June BOE meeting wrap-up

All members of the El Paso County Colorado School District 49 Board of Education were present at the June meeting, except for Dave Cruson, secretary, and John Graham, vice president. Both were absent with prior notice. No members of the student board of representatives attended.Before the regular meeting, the BOE held a ìFantastic 49î event and recognized the following: Jeri DeGeorge, job transition coach, for her commitment to students with special needs; Pam Lewis, innovation specialist in the POWER zone, for her work developing student portfolios to help guide students throughout their educational experience; Cathy Tinucci, principal at Skyview Middle School, for her work on innovator pathways and student portfolios; and Sarah Temple, dean of pathway learning at Vista Ridge High School, for her work on student portfolios.Chief officersí updatePeter Hilts, chief education officer, said the three chief officers have started ìrounding,î which entails visiting various schools to listen to staff voice their concerns. He said one major concern was the shortage of substitute teachers. The Colorado Department of Education gave the district a waiver that allows unlicensed but qualified people to become substitute teachers.Pedro Almeida, chief operations officer, said the building for the Academy for Literacy, Learning and Innovation Excellence at Odyssey Elementary School is complete. He said the summer food program at Evans International Elementary School is underway, where all D 49 students can receive a free breakfast and lunch each school day.Action itemsThe board unanimously approved the following:

• Renewal of the charter school applications for the following: Rocky Mountain Classical Academy, GOAL Academy and Imagine Indigo Ranch
• Requests from Banning Lewis Ranch Academy and Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning to waive some requirements related to the Teacher Employment Act and preschool readiness plan reporting.
• Revisions to policies regarding professional staff; instructional staff transfer and vacancy; teacher displacement; and continuing enrollment of students who become nonresidents
• Update and renewal of the contract between D 49 and Community Partnership for Child Development ñ Head Start
• A calendar change for the 2018-2019 school year to designate May 3, 2019, as an elementary assessment day and May 10 as a professional development day
• A resolution to establish El Paso County Colorado School District 49 as the common and legal identity for D 49
• Revised job description of student information and system data and reporting analyst

Discussion itemsMatt Wilhelm, project manager with Wember Inc. updated the board on the districtís 3B project list. Progress is ramping up now that school is out. So far, about $6.6 million in work has been completed on the priority 2 projects, which equates to about 50 percent of the projects completed.John Newbill, member of the district accountability advisory committee, presented the board with a review of the budget priorities prepared by each schoolís accountability committee. He said the lists provided an opportunity for the SACs to voice their concerns about specific school needs.Marie LaVere-Wright, president, presented information about the goals the BOE has set for themselves, including creating a professional development plan.Ron Sprinz, finance group manager, presented the proposed budget for the 2018-2019 school year. The board unanimously approved the budget at the June 27 special board meeting.A representative from each charter school briefly presented their schoolís budgets for the 2018-2019 school year, which the BOE unanimously approved at the June 27 meeting.Amber Whetstine, executive director of learning services, presented information on a new job description for the family engagement community liaison. The position is fully funded through Title I monies and is intended to support EIES, the districtís Title I elementary school. The board unanimously approved this item at the June 27 meeting.The board entered into an executive session to receive legal advice about a request to hear a stakeholder grievance. No action was taken at that time.Following the executive session, the board reconvened and denied the request for the hearing. The BOE instructed Hilts to make sure appropriate corrective actions take place regarding the stakeholder grievance.The next regular meeting of the BOE is July 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the board room at the D 49 Education Services Center.