The Carroll Community School District (CCSD) Board of Education met on Monday night for its monthly board meeting and discussed the cell phone student handbook, negotiations with the Carroll Education Support Association (CESA), and more. First on the agenda were two public hearings, one for a budget amendment for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 of approximately $5 million, for nutrition fund depreciation, and for the district to pay around 95 percent of the transportation facility project with FY25 funding. The second public hearing was for the FY26 certified budget, with a proposed property tax rate of $9.97599 per $1,000 of assessed taxable valuation, which equates to a 4.8 percent increase on the taxes levied on property. The board heard a presentation from Carroll High School Counselor Samantha Block on the district’s career and academic planning plan for the 2025-26 school year. The superintendent contract for Dr. Casey Berlau was approved on a 3-2 vote for a three percent increase to the total salary and benefits package and a three-year contract. The board policy review had many revisions due to the passing of new legislation that needed to remove gender identity as a protected class. Board members approved Carroll Area Child Care Center’s request (CACCC) to use school buses for field trips this summer, along with yearly sharing agreements for transportation director and maintenance with Glidden Ralston and Kuemper Catholic, and for athletics like swimming, golf, and soccer. A discussion was had on the cell phone student handbook and whether the board wanted to move forward with restricting the current language even more by not allowing phones into the building at all or strictly in a locker all day. The board decided to table any changes until more guidance is given on legislation that is expected to be passed regarding cell phones in school. After much discussion, board members approved the agreement with CESA on a 3-2 vote, with the first motion of giving CESA employees a salary rate increase of $1 an hour instead of 75 cents was turned down. Finishing out the meeting, board members approved an estimated $13,000 quote to replace the HVAC control unit for the Adams Elementary kitchen, Teacher Leadership Committee (TLC) Plan revisions and business office reports of budgets, basic life insurance, and information for participation in a storm protection fund. Carroll Broadcasting will bring you more on these topics in upcoming newscasts.
