By Erin M. Gentz
Index Interim Editor
Activities director Adam Loria provided the West Liberty School Board with an update during the Aug. 5 meeting, including changes to activities ticket pricing.
Loria said the biggest change going into the new school year will be a shift from seeing activities calendars and other information on the rSchool calendars to the Bound website and app. He explained the entire River Valley Conference was making the change this year. West Liberty activities information can now be found at gobound.com/ia/schools/westliberty.
“They do have a great app; their website is really good. We can track all of our activities through Bound. Right now, we’re just starting with athletics, but at some point here in the fall, we’ll get everybody in there.
“Ticketing will also be done online. That is one of Bound’s requirements. Their goal is that 80 percent of all ticket sales be done online. They have a little bit of leeway with that this first year.”
Ticket prices were raised $1, so high school activities will now be $7 for adults and $5 for junior high events. Students will be able to enter junior high events for free. Loria said the district was also exploring raising ticket prices for all-day events, such as volleyball and wrestling tournaments, to help defray expenses such as officials, but no final decision had been made.
Activity pass programs will also be run through Bound, with a new pass program called the family pass for $225 that will be good for four admissions to any event during the year.
Loria praised the new athletic complex, which he said has been “a great facility for our kids.” He said there has been a lot of positive feedback from student-athletes, coaches and families. He added the district has been able to rent the facility to other programs that have reached out, including the Penn State University softball program in early May. “They were coming to Iowa to play in the Big 10 softball tournament. They don’t play on a lot of turf, so they found out we had turf. They called us and I said absolutely. That was kind of neat.” The board will take up facility-usage fees, including rental of the athletic complex, at the next meeting.
Loria also told the board about the new paint job to the gym floor, including the addition of West Liberty’s updated logo, as well as upgrades to the auditorium, which will add ease of livestreaming and help with presentations, and new wireless microphones.
Games this season will be livestreamed through the Hudl Fan App instead of YouTube. Loria said businesses have been reaching out, but the district is always looking for more sponsorships. He said Hudl is working to improve its technology, so coverage of softball and baseball will likely be more consistent next season. He also told the board that West Liberty was “probably the first school in Iowa – maybe anywhere else – to livestream a golf meet.”
This winter, West Liberty will host the boys’ and girls’ RVC wrestling meets. Loria also said that, with the addition of the eight-lane track, West Liberty will host the 2026 RVC track meet, putting the district in a three-school rotation with Tipton and Monticello. The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union also planned to tour the facility, and Loria said the hope was to get West Liberty in a rotation for the state qualifying track meets as well.
Loria said a shortage of officials continues to be a problem. Although West Liberty has not been affected at the varsity level, some lower-level games have had to be postponed or cancelled due to a lack of officials. Loria said, with West Liberty’s proximity to the Iowa City area, “it’s not a huge problem for us yet, but it’s coming. I’m not sure there’s a lot we can do as a school district about that, other than continue to encourage sportsmanship and officials then wanting to come back here.”
Superintendent Shaun Kruger and Loria are also meeting to discuss having more coaches also serve as bus drivers to help with transportation needs, particularly with lower-level sports, but the district is always looking for more bus drivers. Loria also said the district was close to having all of the coaching positions staffed, with just a few assistant coaching positions left at the junior high level.
Impact Grant
Bill Koellner presented an $1,800 2024 Impact Grant from the West Liberty Community Endowment Fund to Kennedy Amos with the ESL department. The grant will cover the cost of translation devices that can be used in classrooms to help newcomers and other non-English speaking students understand content and foster inclusivity within the school.
Koellner praised Amos and the department for their “initiative breaking language barriers within the district. The project aims to equip every classroom within the district to support the 72 English Language Learners (ELL) among the 413 students enrolled at the high school in 2023. Throughout the 2023-24 school year, an additional 14 newcomer high school students – exclusively Spanish speaking – have joined the district. With ELL students constituting approximately 20 percent of the high school population, these devices are expected to enhance academic performance and attendance by fostering great inclusivity and communication.”
Full-time substitutes
The board approved the posting of a full-time building substitute position at each of the three buildings, ELC/Elementary, Middle School, High School. This is a substitute that would be required to report on all student days to their specified building to fill any position needed, per the building principal. These positions will receive the long-term sub rate of $180/day, along with five PTO days. Superintendent Kruger said the position would allow flexibility, as well as consistency for the students. Per board president Jacob Burroughs’ suggestion, the board also agreed to review the position year-to-year. The positions are currently posted on the district’s website.
Personnel
The board approved the retirement of elementary paraprofessional LeeAnn Sheldahl, and the resignations of bus drivers Kelly Adams and Richard Reimers.
New hires include: Ruben Galvan as a high school paraprofessional at $16 per hour; Keishia Ruiz Gomez as a middle school paraprofessional at $16 per hour; Karla Madrigal as an elementary school guidance counselor at $47,500; Chloe Adkins as an elementary school paraprofessional at $16.40 per hour; and Itzhel Gutierrez as an elementary school paraprofessional at $16.40 per hour.
Kruger addressed the current status of bus driver staffing, saying the district is currently about two drivers short. Transportation director Roger Morrison is exploring combining some routes. A substitute bus driver has also agreed to pick up a route, but this will leave the district with only two substitute drivers. Kruger also said the district will offer a $1,000 recruitment bonus. He acknowledged there is a significant time and financial commitment to becoming a bus driver.
Requirements for drivers are listed on the district’s employment website.
Public hearing
On Aug. 19 at 6 p.m., the board will hold a public hearing on the conveyance of property to the City of West Liberty. The property includes the old ELC building and surrounding parcels at 111 W. 7th St.