Urbandale Community School District Packet Summary — August 24, 2026
The Urbandale Community School District Board is scheduled to hold a regular meeting at 6:00 p.m. at the UCSD Administration Office, 11152 Aurora Avenue. The agenda includes a public hearing on the sale of obsolete technology, several action items carried forward from the August 10 work session, a career-credential grant, and routine consent-agenda business.
Key Items on the Agenda
Sale of Obsolete Technology
The meeting opens with a public hearing concerning the district's proposed sale of obsolete technology. The property identified for sale includes Dell and Acer Chromebooks, MacBooks, iPads and iPhones that the district no longer needs.
Later in the meeting, the Board is scheduled to consider administration's recommendation to accept Secured Tech's bid for the equipment. The proposal lists a maximum payout of $38,344, while the agenda estimates that the district will receive approximately $35,000 to $38,344, with proceeds going to the General Fund.
Secured Tech's proposal uses separate values for working and non-working equipment. It also calls for device pickup, inventory verification, data erasure using NIST 800-88 standards and a final audit report and certificate of data erasure.
Graduation Requirements Policy
The Board is scheduled to consider the second reading of updates to Policy 0638: Graduation Requirements, which is reviewed annually. The proposed 2026–2027 update increases the total graduation requirement from 46.5 to 47 credits to account for the Physical Education seat-time requirement, changing PE from 0.5 to 1.0 credit.
The packet states that the change is being phased in and does not require additional coursework from current students. Other revisions would:
- Reformat subject and credit requirements to improve document accessibility.
- Update the name of the approval team associated with the J-Hawk Diploma.
- Clarify the elective-credit approval process.
- Remove outdated early-graduation language.
- Remove the specific implementation year associated with the civics-test requirement.
Credentials to Careers Grant
Administration recommends that the Board accept a $9,385 Credentials to Careers Grant awarded to UCSD by the Iowa Department of Education. The reimbursement-based grant is intended to expand opportunities for students in career and technical education programs to earn industry-recognized credentials.
The award covers the July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027 fiscal year. The award letter also calls for the district to schedule a 30-minute grant-acceptance meeting by September 30, 2026, followed by completion of an agreement, assurances and a proposed budget for prior approval.
Governance and Committee Appointments
Teacher Quality Committee
Administration recommends approval of the administrators proposed for the 2026–2027 Teacher Quality Committee. The packet notes that Iowa school districts annually approve administrators serving on the committee and that state law requires equal representation of administrators and teachers.
The proposed administrators are Brandon Schrauth, Dania Wilson, Loren DeKruyf, Katherine Hanson and Derek Wilkins. Five teachers — Cathy Hiyani, Maggie Hockenberry, Jannelle Kerr, Deena Stanley Dostart and Christy Peletz — are also listed as proposed members. The packet identifies no financial impact from this action.
Reconsideration Committee
The Board is also scheduled to consider membership for the 2026–2027 Reconsideration Committee, which would review objections to instructional or library materials if an objection is received. The packet states that students are excluded from the committee under Iowa Senate File 496.
Four proposed community members are Jill Neas, Emily Garcia, Lauren Lewis and Bill Coddington. District personnel listed for the committee are Dania Wilson, Sierra Johnson and Claire Riggan. The community members were selected through a process that included a community-wide solicitation of interest and Board ranking of anonymized applicant profiles.
Consent Agenda
The consent agenda includes previous meeting minutes, personnel actions, open-enrollment requests, financial reports, a continuing agreement and a student travel request.
Personnel
The personnel report includes appointments, resignations and co-curricular staffing changes. Among the proposed appointments is Luke Brittain, a special education teacher at Urbandale Middle School at a listed salary of $60,107, effective August 12.
The report also includes several classified appointments with hourly rates ranging from $16.39 to $19.60, an accounting specialist appointment at a prorated annual salary of $62,931.84, and three co-curricular coaching appointments. Some appointments are identified as subject to an acceptable background check.
Open Enrollment
The consent materials include 2026–2027 applications both into and out of UCSD. The report identifies approvals based on continuation, new-student status, good-cause circumstances and an approved online program, along with several denials.
Among the incoming applications, two are listed for denial: one because of insufficient programming space and one because it was filed late without good cause. Three outgoing applications are also listed for denial because they were filed late without good cause.
Financial Reports
A new monthly ACH report is included on the consent agenda. The packet says the report will become a regular presentation of all district ACH transactions to the Board and public to provide greater transparency.
The separate bills list totals $1,465,649.05 across the funds shown in the report. Examples of larger listed expenditures include $575,593.23 to Johnston Community Schools for 2025–2026 special-education billing, $235,320.20 to West Des Moines Community School District for open-enrollment-related costs, and $91,780.76 in total payments to MidAmerican Energy.
High School Boys Cross Country Trip
The consent agenda includes a proposal for 10 varsity boys cross country athletes and three coaches to attend the Rim Rock Classic in Lawrence, Kansas, September 25–26. Students would miss half a school day on September 25 and use two school vehicles.
The proposal lists lodging at approximately $100 per room and a $140 team entry fee. The Athletic Booster Club Cross Country fund would support the trip's costs other than gas, while students would be responsible for any additional food or snacks they choose to purchase.
Almost, Maine Licensing Agreement
The continuing-contracts portion of the consent agenda includes a Concord Theatricals agreement associated with Urbandale High School's planned production of Almost, Maine by John Cariani. The agreement lists five performances scheduled for November 6–8, 2026.
The agreement lists $750 in licensing and music fees, plus an estimated $343.29 for scripts, tax and shipping. It states that the agreement is not a license to perform until the required agreement and payment conditions have been satisfied.
Other New Action Item
Administration recommends adding Brandi Crawford as a signer on Urbandale Community School District depository accounts with Green State Credit Union and ISJIT.
Public Participation and Meeting Features
The agenda includes a UHS Learning Lab school showcase, the superintendent's report and public comments. For public comments, the packet says eligible speakers must be an Urbandale resident, a parent or guardian of a UCSD student, or a UCSD staff member or student.
The deadline to sign up to speak is 12:00 p.m. Monday, subject to an available speaking slot. The packet directs participants to Board Policy 217 for additional information about the district's public-comment procedures.
What to Watch at the Meeting
The most consequential scheduled decisions center on the district's proposed disposal of aging technology, the annual update to graduation requirements and acceptance of the Credentials to Careers grant. The technology action could return as much as $38,344 to the General Fund, while the grant would provide $9,385 specifically to expand industry-recognized credential opportunities for students.
The graduation-policy item also warrants attention because it formally changes the stated credit requirement from 46.5 to 47 credits, although the packet emphasizes that the phased change does not add coursework for current students.
