By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa Community School Board met last night and held a public hearing on their budget for FY24. The final levy rate that was approved by the board was $12.94 per $1,000 of valuation, which board member Chad Vink said was lower than the rate that was published.

The board also moved forward with two improvement projects. One was for improvements for the high school baseball field, intended to fix some drainage issues with the field. The district plans on working with Garden and Associates for the project.

The other project will see improvements to pavement at the Elementary and Middle Schools, including the concrete in front of the George Daily Auditorium, stairs in front of the middle school, and some of the concrete in the north parking lot. The contract for the project was awarded to TK Concrete for roughly $185,000.

Among other actions taken by the board was the approval of an out-of-state debate trip for students, the rejection of bids for the sale of the Webster School, the acceptance of the audit report for FY23, and renewal of their agreement with their food service management company.

The next regular Oskaloosa school board meeting will be held on May 9.