The Adel-DeSoto-Minburn School District met Monday evening for their April regular session.

The meeting began with a presentation for Adel Elementary reading teachers Cindy Carlson and Melissa Greer as this month’s Honoring Excellence recipients. That was followed by the affirmation and ratification of actions taken during the March 11th meeting, which was recommended due to the wrong day being posted for the public notice. The Board then reviewed and approved the consent agenda, which included financial reports, personnel changes, open enrollment requests, the repeat of the first reading of a purchasing/bidding policy, the cooperative food purchasing agreement, fundraisers, a trip request, and lunch fees.

During the Focus on Learning section of the meeting, three ADM High School teachers presented a proposal to eliminate tracking class rank, which they said has hindered recent graduates in getting accepted to college. No action was taken, but a resolution will likely be presented at the May session. The action items for the evening began with a resolution authorizing the redemption of $540,000 in general obligation bonds for prepayment of existing debt, a process the District has utilized for the last three years.

Next, the Board held a public hearing regarding the 2020 school budget, which includes a tax levy rate of $18.55, a figure that was unchanged from the previous year. There were no objections from the public, so the Board approved the certified budget as presented. They then held another public hearing regarding changes to the current school calendar. Superintendent Greg Dufoe recommended adding two school days to the end of the year and two more teacher days, due to the loss of several days due to winter weather. The Board then approved the adjusted calendar.

Next, they approved a resolution ordering a special election for June 25th on a $15.75 million bond referendum to build a new elementary building in Adel, as well as a memorandum of understanding with the ADM Education Agency to correct a minor issue with a previous form of the contract. Finally, the Board discussed but took no actions on several items, including: the process of appointing a replacement to fill the impending Board vacancy with the departure of Kelli Book; changes to the open enrollment policy and the continuation of an embargo on enrollment into the District; and an outline on the the bond issue campaign.

To learn more about the ADM School Board meeting, listen to this Friday’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.