Dear Warriors,
A little over three weeks of school are in the books and things are starting to settle into a normal routine. With the recent heat wave in August, district students and staff were all thankful that the School Board had voted to put air conditioning in the classrooms for the start of the 2013-2014 school year.
During the first full week of September the Department of Education held the first semester vehicle inspection at Calamus-Wheatland. A big thank you to all of the district drivers, mechanics, and everyone who helps to keep our fleet in great condition.
Resident students in a district drives the funding formula for state financial aid for school districts. The official resident student count will take place on October 1st and is the basis for the State of Iowa funding for the 2023-2024 school year. Another number districts verify is open enrolled in/open enrolled out students and in conjunction with resident students is the “number of students in seats” in a district. Students in seats as of September 12, 2023 is 397 compared to September 12, 2022 of 407. An accurate number will be known after October 15th once all errors have been corrected between districts.
After the March bond proposal did not pass, I wanted to update you on what has been happening since that time. The Board hired a new architectural firm in June by the name of INVISION Architects. In July, the Invision team held meetings with multiple focus groups representing a variety of groups within our district. Early in September, Invision met with staff and a task force made up of members from each focus group that met in July. The architects and the district will continue to update you on the progress and timelines. I can assure you that the Board has determined that the earliest any bond question would go to a vote would be November of 2024.
The fall extra-curricular and co-curricular activities are in full swing. I encourage you to attend as many events as possible as junior high and high school activities are still an affordable form of entertainment. These are great opportunities to support our Warriors in events that are an extension of the classroom. And yes, the district still takes cash for admission at the regular season events.
I encourage you to check our website, app and social media pages to help stay informed on the day-to-day happenings within our district.
Website: www.cal-wheat.k12.ia.us
App: Play Store or App Store: search Calamus Wheatland Community School District
Facebook: Calamus Wheatland Community School District
X (Twitter): @CalWheatCSD
Instagram: calamuswheatlandcsd
The strength of the C-W district is its tremendous community support, whether there are good times or bad. It is a pleasure to work in a district that values education. I feel fortunate to be one of the leaders of the district and appreciate your patience and support. As always, if you have any questions for me, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Lonnie A. Luepker