Saydel Comm School District Packet Summary — 2026-08-24
Meeting: 08/24/2026 - 06:00 PM Regular Board Meeting & Work Session - August 24, 2026 Regular Board Meeting
Scheduled time: 6:00 PM
Location: Saydel District Office – Board Room, 5740 NE 14th St., Des Moines, Iowa, with a Zoom webinar option listed in the packet.
The Saydel Comm School District Board is scheduled to consider consent-agenda expenditures and fundraising requests, personnel and early-retirement matters, open-enrollment requests, an overnight wrestling trip, and proposed rules governing expenditures of public funds. A work session is also scheduled on district goals and Senate File 2428.
Key Items on the Agenda
Consent Agenda
The agenda recommends approval of a consent agenda that includes bills for payment, fundraising requests, and contracts and agreements.
The attached board report lists $786,853.72 across the district checking accounts included in the report. The report includes $401,875.95 under Checking Account 1 and $384,977.77 under Checking Account 5.
Notable expenditures listed in the report include:
- $149,617.66 to Des Moines Independent CSD, including $146,613.66 for 2025–26 second-semester open enrollment and $3,004 for transportation reimbursement.
- $42,654.18 to Jester Insurance Services Inc. for a policy renewal covering July 1, 2026 through July 1, 2027.
- $25,024.00 to Concrete Connections, LLC for outdoor learning center concrete work.
- $16,830.00 to Imagine Learning LLC for an Edgenuity site license.
- $16,579.85 to MMIT Business Solutions Group for new copiers/printers.
- $12,536.37 to Coverworx Recreational Architecture for the CE Outdoor Play Space.
- $8,096.00 to 10FOLD Architecture & Engineering for Saydel CSD bond preparation.
- $8,794.80 to Glasscock Floors, Inc. for work on the North Gym.
- $7,400.00 to Cascadian Data LLC for FY27 database services.
The report also includes insurance claims and related benefit expenses, transportation reimbursements, curriculum and instructional materials, facilities work, technology, utilities, food service, and other operating expenses.
Fundraising Requests
The consent agenda includes 12 fundraising requests covering school organizations, activities, athletics, and a student travel program. Proposed activities include:
- An Outside Scoop event benefiting the 2027 Europe trip, with the organization receiving 30% of sales.
- Mums, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and a dodgeball tournament benefiting the Woodside PTO.
- Volleyball sponsorships benefiting the high school volleyball team.
- Power House Nutrition drink sales at home games, with the Activities Office receiving 15% of sales.
- A hygiene drive intended to collect items for homeless shelters, the school, and other recipients.
- Every Grind Coffee sales benefiting high school boys track, with the packet stating the organization would receive 60% of each sale.
- Pie in the Face, Spirit Button Sales, Butter Braids, and a basketball-game balloon activity benefiting the Music Boosters.
The proposed fundraising periods extend from August 2026 into May 2027, depending on the activity.
Balance Autism Transportation Services
The consent agenda recommends approval of a contract with Balance Autism Transportation Services for the 2026–27 school year at a rate of $49.15 per day.
Personnel and Student Matters
Personnel and Early Retirement
The board is scheduled to consider personnel actions, with the agenda recommending acceptance of resignations and employment agreements listed through the district's personnel materials.
A separate item recommends acceptance of an early-retirement application. The supporting document is an Early Retirement Application and Resignation form under the district's 2026 Early Retirement Plan and states that participation is voluntary and subject to board acceptance.
Girls State Wrestling Overnight Trip
The board is scheduled to consider an overnight field trip for high school girls wrestling state qualifiers traveling to Coralville, Iowa, for the Girls State Wrestling event.
The agenda describes travel beginning February 3 or 4 and continuing through February 6, depending on the session. The supporting request cites possible early weigh-in, road conditions, and travel distance among the reasons for the request.
Open Enrollment
The agenda includes several 2026–27 open-enrollment requests:
- Seven students are listed for proposed enrollment into Saydel, including students transferring from Des Moines and Ankeny.
- Three students are listed for proposed enrollment out of Saydel to Ankeny, Bondurant-Farrar, and Des Moines.
- One request for enrollment into Saydel is listed as denied in the agenda materials.
The packet also states that some special education programs are closed for 2026–27, including specified programs or levels in grades K–4, 5, 7, and 9–12.
Policy / Governance Items
Policy 705.04 — Expenditures for a Public Purpose
The board is scheduled to consider adding Policy 705.04, Expenditures for a Public Purpose, and Regulation 705.04-R(1), Expenditures for a Public Purpose – Use of Public Funds Regulation. The agenda recommendation also calls for waiving the second reading.
The proposed policy emphasizes that district funds are public funds and should be spent only for legitimate public purposes that further the district's educational mission. Employees would be expected to identify the public purpose of purchases or reimbursements, with questions referred to administration before money is spent.
The accompanying regulation provides more detailed rules and proposed spending limits. Among its provisions:
- District credit or procurement card purchases would require preapproval and compliance with Policy 401.10.
- Mileage and overnight travel reimbursement would follow the district's Employee Travel Compensation policy.
- Alcohol would not be an allowable purchase or reimbursement using public funds.
- Meetings or training lasting more than five hours could include nutrition and hydration of up to $20 per person.
- An annual welcome-back meal and annual employee-recognition meal could each cost up to $20 per person.
- A retirement recognition token could cost $100 or less, subject to superintendent approval.
- Building administrators could receive up to $500 annually, and directors up to $200 annually, for items such as staff treats or snacks intended to support a positive work environment and recognize exemplary effort.
- Staff could receive district-branded items costing up to $15 each annually.
- Up to $500 annually per building could be used for allowable refreshments and basic decorations recognizing outgoing students.
- Memorial flowers for an active employee or immediate family member could cost up to $75, subject to the conditions in the regulation.
- Student incentives could total up to $1,000 annually, while food and beverages could not be used as rewards or withheld as punishment.
The draft also distinguishes between allowable public-purpose expenses and costs generally considered personal. It states that items such as unauthorized apparel and personal items, most gifts, employee break-room supplies, and individual staff parties generally should not be paid for with public funds.
The supporting documents characterize the policy and regulation as drafts prepared for board and legal counsel review and call for confirmation of proposed limits, policy references, funding sources, Iowa Code requirements, and district practices before adoption.
Work Session
District Goals and Core Four
The work-session agenda includes a review of the district's goals and Core Four for the 2026–27 school year. The packet identifies the superintendent and executive director as leading this portion of the work session but does not provide substantive supporting material detailing proposed changes to the goals.
Senate File 2428
The board's work session also includes Senate File 2428, with the superintendent and administrative teams scheduled to review the legislation with the board. The packet does not provide enough substantive supporting material to characterize the specific provisions or anticipated district response beyond the scheduled review.
What to Watch at the Meeting
- Whether the board approves the proposed Policy 705.04 and Regulation 705.04-R(1) governing public-purpose expenditures and agrees to waive a second reading.
- Whether the detailed spending limits and permitted expenditure categories in the public-funds regulation remain as drafted following board and legal review.
- Action on the $49.15-per-day Balance Autism transportation services contract.
- Action on the proposed girls wrestling overnight trip and the 2026–27 open-enrollment requests.
- The work-session review of the district's 2026–27 goals and Core Four.
- The administration's presentation and board review of Senate File 2428.
The official public-body source for these meeting materials is the Saydel Comm School District meeting packet hosted through Simbli.
Official Meeting Source URL: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=150115&MID=32526
Meeting/document listing page: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/SB_MeetingListing.aspx?S=150115
Provider: simbli
Provider Meeting ID: 32526
Civic Translator summarized publicly available meeting materials.
