John Graham, president of El Paso County School District 49 Board of Education, was the speaker at the Dec 1 meeting of the Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce. Graham presented an overview of the school district and its policies.Graham is a licensed Realtor, a father of five and a retired Marine who has worked as a defense contractor.ìWe answer to the voters,î he said of the board members who are elected by the people in the district. ìEven if you don’t have children in district schools, you are a stakeholder. We want to hear what you have to say.îThe district is 133 square miles in area, consists of 32 schools including nine charter schools, with 24,000 students and 3,000 employees, Graham said. He discussed some of the vocational programs available in the schools, including the culinary arts program at Patriot High School, which has an industrial level kitchen. The school district also has a construction program sponsored by the Falcon Builders Association. The health program at Falcon High School prepares students to become emergency medical technicians.Graham said the district has a high concurrent enrollment rate, meaning students are taking college courses along with their high school curriculum.Graham announced that there are plans for a new middle school north of Woodmen Road.He also discussed GOAL Academy, an online school that is solely sponsored by the school district. ìSometimes it takes students in this school longer to graduate and they often have lower achievement scores,î Graham said. He said some of the students are the first ones in their families to get a high school diploma.Graham explained why some people were not able to vote on school board members in the last election. He said each school board member represents a separate district within the school district and are elected by the voters of that particular district. ìIt gives you more local control,î he said. In 2015, there were three board members in Falcon who lived within a mile of each other.There will be no chamber meeting in January.
