the Consent Items. Seconded by Loder. Motion carried. 

Minutes-August 20, 2025

Bills and Claims -Presented by Bader

Financial Report-Presented by Bader

Action Items

Activity Calendar- Motion by Allen to approve the October 2025 Activity Calendar with the next board meeting Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.  Seconded by Conlon. Motion carried.

Open Enrollment- no action needed

Inter-District Transportation- Tabled due to lack of information.

28E Agreements- Conlon moved to approve the  28E Agreements with Graettinger-Terril CSD. Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried.

Personnel

Conlon moved to approve the hire of Darcy Benson- paraeducator. Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried.

Sikora moved to approve the hire of Colten Snavely-Custodan.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

Allen moved to approve the resignation of Nicole Williamson-paraeducator.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried

Administration Reports/Recognitions/Good News Sharing

Administration gave their reports

Informational Items- None at this time

Adjournment:  Allen moved to adjourn at 7:35 p.m.  Seconded by Sikora.  Motion carried.

The Ruthven-Ayrshire Board of Education held its regular meeting with the following in attendance: Vice-President Jill Conlon,  Director Susan Sikora, Director Amy Loder, Director Heather Ruehle, Director Stephanie Fay and Director Rob Allen.  Administration in attendance included Superintendent Marshall Lewis, Principal Courtney Cook,  SBO Josh Bader and Board Secretary Angie Woods.  Absent: Board President Darin Malm.  All motions were unanimous unless otherwise noted. 

Call to Order: Vice President Jill Conlon  at 6:00 pm in the board room  in Ruthven, Iowa. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Review of District Mission Statement- Director Loder.

Approval of Agenda: Allen moved to adopt the agenda with addition of a contract. Seconded by Sikora.  Motion carried. 

Guest:  Master Teacher Amy Sikora.

Board Learning: None at this time.

Board Members Communication: Question of how much educational time is lost with students traveling to Graettinger daily.  Lewis informed the board it is 20 minutes daily but it is not educational time they are losing out of.

Consent Items:  Motion by Sikora to approve the Consent Items. Seconded by Fay. Motion carried. 

Minutes-September 17, 2025

Bills and Claims -Presented by Bader

Financial Report-Presented by Bader

Action Items

Activity Calendar- Motion by Ruehle to approve the November 2025 Activity Calendar with the next board meeting Wednesday, November 19pm, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.  Seconded by Loder. Motion carried.

Middle School out of state field trip- Loder moved to approve the out of state field trip to Chanhassen Dinner Theater for the middle school students.  Seconded by Sikora. Motion carried.

Baseball Claim- Fay moved to table until the November board meeting.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

SBRC Letter for Special Education Deficit:  Motion by Loder to approve the SBRC Special Education Deficit in the amount of $283,349.43.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

Title One Application:  Motion by Fay to approve the Title l Basic allocation for $44,752.63, Title llA Supporting Effective Instruction for $8,959.51 and Title lVA Student Support and Academic Enrichment for $10,000.  Seconded by Ruehle.  Motion carried.

Bank Depository Resolution- Motion by Sikora to approve the Bank Depository Resolution for 2025-2026.  Seconded by Loder.   Motion carried.

Board Policies- Ruehle moved to approve the following board policies with changes: 209, 209.R1, 401.2, 502.8, 507.5, 708 and 710.1E1. Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

Personnel

Hires- Allen moved to approve the contract for shared NHS Advisor to Brandie Malm and Para Educator to Corinne Cook.  Seconded by Loder. Motion carried.

Resignation- Sikora moved to accept the resignation of Head Baseball Coach by Brandon Villabrille.  Seconded by Fay.  Motion carried.

Administration Reports/Recognitions/Good News Sharing

The administration gave their reports.

Informational Items

School Board Election Tuesday, November 4, 2025. BoardConvention November 19-21st in DesMoines.  Open Enrollments BJ-8th, RJ-KG and EJ-5th to Spencer. HS Wrestling Volunteer approved by GT David Greenwald, Nate Howard, and Jason Joyce.

Adjournment

Sikora moved to adjourn at  8:09 pm.  Seconded by Fay.  Motion carried.

 

The Ruthven-Ayrshire Board of Education held its regular meeting with the following in attendance:President Darin Malm,  Vice-President Jill Conlon,  Director Susan Sikora, Director Amy Loder, Director Heather Ruehle, and Director Rob Allen.  Administration in attendance included Superintendent Marshall Lewis, Principal Courtney Cook,and  SBO Josh Bader.  Absent: Director Stephanie Fay and Board Secretary Angie Woods.  All motions were unanimous unless otherwise noted. 

Call to Order: President Darin Malm at 6:00 pm in the board room in Ruthven, Iowa. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Review of District Mission Statement- Director Sikora.

Approval of Agenda: Conlon moved to adopt the agenda as presented. Seconded by Ruehle.  Motion carried. 

Guest:  Teacher Pavel Buravtsov.

Board Learning: Buravtsov spoke about the Science Fair and his classroom experience this year.

Consent Items:  Motion by Loder to approve the Consent Items. Seconded by Allen. Motion carried. 

Minutes-October 22, 2025

Bills and Claims -Presented by Bader

Financial Report-Presented by Bader

Action Items

Baseball claim-Motion by Allen to reject paying on ballfield claim.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried.

Activity Calendar- Motion by Conlon to approve the December 2025 Activity Calendar with the next board meeting Wednesday, December  17th, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.  Seconded by Loder. Motion carried.

Early Graduation-Died due to lack of motion.

Prairie Lakes AEA Board Election- Sikora moved to approve the vote for board member Susan Brown to represent Director District No. 1 of the Prairie Lakes AEA Education Board of Directors.  Seconded by Ruehle.  Motion carried.

PACDGC Grant- Heather Ruehle made a motion to apply for a Mini Grant from the PACGDC for Show Choir Outfits which includes dresses, belts, pants/shirt outfits, black ties, matching vests, dance shoes and bags for storage for $4992.00. Seconded by  Susan Sikora.  Motion carried.

Personnel- none at this time

Administration Reports/Recognitions/Good News Sharing

The administration gave their reports.

Informational Items- none at this time

Adjournment

Ruehle moved to adjourn at 7:52 pm.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion ca

 

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Regular Boards Minutes

      6:00 PM 

The Ruthven-Ayrshire Board of Education held its regular meeting with the following in attendance: President-Darin Malm, Vice-President Jill Conlon,  Director Susan Sikora, Director Amy Loder, Director Stephanie Fay and Director Rob Allen.  Administration in attendance included Superintendent Marshall Lewis, Principal Courtney Cook,  SBO Josh Bader and Board Secretary Angie Woods.  Absent: Director Heather Ruehle. All motions were unanimous unless otherwise noted. 

Call to Order: President Malm  at 6:00 pm in the Library in Ruthven, Iowa. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Review of District Mission Statement- Director Conlon.

Approval of Agenda: Fay moved to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried. 

Guest:  Master Teacher Amy Sikora and Director of Student Services Chad Francis.

Board Learning: None at this time.

Board Members Communication: None at this time.

Business & Action Items:

Consent Items:  Motion by Sikora to approve the Consent Items. Seconded by Loder. Motion carried. 

Minutes-July 23, 2025 Regular Board minutes.

 Bills/Claims- Presented by Bader 

 Financial Reports - Presented by Bader.

Action Items:

Activity Calendar- Conlion moved to approve the September 2025 Board Calendar.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried.  The September board meeting will be held Wednesday, September 17, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.

ISJIT Resolution- Sikora moved to approve the ISJIT Resolution.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

Course Offering and Class Schedule- Loder moved to approve the Course Offering and Class Schedule for the 2025-2026 school year.  Seconded by Conlon.  Motion carried.

Hearing Officers- Conlon moved to approve the Hearing Officers with the change of Conlon-Head Negotiator, Fay-Negotiator, and Allen Observer.  Seconded by Fay.  Motion carried.  

Board Policy-Conlon moved to approve the following board policies with changes. 103, 103E1, 103E2, 103E3, 103E4, 103E5, 103E6, 103R1, 206.3, 212, 303.1, 304.2, 401.2, 401.6, 402.3, 501.3, 501.8, 501.9, 501.9R1, 502.11,502.11E1, 502.11E2, 502.11E3, 503.9, 503.9R1, 505.5, 506.1, 507.1, 600, 603.1, 603.4, 603.5, 605.1R1, 708, and 901. Seconded by Fay.  Motion carried.

Personnel: Loder moved to approve the hire of Payge Elliott as Para Educator. Seconded by Fay. Motion Carried.

Sikora moved to approve Maylene Mangurali as 6-12 classroom Math teacher and Interventionist.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

Administration Reports:

Superintendent and Principal reports were given.

Informational Items: Open Enrollment ZO 10th to RA.

Adjournment: Sikora moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:12 pm.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

The Ruthven-Ayrshire Board of Education held its regular meeting in the board room in Ruthven, IA.  The following were in attendance: President Darin Malm, Vice-President Jill Conlon, Director Susan Sikora, Director Stephanie Fay, Director Heather Ruehle, Director Amy Loder and Director Rob Allen. Administration in attendance included Superintendent Marshall Lewis, Principal Courtney Cook, SBO Josh Bader and Board Secretary Angie Woods.   All motions were unanimous unless otherwise noted. 

Call to Order -President Malm at 6:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 

Review of District Mission Statement -Sikora

Approve Agenda - Motion by Ruehle to approve the agenda. Seconded by Fay. Motion carried.

Welcome Visitors and Guests- Amy Sikora, Nathan Puhl, Brandie Malm and Ron Sikora  

Board Learning-Nathen Puhl from KILR presented.

Minutes- Sikora moved to approve the November 18, 2025 regular board meeting minutes.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried.

Bills and Claims-Ruehle moved to approve the bills and claims as presented.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

Financials- Sikora moved to approve the December financials presented by Bader.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried.

ADJOURNMENT- “Sine Die” Sikora moved to adjourn the retiring board at 6:19 pm.  Seconded by Malm.  Motion carried.

 

Recognition of Board Service:

The Board of Education recognized Susan Sikora for 25 years of dedicated service to the Board of Education.  A plaque was presented in appreciation of her many years of commitment and service to the district.

The Board also recognized Darin Malm for 12 years of service to the Board of Education.  A plaque was presented in appreciation of his time, service and dedication to the District.

The Board congratulated both individuals and expressed appreciation for their service to the district.

 

Organizational Meeting of the Board

Board Secretary Woods called the Organizational meeting to order at 6:23 pm. 

The Oath of office was given to re-elected Director Amy Loder and newly elected Directors Emily Grange and Jamie Dodd.

Approve Agenda- Ruehle moved to approve the agenda as presented.  Seconded by Fay.  Motion Carried.

Election of President- Fay nominated Conlon as Board President.  Seconded by Loder.  Ruehle moved to cease 

nominations. Seconded by Allen. Roll call taken.  All ayes.  Motion carried. Woods administered the Oath to Conlon.

Election of Vice President- Ruehle nominated Allen as Board Vice President.  Seconded by Loder.  Fay moved to cease nominations.  Seconded by Dodd.  Roll call taken.  All ayes.  Motion carried.

Determine Time and Place of Regular Meeting- Ruehle moved to approve the 3rd Wednesday or the Wednesday after the 3rd Monday at 6:00 pm in the Ruthven Board Room.  Seconded by Fay.  Motion carried.

Name of Board Legal Counsel- Loder motioned to approve Steve Avery as the Board Legal Counsel.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

Board Committee Members- Loder moved to approve the Board Committee Members with changes.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

Board Treasurer- Fay moved to approve Josh Bader as Board Treasurer.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.  Bader took the oath of office.

Board Secretary- Fay moved to approve Angie Woods as Board Secretary.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried.  Woods  took the oath of office.

Business & Action Items

Activity Calendar- Loder moved to approve the January 2026 board calendar.  Seconded by Ruehle.  Motion carried.  The next board meeting will be January 21, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.

Josephson Service- Fay  moved to approve Josephson Services for $21,000.  Seconded by Allen.  Motion carried.

Early Graduation Request- Loder moved to approve the early graduation request as presented. Seconded by Fay.  Motion carried.

At-Risk/Dropout Plan- Fay moved to approve the At-Risk/Dropout plan as presented.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried

SBRC Application- Allen moved to approve the Increased Enrollment request in the amount of $0.00.  Seconded by Fay.  Motion carried.

Fay moved to approve to submit the Open Enrollment Out that was  not on the prior year's in the amount of $42,676.25 .  Seconded by Ruehle. Motion carried.

Ruehle moved to approve the authorization to submit a request to the School Budget Review Committee for a modified supplemental amount of $0.00.  Seconded by Loder. Motion carried

Personnel- Fay moved to approve Mark Geelan as Head Baseball Coach.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion carried.

Administration Reports/Recognitions/Good News Sharing

Administration gave their reports

Adjournment-  Ruehle moved to adjourn at 7:21 p.m.  Seconded by Loder.  Motion Carried.