At its meeting Monday, the Ames School Board discussed the the implications of an end to whole-grade sharing with the United Community School District.
Earlier in October, United announced it is in negotiations with the Madrid School District as a preferred partner for a whole-grade sharing contract, potentially ending its current contracts with the Ames and Boone school districts.
A whole-grade sharing contract allows students from different districts to attend school in a district where they don’t reside.
United’s shift would require Ames students enrolled through the United CSD program to open-enroll in Ames schools instead.
The biggest impact for students switching from United CSD’s whole-grade sharing to open enrollment with Ames would be transportation, said Ames Community School District Superintendent Scott Grimes.
Solutions to solve this problem are already being discussed.
“We will take what we can from transportation to support these families in this transition if that is the direction it ends up going,” said Grimes.
If United ends its contracts with Ames and Boone, the changes would take effect beginning the 2027-2028 school year.
State reporting for 2026
The Ames School Board also discussed the state reporting requirements for 2026 and how they impact school funding.
Schools primarily access federal funding through Title funds. To receive these funds, schools must complete an application process.
This application is for Titles I, II, III and IV.
- Title I: Small group reading intervention
- Title II: Class size reduction and professional learning
- Title III: English Language Learning Program
- Title IV: Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE)
To pass the application, school districts like Ames must make assurances to the state on how the money will be used and answer questions about the goals the money will accomplish and the line-item budget items.
The funds received will supplement existing resources and programs; they do not replace school funds.
This year, however, the district experienced a slight change in the application regarding the non-public consultation agreement.
A non-public consultation agreement requires a collaborative effort between public and non-public educational agencies to provide equal services to nonpublic schools.
This year, the application opened twice, first in March and then in October, requiring the Ames schools to complete a recertification process.
Until the board completes this process, they cannot access their application budgets.
The quick turnaround this year left board members with three days to finish the reapplication process rather than the usual two weeks.
The full state reporting requirements can be found here.
In other business
- The Ames School Board completion of the federal desk audit is underway. The audit is due Dec. 15.
- The school district partnered with Iowa State to bring in locally sourced fruits and vegetables. The school, aligning with this shift, will change to using AE Dairy after Christmas break.
- School board nomination papers will now be filed with the county commissioner of elections.
- Next time: The next school board meeting is 5:30 p.m. Nov. 2. A work session will follow the meeting.
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