The board was introduced to student teacher Jamie Morgan from ISU. Ms. Morgan is student teaching in 6th grade with Judi Meyer.

Approved a request from vocal music teacher Scott Growdon for two days of unpaid leave in January, 2003.

Approved a request from Doug Carlson to allow the Boys Scouts to hold a fundraising activity at the home football games this fall.

Heard a proposal from vocal director Scott Growdon that involved the purchase of Show Choir outfits that will be owned by the school. He also presented a sliding fee proposal that would reduce the cost to individual students for their participation in show choir activities. The board approved the proposal.

The board reviewed and discussed the Feasibility Study completed by the Department of Education this past summer. The study recommended the district explore its options for increased sharing in the future.  The board directed the superintendent to contact neighboring districts and set up a time to visit their facilities. The board also discussed holding a community meeting in the near future to gather additional input from the public prior to developing potential sharing proposals. A specific date was not set.

In personnel matters, the board approved the following recommendations for employment:

• …Tiffany Heeren - head varsity cheerleading sponsor.
• … Amy Barquist - assistant high school/junior high cheerleading sponsor.
• … Katie Roys -  junior high cheerleading sponsor.
• … Travis Anderson - 8th grade boys basketball coaching position.
• … Katie Roys - fulltime MS/HS special education associate
• … Margi Smith - part-time elementary special education associate position
• … Elaine Olson -  2-hour food service position at the elementary school

The board approved two open enrollment requests into the district, a kindergarten student from Roland-Story and a 9th grade student from Hubbard-Radcliffe.

The board reviewed the bids that were received for Snow Removal services for 2002-03. Four bids were submitted. Charles Buck from Seamless Pros submitted the low bid and it was accepted.

Supt. Kinley shared Preliminary Enrollment figures for the 2002-03 school year. Based on a comparison of the first day's attendance from last year to this year, enrollment has declined by 28 students. The certified enrollment date is Friday, September 20.

The board approved entering into a letter of agreement with the South Hamilton Education Association to form a study committee of teachers and administrators to review the alignment of the district's evaluation model with the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria and to the evaluation model framework developed by the Iowa Department of education. In addition, the letter of agreement outlines a plan for principals and veteran teachers to spend time this year meeting and identifying professional development needs and establishing professional growth goals for 2003-04.

Superintendent Kinley reported to the Board on a recent gift to the district. The Electrolux Corporation in Webster City recently donated 2 heavy-duty gas dryers for use in the physical education/athletic departments. The district is grateful to Doug Mechaelson and Electrolux for their support.

The board approved the superintendent's request to utilize the Board Policy Review Service provided by the Iowa Association of School Boards to assist with reviewing current board policy and to provide advice on new policies and corrections to legal references as they pertain to existing policies.

Reappointed principals Steve Gray and Paul Hemphill and police chief Steve Butler to serve as Truancy Officers for the district for the 2002-03 school year.

Reviewed the results of the district's student achievement goals in math, reading, and science for 2001-02. The data collected on student academic performance last year indicates that all three identified goals were met.

• …Reading Goal: Increase student achievement in reading for 1st grade students by increasing the number of students that benchmark in the DIBELS assessment.  DIBELS defines benchmark as a level of performance in each of four areas that are essential for students to become proficient readers.

2000-2001 Results: 29 out of 50 or 58% of the 1st grade students benchmarked on the DIBELS assessment.
2001-2002 Results: 45 out of 50 or 90% of the 1st grade students benchmarks on the DIBELS assessment.
• Mathematics Goal: Increase computation skills of fractions for students in grade 6 as measured by growth on ITBS scores from 2000-2001 to 2001-2002.5th grade students in 2000-01 scored an average of 32% correct on computation skills of fractions, 8 percentage points below the state average. In 2001-02, the same group of students as 6th graders scored an average of 65% correct on computation skills of fractions, 4 percentage points above the state average.
• Science Goal: Decrease the number of students in the low performance group for 8th grade science as measured by ITBS test scores from 2000-2001 to 2001-2002. In 2000-01, 24.1% of the 7th grade students scored in the low proficiency range as established by the state (below the 40th percentile) on the science subtest of the ITBS. In 2001-02, 11.7% of the same group of students (as 8th graders) scored below the 40th percentile, a reduction of 12.4%.

• …Reading: Increase student achievement in reading for 1st grade students by increasing the percentage of students that benchmark using the DIBELS assessment in 2002-03 compared to the percentage of 1st graders that have benchmarked in the combined years of 2000-2002.
• Mathematics: Improve computation scores for fractions for 11th grade as measured by ITED test scores from 2001-2002 to 2002-2003.
• Science: Decrease the number of students in the low performance group for 7th grade science as measured by ITBS test scores from 2001-2002 to 2002-2003.

Approved hiring Thompson Construction to complete a repair project at the bus garage that was not included in the original remodeling project completed this past summer. Estimated cost of the project is $1,250.

Elementary Principal Paul Hemphill shared assessment reference manual completed last year by the elementary assessment committee. He also proved the board with a brief overview of the PALS (Peer Assisted Learning Strategies) program that has been implemented in grades K-4 at the elementary school this year. PALS serves as a supplement tot he normal reading curriculum. Training has been provided to teachers, who are working in learning teams to learn the strategies and implement the program. Mr. Hemphill provided the board with an update on the adjustments made in 5th grade this year, including class size for reading, flexible schedule, and increased classroom support provided during math instruction.

Secondary Principal Steve Gray provided the board with a report on ACT scores for this past year which showed that 79% of the ACT-tested 2002 graduates of South Hamilton scored at or above the state's identified college success indictor score of 20 on the ACT. By comparison, the state average was 69% and the national average is 58%. South Hamilton students scored above the state average in all four testing areas: ACT English, Math, Reading, and Science Reasoning.

Curriculum Coordinator Carroll McLuckie reported on the staff training that occurred at the start of the year in IM Series attendance. Teachers are actively involved in daily lesson planning using the IM Series curriculum management system. The staff development team is working on plans for the October in-service days.

Superintendent Kinley reported that the district's solvency ratio, an indicator of the district's financial health, improved from .68% in 2000-01 to 3.3% in 2001-02. He also indicated to the board that the South Hamilton Foundation Board is moving forward with a fundraising campaign to support a mini-grant program for teachers and to ensure funding for academic field trips.