CC/E board discusses open enrollment
Members also officially change board elections
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CC/E students learn about their digital footprints during a computer coding workshop last week. The school board on Monday discussed ways to keep students from open enrolling out of the district before seventh grade.
The Clay Central/Everly school board on Monday discussed ways to potentially reduce the number of students who open enroll out of the district.
According to discussion, at least one open enrollment application on the agenda came from a student who will be in sixth grade next year and wanted to begin the transition to Spencer, where CC/E has a tuition-out agreement for grades 7-12. Director of Student Services Michelle Huntress said the parents of the student want their child to get acquainted with Spencer and make new friends before seventh grade, as they feared the change would be too drastic a year from now.
Board Member Allison Goyette believed the district needed to do a better job explaining to parents that CC/E students aren't the only new kids in the building when they jump from Royal to Spencer in seventh grade.
"I don't think parents realize that," she said. "They are not the only new kids in that school."
The same situation also applies at other districts like Sioux Central, Okoboji and Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, she said. Goyette suggested the school have students who've made the transition share their stories during CC/E Family Night. Superintendent Kevin Wood also suggested the district compile a FAQ sheet for parents regarding their options after sixth grade.
"I think it would be good for them to hear firsthand from students about what their experiences are like," said Goyette.
In other business, the board officially tweaked the way members are elected.
The board last March agreed to move forward with changes to current director districts. Previously, all voting CC/E constituents elected each board member from the director district in which the candidate resided. Members were required to live in the district they represented.
The setup made it difficult to find candidates in recent years. In an effort to remedy the situation, the board changed the rules so two members (Districts 1 and 2) must reside north of county road B24 while two must reside south of B24 (Districts 4 and 5). District 3 will now be an at-large spot, and the seat holder can reside anywhere inside the district.
Current board members Allison Goyette and Barb Trierweiler would represent the south side of the district while Allyn Heikens and Denny Dalen would represent the north. Board Member Brian Schmidt would hold the at-large seat.
A school board can only change its director districts and election process once every 10 years. The change was approved unanimously.
Additionally, the board accepted the resignations of associate Abigail Ney, fourth grade teacher Kaetlyn Warburton and second grade teacher Lori Larson, who is taking early retirement.
Larson spent 31 years at CC/E.
"She's done wonderful things for our community, she's done wonderful things for our school," said Goyette. "We hope to see her still around."
