Atlantic School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein has announced he will be retiring at the end of the 2016-17 school year. The announcement came during Wednesday evening’s regular meeting of the Atlantic School Board.

Amstein, who has served the Atlantic School District since April, 2010, said when he concludes his service here, he will have “been on one side of the desk or the other side of the desk for 53-years. My wife tells me it’s about time to ‘come to the house.'”

Atlantic Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein (Ric Hanson, photo)

He said “You get a point in your life where you know it’s time to take a look at something else.” Amstein says he has some ideas of what he might do upon retirement, but “It probably won’t be in education….I want to do something that normal people do.”

He said in the meantime, he looks forward to the upcoming year, and that he will do whatever is necessary in the upcoming year to help in the transition to a new Superintendent, next year.

In a prepared statement, Dr. Amstein said “I am grateful to the Atlantic Community for making me feel so welcome into the community. My wife and I have been fortunate that we have been able in the short time that we have lived here, to have developed some life-long friendships that we will cherish and hope to continue.”

He said he’s proud “Of the fact the district’s test scores have improved steadily over the past six-years, the graduation rate has improved, while the district’s dropout rate has dropped to below the state average. None of these things could have been accomplished without the hard work and dedication of our teachers, support staff, administrators and school board members.”

Amstein joins a list of Superintendents from around southwest and western Iowa who have announced their resignations or retirements since the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. The most recent being Griswold’s Dana Kunze and Riverside’s Jim Sutton. Superintendents at Exira-Elk Horn/Kimballton and Farragut School Districts all announced their plans to leave this past fall and winter. Farragut’s Tom Hinrichs’ decision was immediate, after the State Board of Education stripped away the district’s local control.

The entire Sioux City Community School District was placed on lockdown this (Wednesday) morning after a threatening call was received around 8:20 a-m at the administration building. Sergeant Brad Bollinger of the Sioux City Police says the call claimed that explosive devices had been placed at each school in the district, and that the schools would be attacked with rifles within a half hour.

He says it was a robotic voice that said a bomb would go off at all schools. “These calls have been going around the country recently, and numerous school districts have received them in the past. In fact, this is the second time that the Sioux City School District has received them,” Bollinger says. Officers were dispatched to the buildings and the call proved to be a hoax. Bishop Heelan High School Principal Chris Bork says the city parochial schools did not receive the call, but police notified them of the threat and they also briefly went on lockdown.

He says they went outside and made sure the students were safely moving across campus. Bork says started talking with a police officer about the best way to handle things, and during that meeting the public schools lifted their lockdown. The lockdown was canceled at 9:15. Sergeant Bollinger says the F-B-I has been notified of the threat and the investigation is continuing.

(Radio Iowa)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Legislature’s proposed higher education budget target could hike tuition at the state’s three public universities and 15 community colleges this fall. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that lawmakers have agreed to give a nearly $4.9 million increase for public higher education in the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year budget. But the proposed target is more than $3 million less than the minimum that the Iowa Board of Regents says it needs to keep resident undergraduate tuition the same at the University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University.

The University of Iowa’s base tuition will already increase by $100 per semester starting in the fall, but the budget target could mean another increase.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports three people were arrested Tuesday. 35-year old Lisa Mae Harper,  of Atlantic, and 36-year old Joshua Michael Lillard, of Atlantic, were arrested on one charge each of Possession of Methamphetamine 3rd/Subsequent Offense (D Felony). Both were taken to the Cass County Jail where they remain held on $5,000 bond each.

56-year old Barry Dean Schmidt, of Massena, was arrested Tuesday on a District Court Warrant for Probation Violation. Schmidt was also charged with Felon in Possession of Ammunition (D Felony), Possession of Methamphetamine 2nd Offense (Aggravated), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Schmidt was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $12,300 bond.