Superintendent's Message for October 2026

SUPERINTENDENT MESSAGE 

October 2026

Hello, Chargers!!

As we welcome the month of October, I want to take a moment to thank you for your continued support of our schools and the Charger community. The partnership between our schools, families, and community is essential to creating an environment where every student can learn, grow, and succeed. As a district, we continue to focus on providing meaningful learning opportunities for our students while also planning responsibly for our future. This work includes evaluating our school facilities and potential improvements, exploring long-term funding options to address facility needs, strengthening our partnerships with community leaders, and building a strong team of dedicated professionals to serve our students and families. These efforts reflect our commitment to making thoughtful decisions that support our students today while preparing our district for tomorrow. I look forward to sharing a few updates on this work and the many positive things happening across our district. Thank you for being an important part of our Charger family!

Board Work Session Held

I wanted to share an update regarding the Board of Education’s work session held last week, which focused on our district’s facilities and potential improvements.

These conversations are an important part of our ongoing efforts to evaluate our school buildings, identify current and future needs, and plan responsibly for the future of our district. Ensuring that our facilities support student learning, staff success, and the needs of our school community remains an important priority.

One topic discussed was the possibility of issuing bonds against future SAVE/PPEL revenues to help fund facility improvements. This approach was used by the district years ago to help finance the high school remodel. To better understand this option, the district has partnered with Piper Sandler to provide guidance on the process, including its potential advantages and disadvantages.

Any bond proposal would need to identify the specific projects to be funded, such as completing the interior spaces of the middle school. As we continue exploring this option, the following are key details we have learned so far:

• Board Approval and Public Hearing: The School Board may approve a bonding proposal by majority vote following a required public hearing. This option is available because the district’s SAVE and PPEL revenue sources are already established.

• Public Petition Rights: Members of the public may petition the board’s decision, even though the proposal would not create a new tax or increase the district’s current tax rate.

• Potential Bond Election: If a petition is successful, the district would need to hold a bond election the following November to proceed with the proposal.

• Flexibility in Issuing Bonds: Even if the board approves the proposal, the district would retain the flexibility to delay or decide not to issue the bonds for the identified projects. This would allow the board to consider prevailing interest rates, construction market conditions, and the district’s overall financial position before moving forward.

• Estimated Bonding Capacity: The district’s estimated bonding capacity is approximately $14 million.

These discussions have provided a clearer understanding of the district’s potential bonding capacity, the approval process, and the flexibility available to the board. While no final decisions have been made, this information will help inform our ongoing conversations about facility needs, project priorities, and potential funding strategies for the future of our district.

As we continue this process, thoughtful discussion and careful planning will help guide decisions about how we maintain, improve, and invest in our facilities for years to come. We remain committed to making informed decisions that support our students, staff, and school community. 

Middle School Remodel - Spring of 2027

Below are some of the planned updates to our Middle School Commons, Cafeteria, Secretary Workstation, and Staff Workroom. These images provide a glimpse of the vision for these spaces and how they will better support our students, staff, and daily operations.

Iowa Senate File 2428 - Student Behavior Bill

This legislation went into effect on July 1, 2026, with limited guidance available to schools on how to implement the new requirements. Since then, our teachers, principals, and district leadership have been working diligently to understand the law and develop a consistent, districtwide plan for implementation. Our priority is to ensure we meet all legal requirements with a high level of fidelity while providing clear expectations and support for our staff, students, and families. We recognize that these changes require thoughtful planning, collaboration, and ongoing communication, and we appreciate the hard work of our staff as we work together to maintain safe, supportive learning environments for everyone.

The purpose of this legislation is to help keep classrooms safe, support teachers, and establish clear, consistent procedures for addressing student behavior that disrupts learning or involves violence. The law includes several key requirements:

• Supporting teachers in maintaining safe classrooms: Gives teachers clear authority to remove students from the classroom for disruptive or violent behavior and establishes specific requirements that must be met before a student may return to the classroom.

• Creating consistent procedures across the district: Requires school districts to establish clear procedures for student discipline, classroom removal, readmission to the classroom, parent and guardian notification, and documentation of incidents and actions taken.

• Establishing a review process for student returns: Requires each school building to establish an Oversight Review Committee to help guide decisions about when students may return to the classroom following removal.

• Protecting students receiving special education services: Establishes additional requirements for Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, staff involvement, and documentation following student removals to ensure appropriate processes and safeguards are followed.

As we continue putting these procedures into place, our focus remains on balancing classroom safety, teachers’ ability to teach, and every student’s opportunity to learn in a supportive environment. Implementing these requirements thoughtfully and consistently will take continued teamwork and communication among our schools, staff, and families.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support as we finalize and implement these procedures across our district. We appreciate the dedication of our teachers, principals, and staff as they work through these changes and ensure we are meeting the requirements of the law while keeping our classrooms safe and focused on learning.

Please watch for more specific information from your child’s school as building-level procedures and expectations are finalized. We value our partnership with families and appreciate your support as we navigate these changes together.

Please visit our website at https://www.charitonschools.org/ for additional information about our school district. 

GO CHARGERS and THINK BIG !!!!  

Mr. Baker, #LBE

Phone - 641-774-5967

Email- brad.baker@chariton.k12.ia.us