Meeting: 08/21/2026 - 03:00 PM Special Board Meeting Special Session
Public Body: Clarke Community School District
Meeting Date: August 21, 2026
Location: Clarke Administration Office, 802 One Tribe Drive, Osceola, Iowa 50213
Key Items on the Agenda
The special meeting agenda is focused primarily on personnel. The board is scheduled to consider a consent agenda containing two new hires and two transfers involving positions at Clarke Community Elementary School.
The agenda also includes approval of the meeting agenda and adjournment.
Personnel Recommendations
Behavior Interventionist — Colton Preston
The consent agenda includes a recommendation to hire Colton Preston as a Behavior Interventionist at Clarke Community Elementary School.
- The employment recommendation identifies the position as a new position.
- The anticipated start date is August 17, 2026, for the 2026–2027 school year.
- The form lists $53,000 and clarifies that this is the position's salary rather than an hourly rate.
- The position is listed at 8 hours per day, 5 days per week.
- The recommendation states that the district could not find an elementary success coach.
- Reference checks are listed as completed, and the recommendation received HR and superintendent approval before being presented to the board.
Fourth-Grade Teacher — Benjamin Bates
The packet recommends hiring Benjamin Bates as a fourth-grade teacher at Clarke Community Elementary School.
- The recommendation describes this as a new position, explaining that an additional teacher is needed because of the number of students in the grade level.
- The packet states that the district would like to avoid classrooms with 28 or more students.
- The anticipated start date is August 21, 2026.
- The position is 1.0 FTE, with a recommended salary of $77,578.
- The recommendation lists the placement as MA, Step 28, with 191 contracted days.
- Certification is listed as verified and reference checks as completed.
- The recommendation received HR approval and the superintendent's signature before being presented to the board.
Special Education Associate Transfers
The consent agenda also includes transfers of Dorothy "Dee" Graham and Debra Snell from secondary special education associate positions to elementary special education associate positions.
The supporting transfer forms indicate that both employees would move from the secondary campus to the elementary campus. The forms list their salary recommendations and daily hours as remaining the same.
Major Financial Items
The packet identifies compensation associated with the two proposed new hires:
- Behavior Interventionist: $53,000 salary.
- Fourth-grade teacher: $77,578 recommended salary.
The packet does not provide a combined fiscal-impact calculation for these personnel recommendations.
What to Watch at the Meeting
The primary substantive decision scheduled for this special session is the personnel consent agenda. The board is expected to consider the two hiring recommendations and the transfers of two special education associates to elementary positions.
Of particular note, both proposed hires are for new positions. The fourth-grade teaching recommendation specifically connects the additional position to enrollment and classroom-size concerns, while the Behavior Interventionist recommendation states that the district could not find an elementary success coach.
This Civic Translator packet summary is based on publicly available meeting materials from Clarke Community School District provided through Simbli.
Official Meeting Source URL:
https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=36031610&MID=32860
Public body's meeting/document listing page:
https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/SB_MeetingListing.aspx?S=36031610
Provider: simbli
Provider Meeting ID: 32860
Civic Translator summarized publicly available meeting materials.
