School Board Agenda & Packet Summary – Des Moines Community Schools – July 21, 2026

Meeting Information

• Public Body: Des Moines Community Schools
• Organization Type: school-district
• Government Body: school-boards
• Meeting Title: 07/21/2026 - 11:45 AM Special Session - Hybrid Special Session
• Meeting Date: 2026-07-21
• City: Des Moines
• County: Polk
• State: iowa
• Meeting Source URL: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=36031983&MID=32330
• Meeting Listing URL: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/SB_MeetingListing.aspx?S=36031983
• Public Body Website: https://www.dmschools.org/board/meetings/
• Meeting Video URL: Not available
• Video Channel URL: https://www.youtube.com/@DMPStv

What Community Members Should Know

This special session of the Des Moines Community Schools Board is narrowly focused on personnel actions rather than a broad business agenda. According to the meeting packet, the board will conduct roll call, approve the agenda, consider a single action item covering personnel recommendations submitted by the superintendent, and adjourn.

The primary business before the board is approval of certified staffing recommendations affecting schools and departments across the district. The packet documents three departures—two resignations and one retirement—and more than 30 recommended certified appointments spanning elementary, middle, high school, preschool, district administration, counseling, nursing, special education, and instructional leadership.

The recommendations demonstrate continued staffing activity in advance of the 2026–27 school year. Most classroom positions become effective August 10, 2026, while several administrative and leadership appointments begin in late July. Salaries are identified for each recommended hire, reflecting the district's investment in preparing schools before students return.

Although the meeting agenda is brief, board approval is significant because these personnel actions directly affect classroom staffing, student services, school leadership, and district operations across numerous campuses before the start of the academic year.

Major Discussion and Action Items

Personnel Recommendations for Board Approval

The superintendent is asking the board to approve the attached personnel recommendations. This is the only substantive action item listed on the agenda, making staffing decisions the central purpose of the special session. Chief Human Resources Officer Josie Lewis is identified as the contact person for the recommendation.

If approved, these recommendations authorize new certified employees to begin work according to their listed effective dates while formally recognizing employee separations.

Certified Teacher Hiring Before the 2026–27 School Year

The largest portion of the packet consists of recommended certified teacher appointments across the district.

New classroom teachers are proposed for elementary, middle, and high schools, including positions in fifth grade, fourth grade, kindergarten, first grade, science, mathematics, business education, family and consumer sciences, physical education, English language learner instruction, and digital literacy.

Most of these appointments become effective August 10, 2026, indicating the district is completing staffing before the beginning of the school year. Starting salaries shown in the packet generally range from approximately $50,500 to nearly $70,000 depending on experience and assignment.

Student Support and Specialized Services

The personnel recommendations also include numerous positions that directly support student services beyond general classroom instruction.

Recommended appointments include counselors at Harding Middle School, Hoover High School, and Moore Elementary; nurses assigned to Ruby Van Meter and Jefferson Elementary; special education teachers serving Strategic II and multicategorical programs; an early childhood special education teacher; a social-emotional and behavioral health interventionist; and an academic interventionist.

These positions help address specialized instructional needs, student well-being, and intervention services across multiple schools.

Leadership and District Administration

The packet includes several leadership appointments in addition to classroom hires.

Among the most notable are:

• Brandi Wendt as principal of Smouse Preschool with a listed salary of $118,850.05.
• Jill Siefken as Elementary Teaching & Learning Coordinator within the district's Teaching & Learning department beginning July 22, 2026, with a prorated salary of $90,132.62.

These appointments represent district-level and building-level leadership positions that support instructional programming and school operations.

Employee Resignations and Retirement

The packet identifies three certified employee departures:

• Emily Cochran, first grade teacher at Garton Elementary, resignation effective June 8, 2026.
• Florante Vilar, mathematics teacher at Lincoln High School, resignation effective June 8, 2026.
• Paige Sowers, Spanish teacher at Lincoln High School, retirement effective June 8, 2026.

The packet also notes that Sowers' employee status was changed from resignation to retirement after a previously approved personnel action. These departures help explain several staffing needs reflected elsewhere in the recommendations.

Districtwide Distribution of Staffing

Rather than concentrating on one building, the recommendations span schools throughout Des Moines Community Schools.

Affected locations include Carver, Edmunds, Findley, Garton, Hillis, Jefferson, King, Lovejoy, Moore, Moulton, Riverwoods, South Union, Studebaker, Wright, Downtown School, Brody Middle, Harding Middle, McCombs Middle, East High, Hoover High, Lincoln High, North High, McKee Preschool, Smouse Preschool, Ruby Van Meter, and the district Teaching & Learning department.

The breadth of appointments suggests districtwide preparation for the coming academic year.

Financial Matters

The meeting packet contains no proposed budget amendments, contracts, grants, bond issues, or purchasing approvals.

The principal financial information consists of compensation associated with recommended personnel appointments.

Notable salary figures include:

• Smouse Preschool principal: $118,850.05.
• Elementary Teaching & Learning Coordinator: $90,132.62 (prorated).
• Hoover High counselor: $82,194.00.
• Ruby Van Meter nurse: $81,640.00.

Many classroom teaching appointments are listed around $50,569 annually, while several experienced teachers, counselors, nurses, and special education positions have salaries ranging from roughly $57,000 to more than $71,000. These figures represent compensation associated with proposed employment recommendations rather than separate spending authorizations.

Policies, Ordinances, Resolutions, and Governance

The packet contains no proposed policy revisions, governance changes, ordinances, board resolutions, or procedural amendments.

Board action is limited to approving the personnel recommendations submitted by the superintendent following approval of the meeting agenda.

Reports, Presentations, and Informational Updates

No superintendent report, financial report, committee presentation, audit, planning document, or other informational presentation is included in the accessible packet.

The supporting documentation consists primarily of the personnel recommendation list prepared for board consideration.

Personnel, Appointments, and Organizational Matters

The personnel recommendations represent significant hiring activity ahead of the new school year.

Highlights include:

• More than 30 recommended certified appointments.
• Staffing across elementary, middle, high school, preschool, district administration, counseling, nursing, intervention, and special education.
• Three documented employee departures through resignation or retirement.
• Effective dates concentrated in late July and August 2026 to prepare schools before classes begin.

The recommendations indicate continued recruitment to maintain instructional capacity and student support services throughout the district.

Projects, Facilities, Infrastructure, and Operations

No construction projects, facility improvements, transportation initiatives, technology purchases, capital projects, or operational infrastructure proposals are included in the accessible packet.

Operationally, the personnel recommendations support school readiness by ensuring staffing is in place before the beginning of the academic year.

Public Hearings and Opportunities for Community Input

The agenda does not identify a public hearing, formal public comment session, or community listening opportunity.

The meeting is a special session focused on board action regarding personnel recommendations.

Community Impact

Students and families may benefit from having teachers, counselors, nurses, interventionists, and administrators in place before the school year begins, reducing the likelihood of unfilled certified positions.

School employees may experience organizational changes resulting from new leadership appointments, retirements, and staff transitions at multiple campuses.

District administrators receive board authorization, if approved, to complete hiring for numerous instructional and student-support positions needed for school operations.

Community members can view the meeting as part of the district's annual preparation process for opening schools with appropriate instructional and support staffing. These impacts are supported by the staffing recommendations included in the packet.

Questions Community Members May Want to Ask

• Are additional certified hiring recommendations expected before the first day of school?
• Which teaching positions remain vacant after these recommendations are approved?
• How were staffing needs prioritized across the district's schools?
• What recruitment strategies were most successful in filling special education, counseling, and nursing positions?
• Will additional principal or district leadership appointments be needed before the school year begins?
• How will the retirement and resignations affect course offerings at Lincoln High School and Garton Elementary?
• Are the listed salaries based on negotiated salary schedules, prior experience, or other placement criteria?
• How does current staffing compare with district staffing levels at the same point last summer?
• Are there schools experiencing higher-than-average turnover entering the 2026–27 school year?

Important Dates, Deadlines, and Next Steps

• June 8, 2026: Effective date for the two resignations and one retirement listed in the personnel recommendations.
• July 21, 2026: Board special session to consider approval of personnel recommendations.
• July 22, 2026: Proposed effective date for the Elementary Teaching & Learning Coordinator and Smouse Preschool principal appointments.
• August 3, 2026: Proposed effective date for the Hoover High School counselor appointment.
• August 10, 2026: Effective date for the majority of recommended certified teaching, counseling, nursing, intervention, and special education appointments.

Following board approval, recommended employees would begin employment according to their listed effective dates.

Key Takeaways

• The special session is devoted almost entirely to personnel actions.
• The superintendent is requesting board approval of certified staffing recommendations.
• More than 30 new certified employees are recommended for appointment.
• Most new instructional staff begin work on August 10, 2026.
• Three employee departures are documented through resignation or retirement.
• New hires include teachers, counselors, nurses, interventionists, special education staff, and administrators.
• A new Smouse Preschool principal is recommended at a salary of $118,850.05.
• A district Teaching & Learning coordinator is recommended with a prorated salary of $90,132.62.
• No major contracts, construction projects, or policy changes appear in the accessible packet.
• The recommendations support districtwide readiness for the 2026–27 school year.

Official Sources

• Meeting source: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=36031983&MID=32330
• Meeting listing: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/SB_MeetingListing.aspx?S=36031983
• Public body website: https://www.dmschools.org/board/meetings/
• Meeting video: Not available
• Video channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DMPStv

About the Public Body

• Name: Des Moines Community Schools
• Organization type: school-district
• Government body: school-boards
• Location: Des Moines, iowa
• County: Polk
• Provider: simbli

Keywords

Des Moines Community Schools, Des Moines School Board, special session, hybrid meeting, personnel recommendations, certified staff, teacher hiring, school staffing, superintendent recommendation, Josie Lewis, human resources, elementary teachers, middle school teachers, high school teachers, counselors, nurses, special education, interventionists, Smouse Preschool, Teaching and Learning, Lincoln High School, Carver Elementary, Riverwoods Elementary, Harding Middle School, Hoover High School, board approval, resignations, retirement, 2026-27 school year