The Falcon School District 49 Board of Education met for its regular monthly meeting Nov. 14. Chris Wright, vice president of the board, and director Henry Allen were not in attendance.The Falcon Education Foundation presented grants to 19 educators, administrators and staff members ñ totaling more than $17,000. The FEF awards the grants to D 49 staff members so they can embark on projects outside their regular budgetary restrictions, said Stephanie Wurtz, FEF vice president and D 49 public information officer.Board policies and approvalsThe board unanimously approved revisions to policies regarding the districtís transitional retirement plan, which allows retired employees to work for an additional year after retirement. The revisions put the districtís policy into alignment with the Public Employeesí Retirement Association and the federal governmentís Affordable Care Act regulations.The board unanimously approved the membership of two new District Accountability Advisory Committee members for the 2013-2014 school year, as recommended by the D 49 administration. The new members are Christina Ciccariello for Sand Creek High School and Michael Hodgdon for Vista Ridge High School.Peter Hilts, chief education officer, is requesting approval for a job description defining a new position: executive director of individualized education. According to the proposal, ìThe position will provide coordinated leadership and expertise to a division where we have experienced some challenges with compliance and academic achievement.î Tammy Harold, board president, asked Hilts and Brett Ridgway, chief business officer, about the budgetary allowance for the position. Both said the positionís salary had been reviewed from a budgetary stance. Hilts said they plan to post the position in December and hire someone in mid to late January. The board unanimously approved the job description.Mike Pickering, Power Zone innovation leader, highlighted four key components of the zoneís action plan: evaluation-driven educator effectiveness; open access to viable curriculum involving blended and online components; relational framework related to collaboration and community involvement; and advancing micro-innovations to support student and community needs.ìAll students can grow under this model because all teachers are growing as well,î Pickering said. ìThrough educators, students and parents; we will create an environment of better student achievement.îJack Bay, chief operations officer, presented information on a proposed energy resource management plan for the district to optimize energy efficiency, while meeting the districtís needs. He said the first step would be to adopt a comprehensive energy program, which would require the hiring of a qualified person to lead and manage it.ìThis program can become beyond self-funding if the savings outweigh the salary of the person managing the program,î Bay said.The board directed Bay to work on a comprehensive energy program. Bay said he will plan to get a dedicated staff member on board for the program by next year.The next regular BOE meeting is Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the board room of the D 49 Education Services Center.
