The Ames Community School District will distribute supplemental funds to education support staff based on its past practices, the board unanimously decided in a short meeting on Monday night.
The state sent the district $132,059 in supplemental funds to bump pay this fiscal year for education support staff. The supplemental funds are part of 2024 legislation (House File 2612 and Senate File 2443) addressing education funding and services.
The board agreed to distribute the funds by the same criteria used for similar payments made last year. Payments will be made based on employee’s full-time equivalency and the number of consecutive months an employee has worked as education support staff.
Payments to eligible staff will be made on Dec. 19, 2025, and May 20, 2026.
Also Monday, student representative Dania Tahir gave an update that included student excitement with homecoming and the first win of the football season. She said students are still getting into the swing of things for the new school year.
“It’s a good time to be an Ames student,” Tahir said.
In other business
- James Miller, a media technologist in the high school library, suggested to the board that graduating seniors be able to purchase their school-issued Chromebook laptops.
- In the consent agenda, the board approved amendments to the Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services Transition Alliance Program Contractor contract; added 10 additional Edmentum subscription licenses for online learning ($27,100); approved an order for Renaissance Learning FastBridge subscriptions that will monitor student progress ($1,332); and approved a licensing agreement allowing Woodworking Sanders to use Ames school logos on products.
- Attendance: Vice president Sabrina Shields-Cook and board members Brett Becker and Allen Bierbaum were not in attendance.
- What’s next: The school board’s next meeting will be Oct. 20.
