The Muscatine Community School District Board of Education is scheduled for a regular meeting at 6:15 p.m. at the MCSD Administration Center Board Room. The agenda includes an athletics department update, several consent items, three separate action items involving an international student trip and food service purchases, July financial information, and policy reviews.
Key Items on the Agenda
Model United Nations Trip to Montreal
The board is scheduled to consider a major field trip for 12 Muscatine High School Model United Nations students to Montreal, Canada, from November 10–16, 2026. The group plans to attend a Model United Nations conference, where students would participate in committee sessions, public speaking, negotiation, writing, and collaborative problem-solving, along with two days focused on Montreal's architecture, cultural areas, museums, public transportation, and navigation.
The request lists 15 participants: 12 students, two staff members, and one other adult. The Stanley Center for Peace and Security is identified as covering flights, lodging, conference fees, gas, and parking; the form lists a personal cost of $300 per student and another $300 in recommended spending money. Because the trip is outside the United States, district policy requires administration recommendation and Board of Directors approval.
Food Service Equipment Purchase
The board is scheduled to consider purchasing $74,855.92 in kitchen equipment for Muscatine High School from Wilson Restaurant Supply. The proposed equipment includes heated display merchandisers, hot-food serving equipment, a serving counter, and cold-food serving counters.
Three bids are listed in the packet:
- Wilson Restaurant Supply — $74,855.92
- Rapids Wholesale — $81,901.16
- Tri-City Equipment — $82,471.09
Staff recommends the Wilson Restaurant Supply bid. The packet states that the Food and Nutrition Fund can pay for the purchase because the items are stand-alone equipment.
School Lunch Pizza Contract
The board is also scheduled to consider Domino's bid for school lunch pizza and delivery services during the 2026–2027 school year. Domino's submitted a price of $9.50 per pizza, with an estimated annual cost of $51,500.
The Food & Nutrition Department recommends accepting the bid. According to the packet, other potential suppliers primarily reported that they could not accommodate the district's whole-grain-rich crust requirement.
Major Financial Items
Interfund Transfers
The consent agenda includes approval of August 2026 interfund transfers with a listed grand total of $327,000. The memo identifies:
- $1,000 for a vehicle-repair deductible.
- $1,000 for another vehicle-repair deductible.
- Up to $300,000 for the FY26 annual Food Service indirect transfer.
- $25,000 for a deductible associated with a water-damage claim involving teacher MacBooks.
The packet notes that the actual Food Service indirect amount had not yet been determined and would not exceed $300,000. It describes those indirect costs as Food Service-related expenditures that can only be paid from the General Fund, including items such as repairs, office supplies, software, fuel, and maintenance-worker time.
July Financials and Upcoming Reporting
July financials are scheduled as a discussion and information item. Finance Director Tom Anderson reports that June and July deposit balances have been reconciled and that end-of-fiscal-year reports are expected to be presented in September.
The district's audit field work is scheduled for September 1–4, 2026. The packet also identifies September deadlines for the Certified Annual Report, Special Education Supplement, and Annual Transportation Report, followed by additional financial and budget actions throughout the 2026–2027 school year.
Consent Agenda
The board's consent agenda groups routine matters for consideration in a single motion unless a board director asks to remove an item for separate consideration. Items include:
- Minutes from the July 13 regular meeting and July 14 work session.
- Bills and claims dated August 10, 2026.
- August 10 employment recommendations.
- The 2026–2027 Head Start partnership agreement with Community Action of Eastern Iowa.
- Interfund transfers.
Head Start Partnership
The proposed preschool services agreement continues the district's partnership with Community Action of Eastern Iowa for 2026–2027. MCSD would make 40 spaces available at the Muskie Early Learning Center for Head Start-compliant services for eligible children.
Community Action would purchase enrollment spaces from MCSD at $465 per space per full month. At 40 enrolled spaces over nine months, the agreement calculates $167,400 in child-services payments, although actual payments would depend on enrollment. The agreement's term runs from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2027.
Employment Recommendations
The consent agenda includes several personnel recommendations, including coaching and department-chair appointments, a Schedule C resignation, a certified leave of absence, and six certified new hires. The proposed certified salaries listed in the packet range from $50,000 to $86,839, with the new hires scheduled to become effective August 13, 2026; one appointment is pending International Exchange Licensing from the Iowa Department of Education.
Policy and Governance Items
The board is expected to review two policies on second reading:
- Policy 503.11 — Disruptive Behavior, identified as a new policy.
- Policy 701.02 — Transfer of Funds.
The agenda also calls for review of Administrative Regulation 705.01-R(2), Purchasing — Bidding — Using Federal Funds in Procurement Contracts. These matters appear under discussion and information rather than the agenda's action-item section.
Athletics and Activities Update
High School Athletic Director Mike Henson is scheduled to present an activities department update as part of the board's goals report. The packet's 2025–2026 year-in-review materials identify 23 sports programs, including cheer and POM, five fine arts programs, and more than 30 clubs.
The department reports slightly more than 500 total events, including more than 180 home events. It also reports 497 students participating in at least one sport, 235 participating in at least one fine arts program, and 54% participation in either athletics or fine arts. The presentation is also slated to cover accomplishments and records, financials, a new Bound facility-use system, and a new state policy concerning eighth-grade participation.
What to Watch at the Meeting
The most significant scheduled decisions are the proposed Montreal Model United Nations trip, the $74,855.92 kitchen-equipment purchase, and the estimated $51,500 school lunch pizza contract. The consent agenda also carries substantial financial and operational items, including up to $327,000 in listed interfund transfers and continuation of the district's Head Start partnership.
Beyond those action items, the board is expected to receive financial and athletics information and continue its review of policies covering disruptive behavior, fund transfers, and federal procurement requirements. The packet also notes upcoming district events: Muskie University for new teachers on August 13, staff Super Inservice on August 17, and the first day of school for all MCSD students on August 24, 2026.
