A joint meeting of the CAM and Nodaway Valley Community School Districts was held Monday evening at the Nodaway Valley Middle School, in Fontanelle. The meeting was designed to gauge the thoughts of both school boards and gather input, with regard to the possibility of the two districts sharing a superintendent.

CAM Superintendent Steve Pelzer told KJAN News that the boards discussed moving forward, that’s about as far as it got. He says there were no decisions made, it was merely conversation. Pelzer said both boards will likely discuss the matter separately during their respective meetings next month and made a decision on whether to proceed.

Pelzer was not ready to reveal whether there was any sort of consensus following Monday night’s meeting, on if the two districts are on the same page and want to continue moving forward. He said he doesn’t want to speak for either board as to how they feel about laying the groundwork for a possible future sharing option.

Pelzer did acknowledged that discussions have ceased with the Coon Rapids-Bayard School Board over a proposed sharing agreement, and he said there are currently no other districts courting CAM over the possibility of sharing, other than Nodaway Valley.

Districts typically explore a Superintendent sharing agreement with a neighboring school district because of the financial incentives offered by the State of Iowa. The Iowa Legislature passed operational sharing incentives equaling eight students for each district that is sharing a superintendent. The districts would be eligible for the incentive for five years. That amounts to about $50,000 per year.