It was an early and fairly brief meeting for the Columbia School Board last week, with only a few action items on the agenda and a subsequent issuance of bonds.

The regular meeting began at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, with a Bond Issue Notification Act Public Hearing taking place at the usual start time of 7 p.m.

Noted early on in the meeting by Columbia Superintendent of Schools Chris Grode, an action item to lease ground at Columbia Middle School for a cell tower was removed in order to provide the board additional time to gather more information on the matter.

The other three action items were all approved by the board. These included the 2025-26 budget display, a date for the budget hearing set for Sept. 18, and the second reading of board policies Press Plus Issue 119.

This was the same set of policies recently discussed by the Waterloo School Board which featured the question of whether or not to include a sentence on board member accountability.

The sentence in question states: “A board member who fails to abide by the oath of office or the Code may be subject to action by the Board, including, but not limited to, formal censure and/or referral to the Regional Superintendent for removal from office under Board policy 2:60, Board Member Removal from Office.”

As the Waterloo School Board did earlier in the week, the Columbia School Board voted against inclusion of this sentence.

During the BINA hearing, board members voted to approve the issuance of no more than $33 million of funding bonds.

Grode noted – as he has previously during the funding bond process – that this is expected to be the final wave of funding for the ongoing renovation project at Columbia High School.

With especially brief presentations, Columbia Assistant Superintendent of Schools Amanda Ganey reported positively on the start of the school year, also speaking about discussion she and Grode had with members of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce regarding the district’s vocational curriculum.

“It has been truly amazing having students in the halls and all of the staff members back as well,” Ganey said. “I was able to share our vocational pathways that we are working really hard on at the high school, and the chamber was really excited to hear of those pathways we’re working on, and I had some great conversations with business members. Off to a great start.”

In his report, Grode likewise was enthusiastic about the start of the new school year. 

“School has started, and it is always an exciting time of year,” Grode said. “Transportation is always the big discussion point here in Columbia on Route 3, and I think it’s going well again with the construction.”

Grode also briefly addressed the continuing CHS construction, noting the front of the building was unable to be completed by the start of school, though completion is anticipated in the coming weeks.

“They are extremely close on that office,” Grode said. “It’s really starting to look like a school on the inside, so we plan on having that open the first week of September.”

Further discussion among Grode, school board president Greg Meyer and board member Adam Hemken was also positive about the CHS construction effort, with a flooring issue being fixed and work on the new gymnasium set to begin Sept. 8, after this year’s Songs4Soldiers event at  neighboring Bolm-Schuhkraft Memorial Park.

A member of the public was also present to address the board about the state of the district’s music program, expressing her concerns about over 100 students in the marching band and color guard being managed by only music teacher Kristian Avise-Rouse and a paraprofessional who will be leaving next year.

She urged the board to provide the program with additional staffing and support, emphasizing that students need access to both quality math and music programs.