Charles City board approves vehicle purchase, software license extension, lease renewal and other operational items

The Charles City Comm School District board approved multiple new-business items Tuesday covering equipment, contracts, staffing and policy.

Fleet and equipment: Board members approved purchasing a 2026 Chevy Traverse to replace a 2013 Dodge Caravan with roughly 212,000 miles; staff cited all-wheel drive for travel to trainings and estimated the purchase price at about $39,479.78.

Contracts and leases: The board renewed a one-year lease with TLC for rented space while district facility improvements continue and approved a one-year extension of the Imagine Learning/Odysseyware license used for credit recovery and alternative-education programming; staff said the Odysseyware owner is transitioning products and the district will re-evaluate next year.

Personnel partnership: The board approved a 20/80 cost-share agreement with the city to hire a shared communications director, with the district’s annual share described as $40,000 and the city responsible for benefits and hiring participation; the position is slated to begin July 1.

Food service and HR items: The board approved a recommended increase in the adult lunch price to reflect rising costs (the meeting materials showed both $5.14 and $5.15 in different places; staff described the increase as necessary to break even). The board also approved a tuition-reimbursement agreement for Alex Norbier to pursue a preschool special-education endorsement; staff said the endorsement requires eight classes and that reimbursement would be subject to an employment-continuation clause.

Policy: The board completed second readings and approved policy updates to align district language with recent Iowa changes and attorney recommendations.

Each of the motions in new business was moved and seconded as recorded in the meeting and then approved by voice vote.