By Steve Van Kooten

The Clayton Ridge School District's Board of Directors received good news regarding the renewal of their Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL), which went to a community vote at a special election on Sept. 8.

According to the Clayton County Elections website, the levy passed with 69-percent approval (163-72). The PPEL will take effect on July 1, 2027, and continue for 10 years. The current PPEL expires on June 30, 2027.

The vote is whether or not to renew the existing PPEL levy rate, which is a property tax levy of $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable property for up to 10 years. The district says approval will not cause an increase from the PPEL levy already in place.

Funds accrued through the PPEL can only be used for specific expenditures, such as new construction and renovation projects, transportation equipment, facility maintenance and improvements and energy conservation projects.

According to a release from the district, Clayton Ridge has used PPEL funding to purchase school buses and new technology and complete roofing repairs, among other needs.

District Superintendent Jay Marley said the PPEL did not pass on the first attempt 10 years ago. He highlighted the benefits the levy gives the school district, saying it will generate more than $587,000 for the fiscal year 2027.

As part of its justification for the PPEL's renewal, Clayton Ridge says it's developing a five-year strategic plan and working with a third party on a comprehensive facilities assessment. Marley said it will be important for the district to work on their site assessment with Denovo. That process is expected to start later this month.

Practice schedule

During the meeting, the Board adopted a policy regarding practices on Sundays and Mondays.

The revised policy prohibits mandatory practices, competitions and several other "school-sponsored activities" on Sundays without written permission, with exceptions for certain circumstances. The policy said requests for Sunday activities had to be submitted in writing and approved by the district's activities director and the building principal. Approval then has to be sent to the superintendent. The revision removed open gym sessions from the policy.

Marley said open gyms on Sundays would not require any additional paperwork like official practices would.

"We want to honor family time on Sundays, but we know coaches have to get prior approval in order for them to have anything on Sundays," he said.

At the Board's previous meeting, several members supported having open gyms removed from the policy to keep the school's facility open to students.

Marley's August meeting notes said postseason competition and "other situations in the best interest of the students" were some exceptions to the policy that would need to be considered.

The policy stipulates students will be exempt from penalties for missing Sunday practices.

"The goal is to create clear expectations without being overly restrictive, allowing us to consider the needs of individual sports, seasons, students, and unique circumstances. I believe this approach provides a good balance of consistency, accountability, flexibility, and family time while giving the Administration the ability to make reasonable decisions within the policy," Marley wrote in the meeting notes.

The Board previously discussed the practice schedule at their July 9 meeting. At the time, Marley said he needed more time to collect data before putting forth a policy recommendation. A board member made the initial request to review the policy in June.

"This will give our administrative team the ability to work with our coaches on identifying their practices they're having on Sundays, when they're needed, etc.," said Marley.

Resignations

Melissa Lacy

Other business

- approved a one-year agreement with the Northeast Iowa Food Bank for the BackPack Program, which provides food to eligible students. Back packs are given out at no cost at least once a month.

- Marley notified the Board that Clayton Ridge has been invited to join the Iowa Association of School Boards Convention on Nov. 18-20.