January BOE meeting wrap-up

Three of the five members of the Falcon School District 49 Board of Education were present for the January meeting, including the newly appointed director, Josh Fry. John Graham, vice president, was absent; and Kevin Butcher, treasurer, was absent with prior notice. Athena Espiritu from the Pikes Peak Early College and Maria Danieli from the Springs Studio for Academic Excellence were also present as members of the student board of representatives.Before the regular meeting, the BOE held a ìFantastic 49î event and recognized four members of the district staff for their dedication and contributions.The board acknowledged Lisa Amthor, special education program specialist, for her knowledge of regulation compliance regarding individualized education plans; Fran Christensen, grants fiscal compliance manager, for her recent recommendation by the Colorado Department of Education for membership in the Association of Educational Federal Finance Administrators; Rachel Duerr, coordinator of health and wellness, for her contributions to wellness initiatives for both students and employees; and Heather Ullrich, language arts teacher and Junior Optimist International Club sponsor at Horizon Middle School, for her leadership of the JOI club and the schoolís knowledge bowl team.Board updateDave Cruson, secretary, congratulated David Nancarrow for being selected as the districtís new director of communications.Fry thanked the board for welcoming him into their ranks.Chief officer updatePedro Almeida, chief operations officer, said he was proud to see members of his team continue to step up and get things done. He said progress is being made on addressing the districtís capacity issues and on projects across the district related to the 3B mill levy override funds.Brett Ridgway, chief business officer, said he presented his teamís style and process to Georgetown Universityís Edunomics Lab people, and he received good feedback.Peter Hilts, chief education officer, expressed his gratitude for the financial model Ridgway and his team have developed.Hilts said, ìI am very excited to introduce David Nancarrow, and I have the confidence that he will maintain our level of communications excellence.îStudent board of representatives updateEspiritu attended a Colorado Association of School Boards event at The Broadmoor, was able to bring back some ideas to D 49. One idea involves creating a college readiness program focused on mental preparedness.LaVere-Wright suggested that Espiritu work with Donna Richer, executive assistant to the board of education, to get her ideas placed on a future meeting agenda.Open forumJennifer Johnson, leader of the Peak Partners Leadership Academy, said she is excited to be entering the academyís third year. ìOur goal is to encourage community members to get involved in the district,î she said.Action itemsThe board unanimously approved the following:

• Liberty Tree Academyís charter contract
• Policy reviews for food services; free and reduced-price lunch services; and nutritious food choices
• The BOE meeting dates for the 2019-2020 school year
• Priority improvement plans for Patriot High School and Power Technical Early College, which must be submitted to the CDE by Jan. 15
• An advanced business course proposal for Sand Creek, Falcon and Vista Ridge High schools
• Creation of a college preparatory chemistry course at VRHS
• A course name change from honors biology to college preparatory biology at VRHS

After a brief discussion, the board also approved a project cost adjustment for the Academy for Literacy, Learning and Innovation Excellence program at Odyssey Elementary School. Jim Rohr, purchasing manager, said the program is seeking a $265,000 budget increase to have greater flexibility when purchasing necessary items like furniture and fixtures. Ridgway said that money was already in the POWER zoneís budget for the ALLIES program but was not initially included in the projectís budget.Discussion itemsNancy Lemmond, executive director of individualized education, and Paul Andersen, director of human resources, presented a proposal for tuition assistance for special educators. Andersen said the district is experiencing an increasing number of special educator vacancies; and, for the first time ever, is filling those vacancies with contractors rather than hiring permanent employees. Lemmond said the solution is to offer tuition assistance for licensed staff members in return for two years of service in a special education classroom.The board will continue discussions of the proposal at future BOE meetings.Ron Sprinz, finance group manager, presented information on the finalized per pupil rate variance for the 2017-2018 amended budget. The per pupil rate, which determines the districtís funding formula, went up from $7,226.17 per pupil to $7,315.06, he said.Sprinz also presented information on the 2017-2018 amended charter school budget which only required an update of each schoolís student count and then factoring in the new per pupil rate.Ridgway said the district did well on their legal expenses in the 2017 calendar year. He said the administrationís recommendation is to continue the relationship with the firms the district currently uses.LaVere-Wright said, ìAbout .1 percent of our budget goes to our legal fees.î The board unanimously agreed to continue the current legal strategy.The next regular meeting of the BOE is Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the boardroom at the D 49 Education Services Center.