D 49 BOE meeting wrap-up
By Deb Risden
The El Paso County School District 49 Board of Education held its monthly meeting June 12. All board members were present.
Superintendent’s update
Peter Hilts, superintendent, attended 10 graduations and said the GOAL Academy ceremony included 17 mothers and three fathers who received their diplomas. “Among the many things that we do well, sponsoring GOAL Academy is one we do exceptionally well. It has an impact on multiple generations,” Hilts said. He added that the administration is now focusing on budget preparation for the new fiscal year.
Board update
Lori Thompson, president, attended five graduations and noted the many students who had received associate’s degrees because of the concurrent enrollment program, as well as workforce certificates.
Jamilynn D’Avola, vice president, attended four graduations and said every teacher from preschool through 12th grade is a part of every graduate’s success.
Mike Heil, treasurer, attended five graduations. Heil said that the Colorado State Supreme Court came to Falcon High School as part of their community program, which entails visiting two school districts per year. He said it allows students to observe two court cases — one civil and one criminal — including arguments from both sides, along with the judge’s perspectives. Heil said they are given an opportunity to ask attorneys and justices questions. He attended an inaugural awards ceremony for special education teachers. He said parents nominated teachers for recognition.
Debra Schmidt, director, attended five graduations. Schmidt said she met with Rebekah Brooks, chief financial officer, to learn about district budgeting.
Action items
The BOE unanimously approved the following:
- Nutrition Services charter school meal contract renewals for the 2025-2026 school year
- Policy GBEC (Alcohol and Drug-Free Workplace) edits with a consensus to task the superintendent and district attorney with modifying the language to include other issues that could arise in the future
- Update to Policy GBGI regarding staff leaves and absences
- 2025-2026 budget adoption
- Inter-fund borrowing resolution
- Use of beginning fund balance resolution
Discussion items
David Nancarrow, director of communications, provided a communications department performance report. He said the department received awards from the Colorado School Public Relations Association, including COSPRA’s Golden Achievement Award for community outreach and public engagement for Discover D49: The Magazine. The district won awards in the publications and digital media category as well as six individual awards in writing, photography and video categories. Nancarrow said podcast downloads are at an all-time high and Instagram interaction was up by 655% over last year. A recent project the department completed was documenting all 10 2025 graduation ceremonies and making them available to families through the Flickr platform. He said the department’s 2025-2026 goals include continuation of the work toward digital accessibility for everyone.
Sean Norman, director of applied and advanced learning, introduced department team members who provided a performance update. Shonda Green, concurrent enrollment coordinator, said the department estimates 16% of high school students will be attending one or more college classes in the upcoming school year. Green said the growth of the program has come with challenges, particularly in physical space. She said offering a combination of in-person and digital classes is helping to ease the space limitations. Green said they are also offering a general chemistry course for concurrent enrollment during the summer; 15 students are enrolled. Mary Krisko, career and technical education coordinator, said D 49 has 350 students who have received industrial credentials. She said those students have met mastery for graduation requirements. Krisko said Falcon High School has started a new automotive program and is in the process of contracting with Hunter, a leading auto industry equipment provider, which will become a satellite training facility for D 49 instructors and some students who will take advanced courses. She said they will provide equipment for training students. Krisko said D 49 won an innovation grant for a medical assistant program at Vista Ridge High School. Kelsey Grimaldo, choice and success program manager, said Sand Creek High School hosted several events for industry partners and students such as a Shark Tank event, where students were given an opportunity to present their projects. Grimaldo said there was also a career expo day and opportunities for students to be interviewed by industry partners for jobs or internships.
D’Avola said the Social Studies Task Force held their first meeting May 27 with representatives from each high school in each zone. The group has been tasked with recommending district requirements for U.S. history, government, civics and world history courses and the number of semesters for the courses. The BOE discussed the importance of the courses and a desire to align schools so they are requiring and scheduling courses during the same academic year, as well as providing instruction that includes core information and documents.
BOE members discussed Policy AD-BOE, School District 49 identity, vision, mission and philosophy revisions and a recent survey completed in the community regarding proposed changes. The BOE came to the consensus on changes and requested that Hilts prepare a final document, with minor revisions in the wording for some points under the educational philosophy statement. The BOE moved it forward to the next scheduled special meeting for a vote.
Thompson led a discussion regarding a resolution to ask the Colorado Association of School Boards to request that the state Legislature develop legislation for reporting district performance framework data that separates alternative education campuses, such as GOAL Academy, from other school data. The district feels the unique nature of GOAL Academy, such as longer times for student attendance prior to graduation, negatively impacts the district’s graduation rates. The BOE agreed to move the resolution forward for submittal to CASB, with minor changes.
The next regular meeting of the BOE is July 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the Peakview Hall at the Creekside Success Center in Colorado Springs.
