The Ruthven-Ayrshire Board of Education held its regular meeting with the following in attendance: President Darin Malm, Vice-President Jill Conlon, Director Stephanie Fay, Director Heather Ruehle, Director Susan Sikora, 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. in the Boardroom in Ruthven, Iowa. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Review of District Mission Statement- Director Susan Sikora
Approval of Agenda: Fay moved to adopt the agenda. Seconded by Conlon. Motion carried.
Guest: Master Teacher Amy Sikora.
Board Members Communication: Sikora asked about progress with behaviors and have they improved. Loder noted three families testing out of Title 1 and one family commented that they had their best IEP meeting yet.
OLD BUSINESS
Consent Items - Motion by Sikora to approve the Consent Items. Seconded by Fay . Motion carried.
Minutes- December 18, 2024 regular board minutes.
Bills/Claims- Presented by Bader
Financial Reports - Presented by Bader.
Activity Calendar-Allen moved to approve the February 2025 Board Calendar. Seconded by Loder. Motion carried. The February board meeting will be held Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.
FY26 Master Calendar Public Hearing: The Public hearing for the FY26 Master Calendar began at 6:22pm. Mr. Lewis pointed out the changes made from the previous year. Public hearing ended at 6:34 p.m. Allen moved to approve the FY26 Master Calendar as presented. Seconded by Conlon. Motion carried.
Joint Board Meeting- February 5, 2025 in Graettinger at 6:00 p.m.
Sharing Committee Meeting- March 5, 2025 in Ruthven Library at 6:00 p.m.
NHS Trip- Sikora moved to approve the NHS trip as presented. Seconded by Conlon. Motion carried.
PERSONNEL
Contracts- Conlon moved to approve the hire of Kallie Meyer(paraeducator) and Shaylana Samsel (Paraeducator). Seconded by Allen. Motion carried.
Administration Reports/Recognitions/Good news sharing - Principal report was given by Mrs. Cook. Superintendent report was given by Mr. Lewis.
Informational Items- Upcoming field trips: 1/28 Iowa Lakes Show Choir Festival, 2/6 Iowa AG Expo. 2/8 Sioux Center Showdown, 3/15 Jubilation Show Choir Competition 3/20 Opera Iowa @ ILCC. In state/overnight field trip 3/8 Tri-State Honor Band and out of state field trip 4/26 7th and 8th Show Choir to Chanhassen Theater.
Closed Session: Superintendent review. Conlon moved to go into closed session for Superintendent review per Code 21.5(1)(a). Closed session to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by the state or federal law to be kept confidential, seconded by Fay. Roll call all yes, Loder, Sikora, Conlon, Malm, Fay and Allen. Closed session began at 7:20 p.m. Sikora moved to go out of closed session at 8:03 p.m. Seconded by Allen. Roll call all yes, Loder, Sikora, Conlon, Malm, Fay and Allen. Motion carried.
Adjournment: Motion by Loder to adjourn at 8:03 p.m. Seconded by Fay. Motion carried.
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Board President, Darin Malm Board Secretary, Angie Woods
