February BOE meeting wrap-up

All members of the El Paso County Colorado School District 49 Board of Education were present at the regular meeting in February. Hailee Duke, a 12th grader from Sand Creek High School, attended as a member of the student board of representatives.Before the regular meeting, the BOE held a ìFantastic 49î event and recognized the following: Kathy Tarry, culturally and linguistically diverse education teacher at Falcon Elementary School of Technology; Tara Carey, safety and compliance specialist; Patsy Prettyman, district lead nurse; and Shannon Cruz, paraprofessional from Ridgeview Elementary School.Chief officersí updatePeter Hilts, chief education officer, said he attended the National Conference on Digital Convergence in Phoenix. He recognized Aaron Lentner, a third-grade teacher at Meridian Ranch Elementary School, who was selected as a finalist for the Classroom of the Year award.Hilts also recognized Brian Smith, principal at Falcon Middle School, who was selected as the National Digital Convergence Principal of the Year. ìIt is pretty exciting to have one of our own in such a well-recognized position in leadership,î he said.Pedro Almeida, chief operations officer, said his team has had a round of interviews for the armed security guard positions and will keep moving forward with the hiring process. Additionally, Almeida said a facilities project manager has been hired who will be monitoring construction projects from now on.Student board of representativesí updateDuke said the SCHS senior class just finished their coat drive, resulting in five large bags of coats which they donated Urban Peak.She also said the SBOR group participated in a restorative practices event and she hopes to bring those practices to other schools.Action itemsThe BOE unanimously approved the following:

• The Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy charter application with specific conditions
• The updated board certified behavior analyst, accounting technician and accounts payable specialist job descriptions
• The new special education compliance teacher on special assignment job description
• Repeal of two policies regarding transitional retirement plans ó one for licensed staff and one for educational support personnel ó and approval of a new transitional retirement plan that would cover both job categories
• Revisions to a multitude of policies related to board members, chief officers, staff, electronic communications, bullying, student concerns in general, medical marijuana, publicís right to know, public conduct on school property

Discussion itemsJoe Hites, physical education teacher at Vista Ridge High School, presented information on a proposed indoor rock climbing class and said he spoke to the general manager at Gripstone Climbing and Fitness in Colorado Springs, who offered a deal for the students related to facility use and costs. The class would be open to 11th and 12th grade students.ìThe advantage to this is that I do not have to go get certified because we are utilizing the staff at Gripstone to do all that for us and they take on all liability,î Hites said.Rick Van Wieren, secretary, asked how the instructors are vetted at the facility because the district would not want anyone to come into contact with D 49 students that should not. Hites said he did not know.Ridgway said the district needs clarification on that vetting process. ìMeeting on their (Gripstoneís) premises changes our liability but it does not eliminate our liability, so we have to be really, really crystal clear about that,î he said. Further discussion between district staff and Gripstone staff needs to happen before this item can be approved, Ridgway said.Ideally, the class would be available in the fall of 2020, Hites said.The board agreed to move this item forward for action when the contractional obligation between Gripstone and D 49 has been met.Ridgway presented information regarding the work he has done with Colorado state legislators and legislative staff about how state education funding is being distributed. Specifically, he addressed the funding discrepancy between ìhigh wealth and low wealthî districts.ìI am trying to tear down some of the assumptions and age-old arguments on what are wealthy districts versus non-wealthy districts,î he said. High wealth districts are generally districts with more commercial properties and those who receive taxes from oil and mineral rights, Ridgway said.Legislation to address this funding discrepancy has already been drafted, he said. ìA no tax increase that generates $27 million, I have to advocate for that strongly both for the benefit of our students and staff and for our constituents,î Ridgway said.With hundreds of thousands of students in about 60 districts across the state being negatively impacted by the inequity in funding, this legislation is not about only doing what is best for D 49, he said.The next regular meeting of the BOE is March 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the board room at the D 49 Education Services Center.