The West Des Moines Community School District Board is scheduled to hold a special board meeting at noon on August 18. The agenda centers on open enrollment applications and a legal conflict waiver connected to the planned Multipurpose Storage Facility at Valley Stadium.
Key Items on the Agenda
Open Enrollment Applications
The administration recommends Board approval of 59 open enrollment applications into West Des Moines Community Schools. Of those applications, 32 are for students who moved out of the district and want to continue attending WDM Schools, while 27 are for students new to the district.
The administration also recommends approval of 21 applications from WDM resident students seeking to attend other school districts.
If the recommended applications are included in the district's enrollment estimates, the packet projects:
- 273 students open enrolled into WDM Schools.
- 114 WDM resident students open enrolled to other districts.
Supporting materials include updated 2026–27 open enrollment lists. Those documents also identify applications previously approved by the administration for review, along with denied or rescinded applications and reasons such as untimely filing, insufficient space, or action by another district.
Conflict Waiver for Storm Water and Easement Work
The administration recommends that the Board approve and sign a conflict waiver allowing Ahlers & Cooney, P.C. to represent the district in negotiations involving a Storm Water Management Facility Maintenance Covenant and easements with the City of West Des Moines.
Ahlers & Cooney currently represents both the district and the city in separate matters. The firm's August 13 letter explains that representing the district in this transaction creates a concurrent conflict of interest because the city is also a party to the agreements. Iowa professional-conduct rules permit the representation under specified conditions if each affected client provides informed written consent.
The firm states that it believes it can provide competent and diligent representation to both clients and that the matters involved are unrelated. The waiver letter also advises the district that it may seek advice from an attorney outside the firm before deciding whether to consent.
Valley Stadium Storage Facility Timeline
The conflict waiver is tied to continued work on the planned Multipurpose Storage Facility at Valley Stadium. According to the packet, the project's original timeline called for construction to begin in August, but the schedule was previously delayed by a city rezoning process.
The packet identifies the waiver as the next step toward completing the storm water covenant and easement work and lays out the following target schedule:
- August 18: Board consideration of the conflict waiver.
- Before August 24: Target for finalizing easements and storm water covenant documents.
- August 24: Board expected to consider setting September 14 public hearings for the easements and covenant documents and for the project's plans, specifications, form of contract, and estimated cost.
- September 14: Target date for both public hearings.
- October 13: Target bid-opening date.
- October 26: Board expected to consider a bid award.
What to Watch at the Meeting
The open enrollment item would establish the Board's action on the administration's recommended incoming and outgoing applications and update the district's estimated open-enrollment totals.
The conflict waiver is a procedural but consequential step for the Valley Stadium storage facility. Approval would allow Ahlers & Cooney to continue representing the district on the storm water covenant and easement negotiations despite its concurrent representation of the City of West Des Moines, keeping the project on the packet's revised path toward September public hearings and an October bid process.
