D 49 Board of Education meeting wrap-up
By Deb Risden
The El Paso County School District 49 Board of Education held its monthly meeting Aug. 8. All BOE members were present. Kayla Maldonado, internal communications manager, honored the following at the Fantastic 49 celebration:
- Falcon High School students Christian Bertholf, for supporting his peers, school staff and the community; and Cayla Newbill and Ashlyn Christianson for enhancing the experience of students and staff
- Rachel Jeffrey, education technology specialist, for supporting teachers with technology learning needs as well as ensuring new teachers start the year with necessary equipment installed
- Chante Rue and Ashley Gates, instructional coaches at Remington Elementary School, for offering encouragement and feedback that help educators feel valued and heard. Rue and Gates are willing to step in and support the classroom when needed.
Superintendent’s update
Peter Hilts, superintendent, said that over a year ago, D 49 learned it was not able to build a planned middle school because of jurisdiction issues. The unused funds were used toward other capital projects, including supplemental funding to the transportation department; expansion for career and technical programming; part of a new wing at Vista Ridge High School; and replacement of old, outdated modulars at Horizon Middle School. Seven roofs were replaced and other deferred maintenance projects were completed. Hilts said the funds were invested in the district’s capital needs so that the district could meet covenants and retain tax exempt status of those investments from people who had purchased certifications of participation. Hilts said, “We did not leave one dime on the table. We were able to be so precise that when all of the contingency funds come back, we will be very close to zero.” Hilts said preliminary school performance reports are expected to be released by the Colorado Department of Education in early August. He said school districts surrounding D 49 are continuing to lose enrollment, however, D 49 has stable enrollment numbers as of the BOE meeting. He also noted that the trend is moving toward online, private, distributed methods of education. Hilts said staff vacancies are being filled and the district is anticipating a vacancy rate of well under 1%.
Student Board of Representatives’ update
Bella D., Banning Lewis Preparatory Academy senior, said BLPA plans to get more involved with middle and elementary school students, especially fifth graders to help them adjust to the change.
Aaliyah L., Falcon High School student, said some students are upset about the new cell phone rule. She said, “It’s hard because as a student, I like to listen to music while I work, but it’s good to get outside of technology and work with people, have a break and connect with new people and connect with teachers more.”
(According to District 49 Phone and Device Protocols 1.0 (SY 25), “Students and educators may not use phones during instructional time. Practically, this means that students, teachers, and other adults should place their phone in a location (backpack, drawer, shelf, pouch, cubby) where the phone is not a visual distraction, where any vibration or visual alert is not detectable, and where the phone cannot create a distraction or disruption.”)
Board update
Lori Thompson, president, attended the grand opening of the transportation center and a national teacher conference in Denver. She said the new cell phone protocols were developed after conducting meetings with parents, students, teachers and principals to obtain feedback. Thompson said the district will evaluate the new protocol after the school year to determine if refinement is needed. She noted that Skyview Middle School was honored as Best Workplace by The Gazette and also earned status of Platinum School of Distinction by Renaissance.
Jamilynn D’Avola, vice president, said BOE members attended training on writing resolutions in July. D’Avola said she feels it is important for the board to meet quarterly to have an opportunity to discuss issues in depth. She attended the transportation center grand opening and was impressed at what can be done on the new site. She said the facilities department is also happy to move into the old transportation center, which provides them with better accommodations.
Marie LaVere-Wright, secretary, attended the transportation center grand opening and commented on how the new facility is reflective of how much the district has grown. The new center allows maintenance work on eight buses at a time versus the old facility that could only handle two. She noted that a raise in bus fees is not because of the new facility.
Action items
The BOE unanimously approved the following:
- Policy CBI, evaluation of superintendent
- Falcon Community Builders for Classrooms allocation and dissolution of final $2.3 million in funds
Discussion items
Monica Deines-Henderson, director of nutrition services, provided an annual update of nutrition services. Meals are served at 25 sites, 23 of which have in-house operational kitchens. During the last school year, 343,251 breakfasts and 1,437,051 lunches were served. Average daily participation was 2,215 students for breakfast and 9,271 for lunch. Deines-Henderson said this represented a more than 100% increase in breakfast over the previous school year and a more than 34% increase in lunch. The increase in meals is mainly because of the Healthy School Meals for All Program implemented by the Colorado Department of Education. She explained the nutrition services program is overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture and operates as a not-for-profit enterprise fund. The program does not receive funding from the district’s general fund. A portion of any excess revenue can be donated to the district. For the 2023-2024 school year, Deines-Henderson reported a contribution to the district’s general fund of $200,000.
The BOE drafted a resolution requesting the Colorado Legislature develop a district performance framework that would separate alternative education campus data from all other school data. This will address the skewed graduation rates D 49 receives because of GOAL Academy’s unique program. The resolution was moved forward for a future vote.
Lanette DePaul, senior executive assistant to the board of education, presented multiple policies with minor updates. The BOE moved the policies forward for future vote.
The next regular meeting of the BOE is Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the Peakview Hall at the Creekside Success Center in Colorado Springs.
