About 60 people attended the Falcon School District 49 monthly board meeting on Sept. 8. Superintendent Steven Hull reiterated how pleased he is with the agreement between the district and developers, and congratulated the board on a job well done.Lisa Schneider reported that the assessed evaluation for the district is $452 million – an increase of 26 percent over the last evaluation. However, the commercial and industrial portion is only 18.83 percent.Tom Rains, athletic director, gave an update on Falcon and Sand Creek High School athletic programs. Student participation increased in all sports, with the largest increase in the football program. Falcon High School instituted a weight program, which Rains credited as helping to increase the strength and conditioning of the students. He also commented on the well maintained athletic fields and thanked the maintenance crews.Bill Noxin, the principal of Falcon Middle School introduced several students who gave a brief demonstration of the “Where Everybody Belongs” program, which is intended to help seventh graders transition into middle school.Sandy Collins updated the board on the charter school application for Banning Lewis Ranch. The application is in review. Scott Baugh, the developer’s representative, told the board that the property will eventually comprise six villages with sales for Village 1 beginning May 2006. Village 1 will have 1,100 homes. He stressed the urgency of having a school in operation for the 2006-07 school year. “We need this school up and running by next August,” Bough said. “We are requesting that you approve the application tonight.”The charter school would house kindergarten through eighth grade and would be the neighborhood school for children living in the Banning Lewis Ranch. Mike Holmes, vice president of Mosaic Education, the private company that would run the school, told the board they currently operate 66 schools in eight states, including one in Brighton, Colo. The school would be under the same state and federal mandates as any other public school. However, the school year would be 200 days long with more hours per day.Students are required to wear uniforms, and the school requests that parents volunteer two hours per month. The developer would cover the cost of the building and other start up costs with a $5.75 million 30-year bond. Once the bond is paid, the school building would return to the district. Bough stressed to board that the charter school will “help, not solve the overcrowding.” The board declined to vote on the application, asking for time to review it.Paul Bryant, school board president, requested that the board vote on a new interim president until the newly elected board can organize after the Nov. 1 election. A vote was taken, and Dave Martin will serve as board president during the interim period.
