We are grateful for your interest in North Tama Schools. Learn more at www.ntredhawks.org.

MISSION STATEMENT

Our PK-12 district strives to empower every student to become a life-long learner who is a productive, responsible, and engaged citizen of our society. We envision a school where all students achieve a degree of academic success which will equip them to adapt to our rapidly changing society.

WHAT DOES THE SCHOOL BOARD DO?

The board is charged with:

• establishing and updating school district policies
• selection and evaluation of the district’s superintendent, and delegation to the superintendent the authority for executing the policies and plans established by the school board
• developing standards for and carrying out regular analysis of the school district’s operational and instructional efficiency

BOARD MEETINGS

The Board of Education typically meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m. in the Junior High Commons at North Tama Schools (605 Walnut Street, Traer, Iowa) unless another location is noted on the posted agenda. Special meetings are also called when necessary.

All meeting notices and board agendas are posted in advance, here on our website. Special provisions apply in the case of an emergency meeting.

Minutes are recorded by the board secretary and represent official actions taken by the board, but do not include verbatim transcripts of conversations and discussions from each meeting. Minutes are posted here, on our website.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

All regular and special meetings are open to the public. Parents, students, staff, and other members of the public are welcome and encouraged to attend school board meetings, which are open except for portions where the board enters into closed session or exempt session as allowed by state law.

The board recognizes the importance of citizen participation in school district matters.  In order to assure citizens are heard and board meetings are conducted efficiently and in an organized manner, the board will set aside a specific time for public comment.

Public Comment During Board Meetings

Citizens wishing to address the board during public comment must notify the superintendent prior to the board meeting. The board president will recognize these individuals to make their comments at the appropriate time during public comment.  Citizens wishing to present petitions to the board may also do so at this time.  The board, however, will only receive the petitions and not act upon them or their contents.

The board has the discretion to limit the amount of time set aside for public participation. Normally, speakers will be limited to 3 minutes.  However, the board president may modify this time limit, if deemed appropriate or necessary.  Public comment is a time set aside for community input, but the board will not discuss or take any action on any matter during public comment.

Citizens unable to attend a board meeting in person but wishing to participate in the public comment portion of a board meeting may submit written public comments to the superintendent prior to any board meeting.  Written public comments will be read aloud during the board’s next scheduled public forum.  If a time limit is established for individual in-person public comments during a meeting, the same time limits will apply to written public comments read aloud.

Public comment shall be limited to regular board meetings and will not be routinely held during special board meetings.

Petitions to Place a Topic on the Agenda

Individuals who wish for an item to be placed on the board agenda may submit a valid petition to the board.  For a petition to be valid, it must be signed by at least 40 eligible electors of the district, or ten percent of the individuals who voted in the last school election, whichever number is lower.

Upon receiving a valid petition to the board to place a proposal on the next board agenda for public hearing, the board will place the proposal identified in the petition on the agenda of the next regular meeting, or a special meeting held within 30 days of receipt of the petition. The board will provide a sign-up sheet for all individuals who wish to speak on the proposal, and individuals will be called to speak in order of sign up. The sign-up sheet will require each individual to list their legal name and mailing address. Each speaker will be limited to an amount of time established by the board president that is reasonable and necessary based on the number of speakers signed up. The same time limit will apply to all speakers on the proposal. Each individual will be limited to one opportunity to speak. The board maintains absolute discretion on whether or not to discuss or act on the public comments made on the proposal. If a petition is related to curriculum, the district maintains discretion to determine whether to stop teaching that curriculum until the board holds the public hearing to discuss the curriculum.

Decorum of Meetings

The board has a significant interest in maintaining the decorum of its meetings, and it is expected that members of the public and the board will address each other with civility.  The orderly process of the board meeting will not be interfered with or disrupted by public comment.  Only individuals recognized by the board president will be allowed to speak.  Comments by others are out of order.  If disruptive, the individual causing disruption may be asked to leave the board meeting.  Defamatory comments may be subject to legal action.

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS

• School board members are elected to four-year terms. The next school board election will take place in November 2027.
• The school board members’ terms are overlapping, with either three or four seats up for election in a given election year.
• See our 1-Page Board Informational Handout for a map of North Tama's director districts, expiration dates for board member terms of service, and board member contact information.
• See our Interactive Map of Director Districts (includes street-level detail).