The Clear Lake Community School District Board of Education holds their regularly scheduled meetings on the second Tuesday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in the Administration Office board room. The Administration Office is located at 1529 3rd Ave North in Clear Lake, Iowa. The meetings are open to the public and we welcome our community members’ attendance to learn about the work and learning in our school district.

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Our Board of Education is dedicated to our mission. As a school corporation of Iowa, the Clear Lake Community School District, acting through its board of directors, is dedicated to promoting an equal opportunity for quality public education to its students. The board’s ability may be limited by the school district’s ability and willingness to furnish financial support in cooperation with student’s parents and the school district community. The board is also dedicated to providing the opportunity to develop a healthy social, intellectual, emotional, and physical self-concept in a learning environment that provides guidance to, and encourages critical thinking in, the students for a lifetime.

The board endeavors, through the dedication of the school district’s resources, to encourage students, who come to the school district from a variety of backgrounds, to look forward to the time when they will have jobs, homes, families, places in the school district community, and attain recognition as individuals. In order to achieve this goal, the board will seek qualified employees dedicated to the development of their professional skills for the betterment of the education program and for the expertise for educational productivity.

Instruction and curriculum are the key elements of public education. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will assist the students’ preparation for life is instructed as part of a sequentially coordinated curriculum. The school district strives to prepare students for employment, to discover and nurture creative talent, and to prepare them to meet and cope with social change in an atmosphere conducive to learning.

The support and involvement of the home and the school district community are essential to achieve educational excellence in the school district. The school district strives to maintain an active relationship with the home and the school district community to create within the students an awareness of dignity and worth of the individual, civic responsibility, and respect for authority.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

Policy Title: Board Meeting Agenda Code No. 210.8 

The tentative agenda for each board meeting will state the topics for discussion and action at the board meeting. The agenda is part of the public notice of the board meeting and will be posted and distributed. 

Persons requesting to place an item on the agenda must make a request to the superintendent prior to the drafting of the tentative agenda. The person making the request must state the person’s name, address, the purpose of the presentation, action desired, and pertinent background information. Requests from the public may be added to the tentative agenda at the discretion of the superintendent after consultation with the board president. Requests received after the deadline may only be added to the agenda for good cause.

The tentative agenda and supporting documents will be sent to the board member prior to the scheduled board meeting. These documents are the private property of the board member. Persons wishing to view the tentative agenda and supporting documents may do so at the central administration office.

The board will take action only on the items listed on the tentative agenda posted with the public notice. Items added to the agenda may be discussed or taken under advisement by the board. If an added item is acted upon, the minutes of the board meeting will state the reason justifying the immediate action. 

It is the responsibility of the board president and superintendent to develop the agenda for each board meeting.
 

Policy Title: Public Participation in Board Meetings Code No. 213 

The board recognizes the importance of citizen participation in school district matters. In order to assure citizens are heard and board meetings are conducted efficiently and in an organized manner, the board will set time aside for citizen participation, either at a specific time during the meeting or during the discussion of agenda items. Citizens wishing to address the board on a certain agenda item must notify the superintendent prior to the board meeting. Citizens wishing to present petitions to the board may do so at this time. The board, however, will only receive the petitions and not act upon them or their contents. The board has the discretion to limit the amount of time set aside for public participation. 

If the pressure of business or other circumstances dictates, the board president may decide to eliminate this practice. The board president will recognize these individuals to make their comments at the appropriate time. The orderly process of the board meeting will not be interfered with or disrupted. Only those speakers recognized by the board president will be allowed to speak. Comments by others are out of order. If disruptive, the individual causing disruption may be asked to leave the board meeting. 

Individuals who have a complaint about employees may bring their complaint to the board only after they have followed board policy addressing citizens’ complaints. Students who have a complaint may only bring their complaint to the board after they have followed board policy addressing students’ complaints.