Members of the North Tama Board of Education and Superintendent David Hill (center) pictured during the March 27 public hearing held in the high school gymnasium in Traer. The board elected to meet in the gym in case of a possible large turnout for the new, so-called ‘Truth-in-Taxation’ hearing but only seven members of the public were in attendance of which only two chose to address the board. Pictured from left, Jenny Sniffin, David Calderwood, board secretary Sara Forrester (partially hidden), president Rod Zobel, Superintendent Hill, Doug Dvorak, and Haley Blaine. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Telegraph note: This story has been updated with the correct sharing incentive student numbers for superintendent and operations/maintenance management positions.

TRAER – The North and South Tama school districts have officially agreed to unite in more ways than one.

During last Wednesday’s special meeting of the North Tama Board of Education, a motion to consider a three-way operational sharing agreement with South Tama was unanimously approved by all five members present (David Boldt and Cheryl Popelka were absent).

​​Under the agreement, South Tama superintendent John Cain will divide his time between the two districts beginning with the 2024-25 school year, spending approximately two days per week at North Tama.

Also as part of the agreement, the two districts will share a director of maintenance and an ‘other business official/payroll.’ The two positions – currently held by South Tama’s Steve McAdoo and Katie Hulin, respectively – will spend 20% of their time at North Tama.

Cain’s North Tama salary will be $27,544 per year. Currently, North Tama Superintendent David Hill’s 0.75FTE annual salary is $132,005.60 (which does not include benefits or travel expenses), amounting to more than $100,000 in savings for the district beginning next school year. Hill is resigning at the end of the current fiscal year to take over as superintendent at Waverly-Shell Rock.

While the sharing agreement itself will provide even more savings by adding students to the district’s enrollment numbers, such savings will not be felt by the district until the 2025-26 school year due to state guidelines.

In Iowa, sharing a superintendent generates nine additional students for each school district, while sharing an operations/maintenance management position generates four additional students.

As part of previous Telegraph reporting, Superintendent Hill told the newspaper, “With the sharing incentives added in plus the sharing in the cost of all three positions, it is my best estimate that the financial boost will amount to about a million dollars for North Tama over a five-year period.”

Further budget talk

Also during the meeting which was held in the high school gym due to the earlier public hearing, further cost-saving measures were discussed including the previously considered elimination of the district’s iJAG (Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates) program which would save roughly $25,500 annually.

Hill told the board iJAG has offered to cover half of the cost of next year’s program which includes a teacher.

The board has also been considering cutting a sixth-grade section for next year as part of the effort to save more than $400,000 in general fund expenditures. Reducing one elementary section would save the district roughly $64,092.83. The board was now leaning toward not cutting a sixth-grade section.

The board did not take any action following the discussion.

‘Truth-in-Taxation’

During the earlier ‘Truth-in-Taxation’ public hearing – new this year following legislation enacted by the Iowa Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds last session – seven members of the public were in attendance, scattered throughout the mostly empty bleachers. Only two North Tama property taxpayers chose to address the board regarding the proposed tax levy for next fiscal year. The new levy has been proposed at $13.42 per $1,000 of taxable valuation – $4.05 higher than last year.

One of the public comments asked if taxes will “go back down” if the school district “closed” to which Hill said, no, not permanently, the bond for the new addition would still need to be paid off. Hill added that enrollment in the district has been “fairly level” recently.