Iowa City school board hires consultant

The Iowa City school board voted Tuesday night to hire a consultant to advise it on its governance model.

The board, by a 4-1 vote, chose to hire Denver-based Charney Associates to help it with things like understanding the roles of board members and writing policies, said Paul Bobek, the school district's executive director of administrative services. Tuyet Dorau cast the dissenting vote, he said, and Mike Cooper and Gayle Klouda were absent.

The four-year contract calls for consultant Jim Hyatt to spend nine days in Iowa City working with the school board and provide another 45 hours of remote service. The cost to the district is $34,000.

In addition to the base fee, the school district would have to reimburse Charney Associates for out-of-pocket expenses on things like air travel, ground transportation, meals and “first-class lodging,” according to the agreement.