The Atlantic School Board Tuesday night approved the proposed pay rates for substitute teachers and substitute support staff, such as para-educators, for 2012-2013.  Superintendent Mike Amstein recommended no changes in the rate for 2012-2013, but said he will likely seek an increase for 2013-2014. He said substitute teachers and para-educators are hard to find, and the district should stay within reach of what other districts are doing, in order to draw those persons to the Atlantic School District.

Amstein says the district needs to stay competitive with other districts, which is why he recommended the increase in the 2013-2014 year. In other business, the Atlantic School Board Tuesday, voted to leave the Driver’s Education fees unchanged from last year, at $350.

The board also approved a cost sharing agreement with the City of Atlantic, to split the costs of resurfacing the tennis courts at Sunnyside Park, and Washington Elementary School. The courts at Sunnyside are priority, and will likely be taken care of this fall. The courts at Washington are still in good shape, according to school officials, and will not need to be resurfaced for at least a couple of years. The district’s portion of the costs (about $90,000) will come out of the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (“PPELl”), or Capital Projects Fund. The costs to the district will be spread out over two-years.

The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education Tuesday evening approved a proposed two-year Collective Bargaining Agreement with the district’s certified staff. Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein said total package increase was 4.5-percent, for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years.  The package also addresses an issue he says several board members have expressed concern over: that being the need to do something for the teachers who handle extra-curricular activities, such as coaching. The proposal negotiated with the Atlantic Education Association basically bumps the pay scale from a BA+3 to BA+4 for 2012-2013, and BA+6 for 2013-2014.  Amstein said that puts the district in a better position to attract and retain teachers to coach for the district and handle similar, extra-curricular activities.

Josh Rasmussen, High School Assistant Principal and Activities Director, told the Board the two-year contract and bump in pay scale means at least two teachers who had been “on-the-fence” as far as willingness to stay with the district and coach, will likely stay on, and not look for work elsewhere. Amstein said he knows from experience how difficult it is for teachers to want to be involved with all the extra activities their job requires of them, when the rate of pay is not a motivating factor. He says he believes the contract approved Tuesday night is fair,  “One the district will be able to afford,” and is a “Good, two-year contract.”

JoAnne Sandage, representing the Education Association said they were also pleased with the two-year contract, which is something the district has offered to the support staff, but never the certified staff, prior to the new agreement.

The Iowa State Patrol Tuesday, released information about an accident in Harrison County which sent one person to the hospital, Sunday morning. Authorities say 55-year old Deborah Young, of Omaha, was injured when the 2008 Honda CR-V she was driving left southbound Interstate 29 near Missouri Valley at around 10:20-a.m., entered a ditch and hit a tree, before spinning around and coming to rest against a grove of trees.  Young was trapped in her vehicle and had to be extricated by Missouri Valley Rescue. The woman was transported by LifeNet helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

She later told authorities she had become lost and tired, possibly due to a change in her medications. Young was cited for Failure to Maintain Control. Officials say the small SUV had $9,000 damage, and was considered a total loss.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa House has approved a measure that would prohibit local schools from beginning classes before the fourth Monday in August. Backers say the measure approved Tuesday takes into account Iowa’s farm-based economy by keeping summer open for activities like the state fair and farming. Opponents say the state shouldn’t meddle in matters best left to local school officials. Current law says local schools can’t begin the academic year until after Sept. 1, but they are allowed to seek waivers from that requirement.  Many school districts seek the waiver and area allowed to begin earlier.  The measure cleared the House by a 54 to 44 vote and now goes to the Senate.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Federal regulators have confirmed their preliminary finding that a fire last June at an idled Nebraska nuclear plant presented a serious safety threat. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released its final determination on Tuesday, saying the small fire at the Fort Calhoun plant 19 miles north of Omaha merited the NRC’s most serious “high safety significance.” The finding mirrored the commission’s preliminary conclusion announced on March 12.  The fire briefly knocked out the cooling system for used fuel. The NRC says the plant was shut down at the time and that temperatures never exceeded safe levels.  But it also says the fire was a major concern because it could have happened when the plant was operational and that workers didn’t fully investigate an unusual smell in the area three days earlier.

Sheriff’s Officials in Mills County say an accident Monday evening south of Malvern has claimed the life of an Arkansas man. 32-year old Cade Kling, of England, AR., was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which took place just before 6-p.m., on southbound on 310th Street.

The Sheriff’s Department says Kling was driving a 1997 GMC Sonoma pickup truck, when the right front wheel left the road. Kling overcorrected, sending the pickup into a skid. The truck rolled over and came to a rest on its top. Kling, who was wearing his seat belt, was trapped inside the vehicle.

It’s not clear if alcohol was a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by Malvern Fire and Rescue and Glenwood Rescue.