The Falcon School District 49 Board of Education met in August to discuss and move on several important items, including whether to include construction of a charter high school as part of the ballot for the school bond scheduled for the November election.During the open forum portion of the meeting, several community members spoke in favor of the charter high school, including Peggy Littleton, El Paso County Commissioner.Directors voiced their opinions about adding the charter high school. ìI truly believe that to complete our portfolio of schools, we need a charter high school,î said Tammy Harold, board president.Chuck Irons, board director, said, ìMy concern is that weíre asking for $20 million in November for a charter high school building, and we donít actually have a complete, firm application in hand.îThe vice president of the board, David Moore, said he is concerned that students would not actually be attending the charter school for up to five years because of construction timelines. However, he agreed with the concept. ìI see no reason to believe that a (charter) high school wonít do very well,î Moore said. ìItís been proven that charter and traditional schools working together is the best choice.îKevin Butcher, treasurer, said, ìIím not sure the charter (high) school is right yet.î He said he doesnít want to include a referendum for the charter high school on the bond measure.Marie LaVere-Wright, secretary, agreed with Butcherís point. ìI think we should fix the capacity issues in K-8 rather than using this (charter high school) to solve it,î she said. ìUltimately, I have to put forward what I feel has the best chance.îHarold called for a poll about removing the charter high school from the bond and the directors agreed in a 4-1 vote to remove it, with Moore opposed. Discussions continued on items to include on the bond measure. The actual ballot language will be decided at a special meeting later in August. The board unanimously approved the following agenda items:ï The 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 BOE meeting dates, with an amendment to remove the July 22, 2015, work sessionï The nutrition services equipment maintenance contract to complete planned maintenance on 354 pieces of equipmentï Board policies regarding staff ethics and conflicts of interestï A revised title for the current ìhuman resources specialist ó projects & reportingî position to ìhuman resources generalistîï Revisions to the fire and electrical supervisorís salary range to allow the department to attract a quality professionalï Reauthorization of the Pikes Peak Board of Education of Cooperative Educational Services contractsï A resolution in opposition to Initiative 135, which would authorize casino gaming as a means to secure additional funding for public educationï The appointment of LaVere-Wright as a delegate to the Colorado Association of School Board September assembly and the December business meetingï An intergovernmental agreement between the district and the EPC Clerk and Recorder for the November electionDana Palmer, the District Accountability Advisory Committee chairwoman, presented the 2013-2014 DAAC annual report and requested that the board provide direction to DAAC on specific areas of study. The board moved this to an action item for the Sept. 11 board meeting.Prior to the meeting, the BOE held a ìFantastic 49î event and recognized two district employees who earned awards. Jeanne Hornberger, kitchen manager at Sand Creek High School, earned a Louise Sublette Award of Excellence in School Nutrition. The award recognizes those who demonstrate dedication and ingenuity, while successfully implementing ways to improve school meals. Hornberger launched a breakfast program that earned a Colorado Healthy School Champions award.The board also recognized Sand Creek High Schoolís Todd Matia, Project Lead the Way instructor. Matia earned a DiscoverE award for his ability to inspire students to discover engineering. His engineering students recently earned a $9,900 grant from the Lemelson-MIT program and attended the EurekaFest at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.The next regular BOE meeting is Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the board room of the Education Services Center.
