Keith Bormann for North Polk School Board

Throwback to 2017!

Excited to see the new high school addition open tonight and we had our first board meeting in the new collaboration center.

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM SERVING AS A MEMBER OF THE NORTH POLK SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION

1) Completed Data Driven Facilities Assessment & Development of a Facilities Master Plan

In 2019, the district partnered with RSP & Associates to provide an updated enrollment analysis to aid in decision making for future facility investments. The study considered factors such as past and present student enrollment, current and anticipated residential development in the area, and other data to calculate projected student enrollment over the next 10 years and predict where residential growth will occur. The district next explored the market and hired OPN Architects to support a facility assessment to develop a Facilities Master Plan for the district. The process included building tours, interviews with teachers and administrators, and a capacity analysis. As a result of these activities the recommended first step made to the North Polk community was to construct a new elementary building and make an addition to the high school to strategically support our growth.

The district now has a Master Plan with a list of identified projects across all our buildings that we will continue to review and prioritize with new construction requirements. We are also working to update our growth data to capture all the areas of significant growth across the district boundaries and ensure our investments align with the needs as well as the data.


2) Passed $15 Million Bond Referendum with 87.78% Voter Approval

After receiving the incredible community support for the proposed projects, the board authorized OPN to start the design phase of the new school and HS addition. Through discussions with teachers and staff, community members, and administrators, the needs of the building were defined and a concept established. After initiating RFPs, evaluating construction management companies, and negotiating contracts, we broke ground on the HS addition and the new upper elementary October 2020. Please take a look at our detailed plans for the new upper elementary being constructed in Polk City. The building will serve grades 3-5. The existing high school, which opened in 2013, is currently receiving an eight classroom addition featuring a collaborative learning space that in total will increase functional capacity to roughly 750 students. (Link in comments)


3) Successfully executed in-person learning throughout the 20-21 school year, while neighboring districts were hybrid or remote.

The Board and North Polk Staff tirelessly navigated an unchartered territory with ever-changing risks, guidelines and unknowns with Covid-19. We maintained our focus on keeping the schools open with students learning in-person as much as possible, without compromising the health of our teachers and staff. This meant abandoning traditional classroom management, lesson plans and every-day school routines. Teachers exceeded all expectations and worked hard to adapt to a new “normal” as they created and taught web-based curriculum, adjusted to social distancing within the classroom, intensified cleaning protocols and the list of challenges goes on-and-on. The district was successful with the support of flexible families who took active roles in their children’s education.

LOOKING AHEAD
During my time I’ve learned a considerable amount about the operation of the district, such as school finance, educational requirements, overall building operations, and how critical every role within the district is to our success.

With another term I’d continue to push the daily conversation back to our goals for our students and what the district and board can do to support them. By continuously listening to and improving our partnership with our teachers, we can maintain the amazing staff we have and attract the new ones that we need as a growing district. Through discipline and data analysis, continue the master planning activities that have been underway and responsibly grow our district footprint to provide the best learning environment for our students and staff as possible. Finally, continuing the fiscally responsible management of the district to allow us to make investments in people, curriculum, or technology when needed.

I’m excited for the potential to continue this journey with the North Polk community and will do my very best to listen, continue to have great conversations, and always keep our students at the heart of the discussion.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME
In 2011 our family moved to Pine Ridge in Polk City and we feel fortunate to be part of such an amazing community! We have twin boys in 7th grade and our daughter is in 4th grade. We are enjoying watching our boys play JH football this year and you’ll see us at the soccer fields or at softball tournaments on the weekends.

I grew up in State Center, Iowa and graduated from West Marshall High School. I attended Iowa State University and graduated with a degree in Materials Engineering and later completed my MBA at The University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. I’ve worked at Syngenta for the past 11 years and am a North America Seeds Procurement Manager.

It would be an honor to serve a second term, please reach out to me with any questions or concerns regarding the district.

Keith Bormann for North Polk School Board updated their business hours.