School board OKs solar site agreement

CLINTON — The Clinton School Board has approved a lease agreement with Alliant Energy for one of two solar complex sites.

The District began exploring options in April with Alliant Energy, which offers to lease land on which to build solar fields in exchange for offsetting future energy costs. These “Iowa Solar Projects” help Alliant Energy to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions from generated electricity by 2050 with renewable wind and solar generation.

The approved site, formerly the Ashford Sports Complex, spans 4.6 acres at 1650 S. 14th St. The site yet to be approved is located west of Clinton Middle School but before 16th Street NW.

“All we’re doing is mowing that all the time, and I don’t see a future there,” Clinton School District Superintendent Gary DeLacy said Monday.

The 25-year lease term is equal to the expected initial lifespan of the complex and can automatically renew for up to three additional five-year terms thereafter. The gross annual lease amount totals $49,295, to be discounted in gross monthly amounts of $4,108.

The lease is now subject to a final review and the approval of administration and legal counsel.

The board was also presented Monday with information on Evolv Technology and touchless security screening.

In June 2022, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced $100 million in school safety funding. This grant program required a school safety assessment and gave awards up to $50,000 per building to meet resulting recommendations.

“I’d really like to get some kind of weapons detection,” but without searching every student, DeLacy said.

Earlier this month, DeLacy visited a school in a suburb of Chicago with 1,900 students and observed the use of Evolv Technology.

“This is much more doable,” he said.

Evolv Express touchless security screening, unlike traditional walk-through metal detectors, uses advanced sensor technology and artificial intelligence to screen people as they walk through towers made of military-grade plastic at a free-flowing pace and without having to stop and wait for their belongings to be searched by an operator. Instead, operators are alerted to the presence of the shapes of weapons and where on a person or in a bag it’s located, while having the sensitivity capabilities to ignore items like cell phones or keys.

The technology also has the ability to offer analytics, such as data on traffic patterns or the most commonly detected threats passing through a certain location.

Lunch prices

Federal subsidy program mandates brought Director of Food Services Kayla Leu before the board to request increased meal and milk prices for the 2023-2024 school year.

“Our district currently operates under CEP [Community Eligibility Provision] and each student is entitled to one free breakfast and lunch per day,” Leu’s written request reads. “The district will continue to operate under CEP next school year, but we still need to increase meal prices in the event that we ever move away from CEP and go back to paid meals.”

As the USDA will allow a maximum 10-cent increase per year, Leu requested the amount in order to stay comparable to other surrounding districts as well as meet or come close to the free meal reimbursement rate.

“I recommend that we increase breakfast prices by 10 cents for all students,” Leu’s request reads. “I also recommend that we increase lunch prices at elementary by five cents and 10 cents at middle school and high school, as well as increase our milk prices by 10 cents.”

Approved by the board, current elementary, middle, and high school breakfast meal prices will increase to $1.75 and milk will increase to 50 cents. Lunch meal prices will increase to $2.70 at the elementary, $2.80 at the middle school, and $2.90 at the high school.