D 49 Board of education June meeting
By Lindsey Harrison
The El Paso County School District 49 Board of Education held its monthly meeting in the auditorium at Sand Creek High School on June 11. All board members were present.
Open forum
John Graham, former BOE director and president, and former board president of the Education ReEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Education Services, said he is surprised to see a presentation on the agenda regarding the ERBOCES and no one reached out to him to get his input. He said the presentation contains many errors, and considering disassociating from the organization is alarming.
Kim Beckworth, community member and member of both the Special Education Advisory Council and the District Accountability Advisory Committee, said she is also concerned about ERBOCES. She said the BOE should consider if the ERBOCES priorities are aligned with the district’s and what benefits the organization provides to students and educators in the district.
Two other community members also spoke in support of the programs facilitated by ERBOCES.
From https://www.cpr.org/2026/06/25/defection-from-group-public-christian-school: “ERBOCES has been at the center of two major controversies over the past year, and both its members and state lawmakers have taken notice. Last summer, the co-op authorized Riverstone Academy, a tiny school in Pueblo County that emails show was created at the behest of a conservative law firm that wanted to spark a religious liberty lawsuit that would go to the U.S. Supreme Court. ERBOCES has also fueled massive growth in publicly funded home-school enrichment programs across the state, using private contractors and subcontractors that keep many details hidden from the public.”
Superintendent’s update
Peter Hilts, superintendent, stated that he attended several graduations across the district, and felt the ceremony for GOAL Academy stood out because 11 students carried their children across the stage to receive their diplomas. He said the district is making progress on the Creekside Success Center project and the project to co-locate Falcon Elementary School with Bennett Ranch Elementary School at the Firebird Nation campus. Hilts said that both projects are on schedule.
Board update
Marie LaVere-Wright, president, said she also attended various D 49 graduations, including the GOAL Academy graduation. She said the online school graduated 2,000 graduates, with another 1,000 students graduating from the other D 49 high schools.
LaVere-Wright asked the other board members to consider not having a regular meeting in July, and moving items they would vote on in July to the June special board meeting. All members agreed to cancel the July meeting.
Lori Thompson, secretary, reported that she attended many graduations; she wanted to thank Holly Withers, BOE vice president, for stepping in to attend a graduation that took place at the same time as a close friend’s celebration of life. She also thanked the individuals who emailed the board about their feelings regarding ERBOCES.
Withers said she visited every school in the Power Zone, met with all the principals and a few teachers who spoke about programs they are looking forward to offering in the upcoming years.
Mike Heil, treasurer, said he attended the last DAAC meeting of the year, adding that the committee could use some more parent involvement if anyone in attendance is interested. He reported that he attended the Employee of the Year event and the gifted fair at Sand Creek High School. He said he was pleased about the students’ projects at the fair.
Heil said he has received feedback from some homeschool families about the enrichment programs the ERBOCES offers, and many said their children attended those programs, adding that they definitely see a benefit to staying with the organization.
Action items
The BOE unanimously approved the following:
- A new course proposal for freshman human geography at Vista Ridge High School
- The new job description for the applied and advanced learning advisor position
- The Energy Performance Contract and associated financing documentation following the completion of the investment grade audit of the district
- The 2025-2026 supplemental budget appropriation and beginning fund balance
- The 2026-2027 adopted budget appropriation and beginning fund balance
Discussion items
Nancy Lemmond Ph.D, deputy superintendent and executive director for individualized education, and Stacey Powell, director of early childhood education, presented information about a proposed child coordinator position. The position would provide administrative support to the early childhood education program, Lemmond said. The BOE agreed to move this item forward for action at the June special board meeting.
Brian Smith, Falcon Zone superintendent, and Sean O’Connor, Falcon High School principal, presented information about a new athletic training curriculum FHS would like to adopt. O’Connor said the current curriculum is outdated and doesn’t align with D 49 priorities. The BOE agreed to move this item forward for action at the June special board meeting.
Evelyn Galane Phillips, community and facility planning manager, and Louis Fletcher, Ph.D, executive director of joint operations, presented seven proposals regarding the need to change some D 49 director district precinct boundaries to maintain compliance with state statutes and account for the redrawn precincts implemented by the county in 2025. The board discussed the proposals and agreed that the one with the least amount of variance from the current precinct boundaries while still maintaining compliance with the state would be moved forward for action at the June special meeting.
Galane Phillips and Fletcher presented information about a permanent easement to allow the Colorado Department of Transportation to work on drainage and build a sound-reduction wall as part of the Highway 24 widening project. The easement would require acquisition of district-owned property near the Patriot Applied Learning Center Campus. Fletcher said students in a pod located on that easement site need to be relocated, so money to accomplish that needs to be obtained as soon as possible.
Galane Phillips and Fletcher also presented information about a roundabout that the county would like to construct at the intersection of Eastonville Road and Londonderry Drive. To do so, the county needs to acquire additional rights-of-way and temporary construction easements from district-owned property located at Falcon High School. Both the previous discussion item and the current one must be considered together, since they impact each other, Fletcher said. After some discussion, the board agreed to move both items forward for action at the June special board meeting.
The BOE discussed which board representative would be chosen to attend the Colorado Association of School Boards delegate assembly in September. Heil said he had already committed to this and was willing to honor that commitment. Thompson and Ryan both agreed to be alternatives.
Heil presented information about some concerns related to the district’s involvement with the ERBOCES organization. He stated that the Elizabeth School District recently voted to leave the ERBOCES, effectively leaving the fate of the organization in D 49’s hands. D 49 is an associate of the Pikes Peak BOCES and a member of the ERBOCES, the latter requires membership of at least one institute of higher learning and one school district, he said. If D 49 elects to leave the ERBOCES, it will cease to exist, Heil said.
The board discussed at length the pros and cons of maintaining membership in the ERBCOES. Thompson voiced concerns that Heil didn’t reach out to her as the ERBOCES representative on the BOE to discuss the topic before creating his presentation, since some of the information was incomplete and somewhat misleading.
Ultimately, the board agreed to maintain membership in the ERBOCES for roughly one year.
The next regular meeting of the BOE is Aug. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Peakview Hall at the Creekside Success Center in Colorado Springs.
