Board Approves
2010-11 Budget
The Council Bluffs Board of Education approved a property tax rate of $18.59 per thousand. This is an increase of $1.79 over the current rate of $16.80 per thousand. For the owner of a $100,000 home, this will result in a property tax increase of $106 next year ($8.84 more per month) for an annual tax of $872 for education. For the owner of a $200,000 home, this will result in an increase of $212 next year ($17.69 per month) for an annual tax of $1,744 for education.
The increase in the property tax rate will generate an additional $3.5 million in property tax revenue and will not require any layoffs. Board members indicated they approved the increase the tax rate to provide the necessary resources and to demonstrate support for the progress being made in the District due to the hard work and dedication of teachers, administrators and support staff members.
While there will be no layoff notices, there will be 33 fewer employees in the district, all due to retirements and resignations, and some staff members will be transferred involuntarily to other assignments within the district. The budget maintains an average elementary class size at 24 to 1 and will result in an estimated fund balance of $2.3 million.
Gage Weber Receives 2nd Place at Woodman Speech Contest
Gage Weber, 5th grade, represented Bloomer School in the AEA 13 Woodmen Speech Contest and received 2nd place!
The next step is competing for state against the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners from 5th, 6th, and 7th/ 8th grade. The nine students will compete May 4th, at AEA 13. One person will be chosen to represent Area 13 at the state contest.
This year's topic is "If I were President."
Jason Plourde Receives Promising Professional Award from the University of Nebraska
The Promising Professional Award is given to recent University of Nebraska graduates who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and success in their profession within a short period of time. Click here for the complete story.
Name Suggestions Wanted
by April 23rd for New Elementary School
A School District Committee of parents, students and teachers as well as members of the facilities committee, school board and community at large is seeking suggestions of names for the community's newest elementary school. The school, set to open in time for the 2011-12 school year, will be located at the intersection of College Road and Valley View Drive. It will primarily serve some of the students who are presently in the Bloomer, Hoover and Gunn attendance areas. The committee is encouraging suggestions of a wide variety.
Please submit suggestions of a school name, along with a brief rationale, by April 23rd to any one of the committee members or directly to the following email address: namingcommittee@cbcsd.org
Committee members include:
Alexis Christiansen
Brant & Heidi Christiansen
Goldie Deboer
Donna Hick
Joe Hotz
Alicia Knau
Mark McGee
Janelle Miller
Erin Schoening
Ron Tekippe
Julie Williams
Marvin Arnpriester
Glen Mitchell
Sue Rice
The Committee will review all submitted names on April 26th and recommend one or two for the Board of Education's consideration and approval in May.
Kanesville Students collaborate with Community through Service Learning Projects
 Kanesville students and teachers have jumped into a new endeavor! They are connecting their learning with the community. In a service learning project, the students research, design, and implement a project, based on a need in the community.
Click here for the complete story.
Rue Students Participate in Book Club
Rue students love to read and discuss during book club. Thirty fourth and fifth graders and 4 teachers met twice a week during their lunch to discuss Iowa Children's Choice books. Through Papa John's family nights, books were purchased and an end of the year voting party was held. A special thank you to the parents for supporting the family nights! Students voted for "No Talking," by Andrew Clements as their favorite book. The Iowa Children's Choice state award from voting throughout the state will be announced in late April.
Students Honored at State History Day
Congratulations to the following Kirn students who qualified for the State History Day Competition in Des Moines , Iowa on May 3, 2010. These students have been working after school twice a week since September and also came in to work at school on student vacation days in January, February, and March to prepare projects for the competition. This year’s theme is “Innovation in History: Impact and Change”. Deb Masker is the group’s sponsor. To view the complete list of state qualifiers click here.
Congratulations to Abraham Lincoln freshman Katie Hummel who qualified for the Senior State History Day Competition on April 26, 2010 in the Individual Documentary category. Her project is entitled: Jazz: America’s Innovative Musical Form.
Wilson Middle School to Host Weekend Institute for Gifted Students
On April 10, 2010, Wilson Middle School will host WINGS (Weekend Institute for Gifted Students) classes. WINGS is sponsored by the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa. Classes are open to 3rd through 7th graders in the Council Bluffs area who have participated in BESTS testing through the Belin-Blank Center, participate in a gifted program through their school, or have a unique ability in a particular subject area. Course content is designed to stimulate interest and provide students with opportunities for learning that are not normally part of the core curriculum. Click WINGS for more information
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Gunn Preschool Students Show they are "All-Stars" by Reading 1,500 Books
Students in Danielle Philmon's preschool class at Gunn Elementary participated in the All Star Reader incentive program all year, with their parents as partners. This week, the students reached a milestone in doubling their goal by reading 1,500 books outside of school with the help of our supportive parents/families. For every 25 books read, the preschoolers received a free book from the classroom book box. To track the progress, a "Mission Possible" bar graph was displayed outside the classroom to show students how many books these students completed throughout the year.
Nature Night at Edison Elementary
Tuesday, April 6th Edison Elementary hosted a Family Nature Night, which was sponsored by the Hitchcock Nature Center. The event included hands-on science and arts/crafts activities as well as many, many nature related booths. Refreshments were provided by Whole Foods. Students and their families had a great time learning more about Nature!
Tucker Center Students Excel at IWCC
Speech Tournament
On April 20th, seven dual-credit enrollment students from the Tucker Career & College Center competed in the Iowa Western Community College Invitational speech tournament. In six rounds of preliminary competition, 39 students in total competed against one another for first-place bids and the opportunity to advance to the evening’s final round of competition.
Top speakers at the conclusion of all rounds of preliminary competition included the followingTucker Center students:
Center One: 1 st- Kelsie Skow & 5th-Shreeya Patel
Center Two: 2nd- Juanita Kerns
Center Three: 2nd- Chelsie Ruiz & 5th-Kyle Birnley 
Center Four: 1st-Lauren Slyter
Center Five: 6th-Kelsey Krueger
In the evening’s final round of competition, athree judge panel unanimously ranked Tucker Center student Kelsie Skow (junior, Thomas Jefferson) first overall and TC student Lauren Slyter (senior, Abraham Lincoln) third.
County Residents Urged to Sign Up for Free Weather Alerts
The Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency recently announced the implementation
of their CodeRED Notification and Severe Weather Alerting System. This system allows emergency
officials to make mass telephone notifications to citizens during times of emergency and disaster.
The system also provides phone, text or email notifications to citizens when a severe weather warning
is issued by the National Weather Service. Sign up for alerts now by clicking this link.
Crescent Elementary Hosts 1st Grade Literacy Night
On Tuesday, March 30th, Crescent first graders and their families took part in the First Grade Family Literacy Night. Families were invited to participate in a variety of literacy activities. Students received reading tote bags, created mental images from funny poems, made sight word flash cards, and tried to be creative as they wrote the words to their own books. The first grade students and their families finished up the evening by listening to read-alouds from the Council Bluffs Library, coloring a reading poster, choosing literacy games to take home, and selecting multiple books to keep!
Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Spring Leadership Conference Results
Fifty –five students from the Tucker Career and College Center traveled to Des Moines on March 14-16 to participate in the annual HOSA Spring Leadership Conference. The students participated in leadership activities with Kelsey Skow, TJ and EmmyLou Bates, AL being elected as Iowa HOSA Executive Council members.
Click here for a complete list of conference results.
AL's Chelsea Colpitts Throws Shot Put at State
Congratulations to Chelsea Colpitts who recently competed at the State Indoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Northern Iowa on March 23, 2010. She was competing in the shot put and placed 5th overall out of 131 competitors.
AL Band Performs in Big Apple Music Festival
The Abraham Lincoln High School Concert Band and Jazz Band under the direction of Terry Hanzlik recently participated in the Big Apple Music Festival in New York City, New York. The music festival was sponsored by Performing Arts Consultants Company. The bands performed for three adudicators /music educators from Seton Hall University, Columbia University and the New York City School system. The results were excellent as the concert band received a Division I rating and 1st Place in the concert band contest and the Jazz Band received a Division I and received a Division I in the jazz band contest. Luke Thallas, 11th grader at ALHS, was voted by the judges as the outstanding soloist of the music festival.
Board of Education Discusses 2010-11 Budget; Hears Staff Reduction Plan
In preparation for setting the budget for next year, the Board of Education at the March 30th meeting received and discussed possible property tax rate increases and the estimated revenues associated with various tax rate options. By consensus, the Board authorized the April 13th public hearing notice to include a tax rate not to exceed $19.00 per thousand. The actual tax rate will not be set until the Public Hearing when the Board approves the certified budget for 2010-11.
As part of the budget conversation, the Board received information regarding a proposal to reduce the number of staff members for next year. The reduction plan includes the issuance of reduction notices to no more than 24 licensed teachers and 13 support staff employees. The plan also recommends the additional reduction of 43 positions that will be vacant due to announced retirements and resignations, along with the reduction of 13 additional positions achieved as a result of internal transfers of employees to openings vacated by others. The reduction proposal would result in 93 fewer employees district-wide next year as compared to this year.
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