School Board Meetings Summary, March 2025

Dr. Crystal London
Mar 28
3 min read

Updated: Mar 28

March Meetings Summary

This March, most of our regularly scheduled School Board meetings were postponed to April. But we still held two important meetings—one on Thursday, March 13th and another on Tuesday, March 18th. Here’s what happened during those meetings and why they matter.

MARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Special Meeting, School Board Retreat (Mar. 13):

On March 13, we held a special meeting to talk about teacher pay and how our school district uses its budget. The big goal is to make sure our teachers earn $60,000 a year, a noted index aim at the national level. Right now, we’re working on a plan to get there—while staying competitive with nearby school districts that are also raising teacher pay.

We looked at how Zachary compares to other districts in spending. Our schools spend a bigger part of the budget directly on students and instruction, which is something to be proud of. But one challenge is that most of our teacher pay comes from the state’s Minimum Foundation Program (MFP), which hasn’t increased in nearly 20 years. That makes it hard to give raises.

For example, giving teachers a $1,000 raise would mean the district needs to adjust the budget by $890,000.

Our team shared a 4-level plan to raise teacher pay in steps of $2,000 each level:

Level 1: A (possible) $2,000 permanent raise by a ballot vote on March 29.
Level 2: Making the budget more efficient—this is already in progress.
Level 3: Using a more careful staffing plan and cutting extra costs.
Level 4: Asking the community to keep part of a school property tax (called millage) after old bonds end, so that money can go to teacher pay.

Administration indicated that this is a draft plan and is open to continual refining and ideation. This conversation connects to our several pillars of our strategic plan, especially Pillar 5: Workforce Talent, where community members have asked us to focus on fair pay for our teachers. You can see the full plan and presentation slides from the meeting on BoardDocs.

Resources Committee (Mar. 18):

Mr. Musso gave a report showing how much money the district planned to spend and how much has been spent so far.

Work Session (Mar. 18):

We heard from Cadence Insurance about our health plans and the status of claims for the current year. The board talked about ways to maintain the quality of coverage for employees.
We talked about how to choose new board officers (School Board President) and how to fill the interim District 1 seat, which was held by Dr. Gaynell Young.
We looked at requests to name The Advocate as our official newspaper for the 2025–2026 school year, approve advertising for bids for food and supply services, and approval to bid out for a new Special Education bus.
We considered declaring some large, unused kitchens from multiple schools as surplus, so they can be removed and sold.
We reviewed updates to the Telecommunication Devices Policy, which would better explain what devices are included.
We talked about starting a partnership with Upper Iowa University. This would give discounts to school staff who want to keep learning and support professional development.

Regular Meeting (Mar. 18):

We celebrated the Zachary High boys and girls basketball teams for winning state championships.
We also honored students on the All-Academic Composite Team.
The board voted to have Dr. Lathon return to board presidency for the rest of the term.
The board approved:

The Advocate as the official newspaper for next school year.
Advertising for food and supply bids.
Declaring old school sinks as surplus items.
Buying a new Special Education bus.

Dr. London asked the board to wait before voting on the telecommunication policy, to give the community time to give feedback. The board agreed.

The board approved the Upper Iowa University partnership to help staff with college and training costs.
Two people were nominated to fill the District 1 seat—Dr. Tracey Taylor Jarrell and Attorney Monique Fields. After introductions and discussion, Dr. Taylor-Jarrell was chosen. A special election will be held in October so voters can choose who will serve long-term.
We also began a conversation about possibly naming a school facility after Dr. Gaynell Young. Her family shared a few words.
Board members discussed upcoming State of the District forums to be hosted by board members and provide insight into accountability changes and district scoring.