The Falcon School District 49 Board of Education held a special meeting July 27 to discuss several items.The BOE unanimously approved the changes to the Student Code of Conduct Book.The board also accepted nominations for the vice president position. Board secretary Chuck Irons nominated director Christopher Wright. In a 3-2 vote, with board treasurer Marie LaVere-Wright and president Tammy Harold opposed, Wright was elected vice president.Chief business officer Brett Ridgway presented information regarding a policy change made in February 2012. The policy refers to the districtís general fund balance, which is supposed to remain within a 10 to 11 percent range of the annual revenues, Ridgway said.In the 2011-2012 budget, Ridgway said the district was expecting to see expenses $3 million over budget. However, Ridgway said the data analysis based on the financials presented in June 2012 show that the district should ìbreak even.îìThe positive variance in the budget is coming from implementation costs,î Ridgway said. ìThat speaks to a good concerted effort by those implementing new things in the district.”Part of the $3 million variance also comes from a one-time balance rollover of unused funds by innovation leaders from the last fiscal year, Ridgway said. Subtracting that brings the variance down to $2.1 million, he said. Then, subtracting the recommended $600,000 to put in the fund balance, Ridgway said the overage adds up to $1.5 million.With that $1.5 million, Ridgway said there were three main priorities the district could target: capital projects, staff development and technology. ìThis would allow those capital projects to be finished well in time for the school year instead of having to bring people back to finish them,î Ridgway said.There are two projects currently under way that Ridgway said warrant part of the money: the athletic complex at Vista Ridge High School and the science and art lab rooms at the new Falcon Virtual Academy building.The Falcon Community Builders for Classrooms group has funded the majority of the athletic complex at Vista Ridge, but Ridgway said the group hasnít been able to complete the press box for the football/soccer field because of a $60,000 shortfall.The Falcon Virtual Academyís science and art lab room is actually phase two of the project, which would allow the academy to complete both phases at the same time, LaVere-Wright said. The cost for the single room that would serve both purposes is estimated at $98,000.The BOE unanimously approved the $160,000 total amount to complete both projects.Michelle Murphy from the Colorado Association of School Boards was present to offer direction to the board on the role of each individual member and to offer advice on effective communication among members.Harold said that chief education officer Becky Carterís 140-day service contract is up at the end of August. She said the BOE needed to discuss a permanent solution so a new person is in place by Sept 1.LaVere-Wright said the BOE needs to have a strategic plan for the district in place and the CEO job description finalized before anyone can be hired. ìI truly want to pull from the best pool of candidates,î LaVere-Wright said. ìWe wonít have all that ready by Sept. 1.îThe board agreed to conduct work sessions in September to address the strategic plan and the job description, with the expectation of starting the hiring process Nov. 1. A discussion for an interim hire is slated for the Aug. 8 work session.
