By Lindsey Harrison
The El Paso County School District 49 Board of Education held its monthly meeting on March 12 at Sand Creek High School. All board members were present.
Prior to the meeting, David Nancarrow, director of communications for D49, facilitated a Fantastic 49 ceremony for the district’s Schools of Distinction. He stated that the district is working to achieve the “accredited with distinction” status as recognized by the Colorado Department of Education. The schools honored in this ceremony have all met or exceeded the CDE benchmarks for distinction status. Those schools were as follows: Grand Peak Academy Middle School; Liberty Tree Academy; Mountain View Academy Elementary and Middle Schools; Patriot Applied Learning Campus High School; Pikes Peak Early College; Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning Middle School; Power Technical High School; Remington Elementary School; Ridgeview Elementary School; Rocky Mountain Classical Academy Elementary School; Skyview Middle School; Stetson Elementary School; and Woodmen Hills Elementary School.
Public comment
Emily Kennedy expressed her concerns regarding how D 49 intends to provide ongoing education for dual language immersion students since the Spanish program at Stetson Elementary was discontinued. She mentioned that there is still more than $100,000 left from the Department of Defense Education Activity grant that funded the program. She urged the board to consider how they can provide advanced learning opportunities for those DLI students.
Superintendent’s update
Peter Hilts, superintendent, recognized Allison McDaniel from Falcon High School and David Burchett from the High Performance Program at the Springs Studio for Academic Excellence, both of whom won state titles in wrestling.
Hilts also provided updates on the following: completion of the Voice of the Workforce learning tour; ongoing progress on the feedback and recommendations from the Student Board of Representatives regarding a cell phone policy; and the potential to repurpose a district-owned property on Mohawk Road from the Falcon Elementary School of Technology to a Student Success Center that will house programs like the PEAK program.
Student Board of Representatives’ update
Megan Welch from Falcon High School reported that she and the other Falcon student board members visited and spoke with students and leaders at the elementary and middle schools that feed into Falcon High School.
Board update
Marie LaVere-Wright, president, recognized students who participated in the PTA Arts Camp Reflections event, three of whom placed at the state level. She announced that Lauren Nordin from Falcon Elementary School will advance to the national competition for her video, “Be Kind to Caterpillars.”
LaVere-Wright also mentioned that Whitney Yeager, the education outreach coordinator for OneChanceToGrowUp.org, contacted her about providing free educational programming for parents and students related to THC, marijuana and the dangers of high-THC products. The organization is funded by money recovered from a class action lawsuit against Juul regarding the marketing of their products to children, she stated.
Holly Withers, vice president, commented on conversations, meetings and online discussions regarding the appointment of someone to the vacant Director District 2 BOE seat. She noted that much of the discussion appeared to revolve around the political party affiliations of potential candidates, as well as determining which political party dominates the board. Withers emphasized that the BOE is intended to be nonpartisan and should focus on student performance rather than political affiliations.
Mike Heil, treasurer, stated that he attended the Engage 49 Cyber Safety event, where the panel provided a wealth of useful information. He also reported that the investment grade audit regarding the district’s electric power contracting effort is about halfway complete, and the company, Schneider Electric, should be ready to present their findings in a few months.
Heil also highlighted Initiative 195, a graduated tax initiative that would replace the current flat tax rate. Supporters are currently circulating petitions for signatures. If it passes, it will raise more than $2 billion for the state of Colorado and provide a small income tax cut for individuals earning less than $1 million per year.
Action items
The BOE unanimously approved the following:
- Recognition and celebration of Schools of Distinction throughout D 49
- An updated English curriculum at Sand Creek High School
- Updated sociology textbooks for SCHS
- School year 2027 annual strategic objectives for the BOE
After some discussion, the board also unanimously approved the adoption of a resolution to cancel teaching contracts due to a justified decrease in positions. LaVere-Wright explained that this is a legal step required by the district after declaring fiscal exigency; the staff affected by the resolution are aware that their contracts will be canceled and had the opportunity to appeal the decision, although none have.
Discussion items
Karen Bixler, coordinator of title programs, presented the annual update for the district’s Title programs, which include: Title I, Part A — improving academic achievement for the disadvantaged; Title II, Part A — preparing, training, and recruiting high-quality educators and leaders; Title III, Part A and Title III Immigrant Set-Aside — supplemental support for English Language Learners; and Title IV, Part A — student support and academic enrichment. She noted that the district performed a comprehensive needs assessment for each title as part of the annual review process and presented a breakdown of where funds are allocated within those titles.
LaVere-Wright said the policy and procedure discussion items were related to technical changes in policies because of things like adjustments in the law. All changes were administrative recommendations, she said.
Closing public comment
Lonzell Ivory Jr. announced his candidacy for the Colorado State Board of Education and referenced an incident in which he claimed his daughter was bullied and attacked by a group of boys during recess. He stated that no adult could be found during the eight-minute attack, and no one reported the incident to him. Ivory expressed his commitment to advocating for schools to take immediate action following violent incidents.
The next regular meeting of the BOE is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Peakview Hall at the Creekside Success Center in Colorado Springs.
