Creston to share transportation director
Oct. 19—After opening the application process for a transportation director, Creston Community School District (CCSD) Superintendent Deron Stender said they only received two inquiries and one internal applicant.
The Creston School Board voted unanimously Monday to approve sharing a transportation director with East Union and Murray. This isn't the first time the position has been shared. Stender said in the past, they have shared with Orient-Macksburg.
When combining with the East Union and Murray school districts, the salary for the position increased from $50,000 to $80,000 — an amount larger than Creston could provide on its own.
The East Union School District in Afton holds the contract and arranges the pay and benefits for the position; however, Murray and Creston provide payments. Murray is responsible for 20% of the cost while Creston pays 50%.
There are benefits to Creston outside of it helping them find a candidate. When districts share positions, the state law allows schools to be eligible for additional funding.
The funding comes per pupil or student. Right now, the state pays about $8,000 to the school per student. Creston's three shared positions — school resource officer, social worker and now transportation director are given the total equivalency of eight students, or $64,000 in funds.
"While we are losing kids, we gain kids on the back side on the shared services," Stender said. "The first year you start the program of shared services, we pay it out and the money follows you the year after."
Stender explained the positions don't have to be shared with another district. For example, the school resource officer is shared with the Creston Police Department and the social worker is shared with the Area Education Agency (AEA).
Schools are capped at additional funding for the equivalency of 21 students. While Creston's shared services only provide the equivalency of eight students, Stender said most surrounding schools have reached the cap.
"All our neighboring districts have the advantage of that," he said. "They are all capped at 21. Even East Union and Murray, they have no (funding) benefit from this shared services of the transportation director because they have so many other shared services that they've already hit the cap at 21."
Schools at the 21 equivalency cap receive $168,000 in additional funding each year. "That's a huge benefit to some of our districts, especially in rural Iowa," Stender said.
School board member Dr. Amanda Mohr asked if shared services is an option for the additional counselors they have talked about.
"That's an option," Stender said. "The problem is, when I do ask, they need their own. When I look for a food service director, they don't have time to share theirs."
In other school board news:
Creston Middle School is participating in Skip the Trip. The program offers a convenient location for eighth-grade students to take the knowledge test that is required to obtain a driver's instruction permit.
They are partnering with participating schools and agencies to provide the web-based, driver knowledge test at schools, potentially eliminating the need for parents and students to make multiple trips to the Iowa DOT or local county treasurer's office to complete the driver's knowledge test.
"That's working out nice," Creston Middle School Principal Lesa Downing told the board. "Today we had our first student do that so they don't have to leave to go up to the courthouse, they just take it right here in our school."
The board also approved the reading of a revised policy about school driving permits. Previously, students could not apply for a school permit if they did not live at least one mile from the school or if they were not involved in any activities.
The revised policy now states, "Students who live within one mile of school are typically not eligible for a school driver's license; however, due to considerations deemed relevant by the board (including, but not limited to, those regarding student ability to access the high school), the board determines that a special need exists. The board grants the superintendent the authority to certify that such special need exists and approve all otherwise qualifying requests for a student driver's license on the form provided by the DOT. The school district, board and superintendent are not responsible for any actions of the student which pertain to the use of the student driver's license."
Creston High School Principal Bill Messerole said he typically turns down about six kids a year for not meeting the requirements; however, he said many don't even apply because they know they live too close to the school.
"After their child has passed the Iowa driver's education requirements, it is the parent's discretion whether they want to let their kid drive to and from school," Stender said. "It becomes the parents responsibility now."
