Alright. I am going to call this meeting to order. Sorry for the delay. Director Assad Lucas. Here. Director Battistelli. Here. Director Goldstein. Here. Director Marshall Shin. Director Potter. Here. Okay. I will entertain a motion to approve the agenda. Still moved. Second. Director Sadh Lucas? Aye. Director Battistelli? Aye. Director Goldstein? Aye. Director Potter? Aye. Okay. Rise if you are able for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for
all. Alright. Superintendent update. I think I'll just share a little bit about, the journey I've just been on to Portland, Oregon, learning more about the State of Oregon's health insurance plan for school district employees. So for about the last twenty years, they've had a mandatory statewide health insurance plan that instead of Adams twelve getting its own insurance and Kit Carson School District getting its own insurance and Aspen getting its own, the entire, group of state employees with a couple of large district exceptions have all had to be part of this pool
and purchase health insurance together. There wind up being a number of carriers, two main providers in Oregon, Kaiser, and then a group called Moda. But a lot of provisions that are really interesting. One is that because of this pooling effort, there's a lot of elimination of brokerage fees and administrative costs. So that comes as a savings to everyone. And then Adam was told we spend $25,000,000 a year, paying for 95% of the premium cost for our employee only coverage. So if there are ways that you can reduce that by even 5% a year,
you're looking at more than a $1,000,000 a year in savings. In Oregon throughout that twenty year period, they have a statutory cap that limits annual increases in health insurance premiums to 3.4% and the broader private marketplace has been at a 9% increase. So they've substantially, reduced their cost increases from both the employer and the employee side to that structure. There are occasions that to get to 3.4%, they have to make changes in plan design, deductibles, out of pocket maximums, co pay amounts and things like that.
But a lot of what they've done in terms of cost containment is to limit all non rural hospitals to 200% of the Medicare rate for services provided inpatient or outpatient in hospitals. And that has resulted in substantial savings in that state for insurance. So, it was just an intriguing, meaning for us to remember, the Public Employees Retirement Association who were there, who currently do provide both retiree and some active employee insurance plans in the state of Colorado.
So they have statutory authority to do something broader than they currently are doing. And there were representatives from CASE, CASB, CEA, the Rural Alliance. The Aurora CFO was there. A teacher from Summit School District was there. It was really a productive day and a half of learning and finding ways to move forward that can not only allow us, but other districts to spend less on healthcare. Definitely intriguing. So that's why I came scrambling in a little bit late. But we'd love to get something done here in the next couple of years. And some of those states that took four or five years of talking about it
and introducing bills that weren't successful before they got over the hump. I think for us, some of our next steps are to look at other states throughout the country that have done something like this and try to cobble together a path that makes the most sense in Colorado. So productive time. More to come at a later meeting. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for taking that on. Alright. Board of Education comments, recognition, awards, and vision. Director Potter? Thank you, President Goldstein. It's a little odd sitting here doing this for the last time after four years,
but here we are. So you're gonna have to bear with me. Usually, I keep it quick, but tonight's a little bit a little bit longer. So early in my term, our superintendent, Chris Godowsky, shared a quote with me. A quote I'd heard many times, but this time it stuck with me in a profound way. It shaped who I am not only as a board member, but as a leader, friend, parent, and a person. He said, seek first to understand, then to be understood. This meant to listen before I spoke, to ask questions instead of making assumptions, and to always believe that even when we disagree, understanding is possible.
But over time, I learned something difficult. Understanding only works when it's mutual. You can model it, invite it, hold space for it, but you can't make others walk that road with you. And sometimes leadership means being misunderstood because you're willing to stand where others are uncomfortable standing. There were moments during my service when I felt completely alone. But in those moments, I reminded myself why I was here. I was here so that the sophomore who stands alone for the pledge of allegiance knows that someone else is standing for them too. I was here so that teachers who quietly chose not to participate in a themed
protest day didn't feel shame or silenced for it. I was here for the parents who were afraid to speak up because they were worried about retaliation. And I was here for every student, teacher, and community member who simply wanted to be respected for thinking differently, believing differently, or being brave enough to stand alone. Because that's what leadership should protect, not conformity, but courage. True leadership is not about controlling a message or winning favor. It's about character. It's about doing what's right even when no one thanks you for it.
And if that kind of leadership means standing alone sometimes, then I stand proudly. I'd rather be alone in integrity than standing surrounded by approval that costs my conscience. I wanna take some time and acknowledge my husband, Evan, who's handling yet another baseball practice tonight. So thank you for your strength, patience, and unwavering support. To my three children, Landon, Raylan, and Jordan, you're my greatest purpose in life and my daily reminder of why this work matters. Thank you for going without bedtime kisses and home cooked dinners and homework help at
times so that I could serve. Your sacrifice is not one any of you understood, and at times, it was incredibly difficult, and I am sorry for that. But my accomplishments are our accomplishments, and I hope one day you can see the difference that we made. To the voters who entrusted me with this responsibility, thank you for your confidence, your courage, and your belief that my voice at this table mattered even when I felt it didn't. Your trust has meant more to me than you will ever know. Serving this community has been the hardest but most meaningful honor of my life.
And my hope is that Adams twelve continues to grow into a place where courage, integrity, and respect for all voices are not just talked about, but lived. To every student, parent, staff, and community member watching, keep standing for what you believe in, even if you're standing by yourself, because know you are never really standing alone. I look forward to being here one last time on December 1 for the swearing in of the new, District three director and modeling a peaceful transfer of power by welcoming to the Adams twelve Board of Education.
Thank you. Thank you. Director Potter? Director Battistelli? So I guess I will start out with yesterday, I went to the student and family resource center tour. They were able to move to a new much needed facility. And it was wonderful to learn about, transportation issues among our unhoused youth and migrant student populations and our foster youth and making sure that they get to those schools where they need to be. The next thing we learned about was Medicaid and SNAP, and the district provides much
needed resources to families in applying for those. I was surprised to see the length of the Medicaid application. It was stunning. I think, my mortgage app kind of compared, to that application. We saw, we were able to make talk with some of our family liaisons, in particular for Reid. I apologize. I don't know his name, but I know he's a great, source of support for our families from Afghanistan at the Thornton High School. And he's much beloved and everyone always has wonderful things to say about him, and
he was celebrating some of the successes of our Afghanistan students. Finally, we were able to see some of the resources that they offer at that center, a resource closet with food, hygiene products, clothing, you know, just all of the basics. I guess, the other thing I will say is that I work at CU Boulder in the School of Education, and while the faculty are very knowledgeable about, public school funding in Colorado, I am not sure that the staff have that same awareness.
And so I gave my staff colleagues a quick ten minute whirlwind tour of how school finance in Colorado works. And I have to thank Gina Lanier for being such a great educator. It took me eight years, but I think I figured it out. And so finally, I would like to, you know, we I can't end without saying something to director Potter, because I appreciate the sacrifice that goes into serving on the board of education. I appreciate the missing family dinners and not always being there for all the things
we want to be there for our kids around. And so, I just wanna thank director Potter for being willing to make that sacrifice because it is a sacrifice. And also, director Potter has made some great connections between the Adams twelve school district and the Chamber of Commerce that I think Adams twelve has benefited from. And we may not have always agreed on things or seen eye to eye, but it's always good to have that voice who doesn't align all the time. It gives you perspective, and and you learn from them. So, director Potter, thank you for your service.
Thank you, director Bassdelli. I am going to read director Marsh Holshon's words. She sent them to me. Sorry. I'm unable to attend tonight. My job has me out of town at the National League of Cities. My comments are short tonight. I just wanted to elevate and thank the Student Family Resource Center and the work they do as already been referred to. I think each board member was able to attend that that opening, and it was truly eye opening both the need and the way because and and in the way that because of the work, Adams twelve is able to meet the needs of these
students during all the times that they may need support. A big congrats to Lisa Reed and her whole team. I also wanna take a moment to thank board member Potter. I appreciate her willingness to serve on this board and the voice she has brought regarding our charter schools. I wish her the best in all her future endeavors. Finally, I hope everyone has a great and warm Thanksgiving. So So that's director Marsh Holshens, and now director Sal Lucas. Good evening, everyone. Yeah. I was just gonna also speak to the student family resource center, and just all
the great work that many of the departments have come together to provide for students over the years, but this new location provides the space, to provide those services in a more, meaningful, impactful way. And so and and not just for the staff, but also for community members needing it. I was able to meet with, Shannon Hancock, who is the executive director of our,
Five Star Foundation, just to kinda dive more into, needs of students and families of Adams twelve and especially with food assistance, in particular, because that's a lot what they do. And just the information she shared, especially within the last, month or so with the shutdown and, with SNAP benefits being cut and the increase of needs for so many
families and and students. When I worked as a school based therapist, we always knew before a long break was going to be rough. We're gonna see a major increase in behaviors because the anxiety and the stress and the fear that students had with, security, with food, with housing, was really, really rough. And I think a lot of times a first indication is to, I mean, at
least back in the day, and even well before I was therapist, but, you know, they're being bad. They're being and then now, like, behaviors or a message and an indication of something. And it's usually our job as, you know, maybe therapists, educators, leaders, to understand what they're trying to say and what message they're trying to give us. So with that being said, especially with the tour of the new facility, one of
the one of the things, that they had is a sample of what a hotel room looks like that a family of five sometimes lives in. And, again, I've been doing this work for so long, and what I don't think a lot of people understand is our families that cannot afford an apartment or housing or secure fundings for that often have to house with others and, sometimes in a
one room hotel. And, it's it's just not sustainable. Kids can't really do homework there. There's sometimes safety and security issues. And so it's just really important to have that at the forefront, and especially this time of year where we might start seeing some increase in behaviors that are unpleasant and hard to maybe deal with. But again, it's our kids are they're trying to tell us something, and, definitely need
to listen. But, just the increase with food, there's a lot of great work that's being done by the foundation and by Food for Hope and partnering to provide to ensure that kids, have meals for over the break. Because without that sense of security of school where they can for sure get those two meals a day, that can be really scary for kids and really hard for families. And so they have done such great work in providing that and having a big
distribution tomorrow for, for meals being sent out. Food for Hope has done so much and has increased their, output of, support for for many students and families. And so I just there's a lot more information that, can be shared, but definitely something to look into and try to understand all of our community members. Lastly, I just want to also thank director Potter for her service.
We were elected together the first time. And, and so, again, yeah, there's a lot of sacrifices that go into this and a lot of missed family time and, you know, trying to balance life and work and all that with wanting to do best by kids. And so thank you for your time and energy, and I wish the best for
you. Thank you. Thank you. Alright. I also went to the FSOP open house that we all we all went, all five of us. And, it was really well put together to give you a full experience of what the things that they do there. And, I think everybody here so far has, pretty much said, you know, said it well. I also and, director Assad Lucas, we went to, a night of, honor and, superintendent Godowsky with the Public Education Business Coalition.
They have an event every year and they they highlight certain things that are educationally oriented. And one of the big, highlights this year was they highlighted Principal Kate Klaver from STEM Launch. She was a PEBC Fellow, and they provide scholarships for educators. That's that's what they do. And and training. Not just it's not scholarships. It's training. They just train them how to be great educators. And they put together a really cool video. And because it was STEM Launch, they featured the Beaver, problem based learning.
And, it was really good. And and so there were a lot of, representative students there and staff. And, Rachel Callas was one of the classroom teachers that was involved in the whole problem based learning on the beaver. If you remember, they had a beaver problem in the creek, Niagara Creek, and they had to figure out what to do to help the beavers because they did not want them euthanized. And so they put this whole plan together that they actually made to fruition and they moved the beavers. And I did hear that they moved them downstream, and I've heard there's been some
issues downstream with the beavers, but not at not at step lunch anymore. But anyway, it was really it was really great to see her honored. Yes, I too want to thank Director Potter for her service. You know, it's always great to have different perspectives. I feel that whenever you wanted to bring something forward, we brought it to the table and discussed it. And I I appreciate that. And I would do too wish you the best of luck. And I think you're still gonna be in the community, and we'll still see you around. So, I think you're still gonna be in the community, and we'll still see you around. So, I think you're gonna be in the community, and we'll still see you around. So, I think you're gonna be in the community, and you're still gonna be in the community and we'll still see you around. So, thank you. And there's a lot of sacrifices to this high paying job.
But I'll tell you, I will speak for myself. I love this role. I love being able to do this and I think the rest of you do too. So anyway, on that note, we are going to go on to board business. And the first thing we want to do is we want to recognize a very special student. Cameron Neely is here tonight with his, family. And he's here with Jody Roper, who is the principal of Thunder Vista. And I'm gonna let principal Roper say a few words. I'll just kind of prime it. There's an eighth grade career fair every year in Adams County.
And every single eighth grader in the whole county, and then a few from Broomfield too, because, you know, we have a few schools there, which I think is where you live. And, they get to go to the it's been at the Adams County Regional Park the last couple years and there are so many, businesses and higher ed and training grounds for kids to explore as eighth graders so that they could, start thinking about what they wanna do when they graduate from high school.
And, if you've ever been to this event, I go every year because I really love watching it. It is such controlled chaos, but I tell you, it's it's valuable. And I think Cameron's gonna have a little bit of a chance to share how he found it valuable because he was recognized as, the top student of the Adams County Education Consortium's Career Expo. So, Principal Roper, you wanna say a few things? And Cameron? Thank you. Thank you, superintendent Godowsky.
Thank you, board, for having us here tonight. We are super proud of Cameron. Thank you for allowing us some time to celebrate him tonight. Again, this was put on by the Adams County Consortium, and out of over 5,700 students in 47 schools, Cameron came out as the top student. So we are very proud of his success. We have his teachers here tonight as well that have supported in the career expo. And I know just as a school leader, I really appreciate the opportunity to bring these opportunities to our students and let the community and county see how incredible they
are and really let our students see the amazing things that are out there for them as well. Would you like to say a few words? I just thought it was a super great experience. I I I don't think it'd be possible without miss Roper, all my teachers, all, like, doing different roles. And, just letting me to do that experience was awesome. What was your favorite career that you visited? I just like the Air Force. I asked a lot of questions about that. Yeah. So Cameron was honored by the Adams County Commissioners too a while back at a
Adams County Commissioner Meeting. Cameron, but what do you think you wanna do when you go on to h- higher things? I wanna go into law and be like a lawyer. Good choice. Good choice. So we want them just to recognize you with just a certificate, but this is something to be so proud of. And, we want to make sure I signed it. I did. And, just say thank you, and we appreciate you, and we wish you the best. Thank you. So Cameron, as miss Goldstein's walking back up here, I'll just say a couple of
quick things. One is, given your interest in being an attorney, just know that there's at least three attorneys in the room right now. One is Kathy Shannon, all four. Aaron Oberg, raise your hand. Kathy Shannon, raise your hand. Mr. Phil Spare, And then I used to be an attorney, before doing this job. So if you have interest in talking, to people who've done that work in the school space, and in Aaron's case, has really deep knowledge about applying that background into finance and accounting, we'd all welcome a chance to talk with you.
And then I guess the other thing I'd say, it's a great gift whether you choose law or some other profession. The gift of making a really strong, positive first impression is so important in life. And your ability to do it time after time after time. And when people over in that big setting is just so impressive. So congratulations. Well done. Alright. Anything. Okay. Thank you, Cameron. And you guys are welcome to stay as long as you want. I have to backtrack. Sorry because I was scrolling through the agenda and I went too far. I would like to go backwards to general public comment.
No one has signed up to address the board tonight. Alright. Now we need to go on to board committee liaison reports, DAC and LRPAC. Is there a DAC report? There is a DAC report. We met as a group, last week, I believe, and Gina was there with us even though she was very ill. She came to talk about some really important topics around school funding and the bond and the mill levy override and how all of those things function. And we also received an update from the, subcommittee in the DAC who attended the,
really interesting charter school leaders meeting and got some more information on how that works. And they are making slow but steady progress on the spending survey for the school accountability committees. And, yeah, so they're making good progress. Thank you. L. R. PAC met on November 5, and, I attended that meeting. And that was a Thursday. It was two days after the election. We obviously talked about the mill levy override passing and, what that means for us. We also, talked about, you know, that we are declining enrollment.
That is still an ongoing factor that we're gonna have to, grapple with. We also talked about the rising cost of living and aging in place population. That means, people are staying in their homes longer and longer and, not selling them to a younger family. We talked more about enrollment, numbers, and then we talked about, capital plan, capital planning software. And we've talked about this with the board too about, replacement costs, for capital improvements.
And we've switched software so it has a function of the amount of deferred. But we changed we decided not to use deferred, I believe, we were talking about. We we gave an opinion on what we wanted to use, the word deferred or, renewal. Right. Thank you very much. The the the group recommends, renewed. Okay. And we'll talk more about that as we as we talk about what came out of that meeting. And, they that's what they gave for their recommendations. And, next steps in that is to develop concrete replacement and reporting policies and share
a few options with the group and come to a consensus on recommendations to bring to the board. So that's what we did. Okay. Next, go back to the original agenda. Time to recognize some of our community volunteers. So, we're gonna recognize two people in our community. One is Gary Maynard and the other is Debbie Bennett. We'll we'll honor Gary first. And director, Potter, I believe you would like to say a few words. And you have a okay. You can take it from here. Alright. Thank you, President Goldstein.
And thank you, fellow board members, for allowing, this to be added to the agenda tonight. I've always been a big believer that sometimes the quiet ones are the ones that deserve just so much attention and gratitude and sometimes the smallest act of kindness, especially when it's done consistently and without the fanfare and the attention and all the things. They it just has such an impact on our students and our community. So tonight, I'm honored to recognize one of these people, Mr.
Gary Maynard. He has, without a lot of attention and fuss, put on that crossing guard vest and that stop sign in our neighborhood every day, morning and night afternoon, multiple times in the morning and multiple times in the evening to stop traffic from flying down the road. It is a dangerous road. People love to go speeding through this road in the middle of our neighborhood. It's not, you know, close to really any school.
There's not a ton of kids walking, and so there's not a lot of flashing lights to warn people to slow down within our community. And so mister Maynard goes out there with his vest and stands in the middle of the road and makes sure that every single kid crosses that road and is on the bus safely, and every kid is off that bus and crosses the road back to go home safely every afternoon. And so I have watched him stand out there every morning and afternoon as I take my kids to school the whole time I've been on the board. And so tonight, I found out he's been doing this since 2017, which is an
incredibly long time to be out there protecting our kids, not only in my neighborhood, but in our community and our Adams twelve students. So I want to present you with this certificate. Can I go down there and give it to him? And thank you for your service. So if you wanna come on up, I will give it to you. I I think I'm not sure, but I I'm I think mister Maynard's family might wanna take a picture with him too. So just wanted to say that. If you want to, you don't have to.
It just looked like you were ready. Okay. Thank you, mister Maynard. There's somebody else who has been giving of their time, And I had the personal experience of, having her help me walk across the street as I took my son to school at Cotton Creek Elementary. And and she's did this for years. And I believe her son, Xander Are you an eighth grader now? So you're two years younger than my son. And so and I and your mom keeps doing this, even though you're not at Cotton Creek anymore.
So I am going to invite principal Lizzie Gooding up to say a few words and share a few, thoughts. And, Debbie Bennett, please come up. Let me turn it on. Alright. Hi. I'm Elizi Gooding, principal at Cotton Creek, and very excited to be here tonight to honor this very special person in our community as parent, as Lori said, and then also a staff person. She's one of our class assistants in the middle part of the day, but graciously volunteers in our crosswalk and you know, it's rain or shine, snow or ice. I think she prides herself on the face sickles when they happen in the wintertime.
As you guys can see, she dresses up. That's you can see her hair this evening down in that middle picture. This student on twin day wanted to be her twin and dress like her. Pretty much if anybody else tries to cover this crosswalk, it's constant, Where's miss Debbie? Why isn't she here? You're not her. When is she back? Where did she go? I want miss Debbie. They really, really connect with her as a community member and, having been an admin and served in our other crosswalk down the street from the one that she's in,
it is just such a special position because you really get to know the family so well. And when we think about our values in Adams twelve, about kids feeling belonging and a sense of belonging, you know, she is that face that many of our students get out of bed for and wanna see in the crosswalk. Parents as well. She just builds a lot of deep relationships. And, you know, sometimes this role is not easy. We collaborate on on texts of, sometimes parents, sometimes community members not, observing the rules
of the road or being the kindest sometimes to crossing guards. And so sometimes, you know, she has experienced people being unkind out their windows or dog poop on her own windshield as a result. It's it can be a thankless job, but she does it with grace and matter of factness, and our SRO and our team help support. It's just it's a big role out in the middle of the street and, our kids love her and our community loves her and I just don't think that we would be as safe of a school or certainly having that consistent smiling face in
the crosswalk. We're very proud to call you our own at Cotton Creek and and know that there's just so many lives that she has touched. So thank you for your service very, very much. And we'd like to give you this certificate of appreciation. I know that for all the hours and years you've done this, it's very small, but you have been amazing. And you're just an amazing person. Okay. Everyone's coming down. Yep. We'll get a picture like this. You can stop the video. Alright. Okay.
Just a night of recognizing service here. Our next one is recognizing Director Potter. I'll give it to Superintendent Godowsky. Thank you, Lori. Gosh. I don't know. I have no voice there. So I've done some reflecting and this is obviously our seventy fifth year, as a school district. I know during my tenure, I've served with at least 14 different school board members. So over the course of that seventy five years, I'm expecting that there have been well over 50 who've done this work. And I would submit that over the last four years is probably one of the
more challenging periods to serve on the Board of Education in the district seventy five year history. It's an easier job, a more rewarding job when there's a lot of growth going on in the district and that's been true of most of our history. It's easier when there's lots of resources and money coming in and that's been true at many times in our history. It's easier when there's just widespread harmony within the community and within our country. And there's been an absence of all three of those things during the four years that Courtney has served on the board. So as you join, we're in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic and lots of
challenges that we were needing to address with kids being either remote or hybrid for a long time, lots of parents having frustrations about masking requirements, quarantine requirements, hybrid versus remote, and some of those polarities have persisted and even that been exacerbated during the last four years. It's been challenging. It's not the only time that we've had political polarization around education in this community and our nation. I can remember a similar time in the eighties, but it makes the job of
being a board director much more difficult and at days less rewarding than when you do have harmony. It's been a challenging time in the in the funding space during this tenure. For most of the time that Courtney's been a member of the board, we are thirteenth out of fifteenth in the regional in the region in terms of funding through Malavi overrides. When you don't have money that complicates things. This last year fourteenth out of 15. And because of those funding challenges and because of declines in enrollment that are now
pervasive not only in our immediate region, throughout our state, but frankly throughout our country. Courtney was on the board when we had made 27 and a half million dollars in budget reductions for this year and cut a 150 jobs. Those are not the fun and rewarding times of serving on the Board that I know that some folks in years past have been able to enjoy. So I'm grateful that you persisted through what's often a really challenging and thankless period of service on the Board. Even in the midst of all those challenges and turmoil, there's three things I would
highlight as I think significant contributions that Courtney has made during her tenure. And there are things that others on the board have alluded to as I heard their remarks tonight. One is that she's done a really good job of being a bridge between the district, and parents who often feel disenfranchised, not engaged, coming from a different point of view, or frustrated with some of the things that we're doing or not doing in the district that they'd want to do differently. And I know there have been a number of occasions, number of occasions where I've met with some of those parents and I know others have done the same, trying
to create some deeper understanding about why we do some things or don't do some things. Those efforts aren't always successful and getting the end result to the place that parents might want, but I think it's a huge step forward that we're meeting and we're discussing and we're not hiding and ducking. In the bridge that Courtney's provided to some parents who are disaffected with the system and dissatisfied has been really a positive step forward that I hope will continue to do in the future. The second piece is in the charter space and I know that there have been
some reference to that too. What I've been mindful about, given some interactions I've had with Courtney during the years is that we have lots of families or a significant number of families who have students in charter schools and in district managed schools. And they're all Adams 12 schools, but the way that we communicate, coordinate between district managed and charter schools is not always the most effective way. And for students who are participating in after school activities, athletics, have other, things going on, that lack of coordination often makes it difficult for parents to do best in
supporting the needs of their kids. And I think the awareness about that and the advocacy that we do better is starting to take hold and make some improvements in that space. And then the final thing I would highlight is the interest that Courtney's expressed throughout her tenure and having more partnerships with the business community so that we not only receive funding, but frankly the benefits of the human capital that our business community brings and the work based learning opportunities they can provide to our students. And it was frankly Courtney's really strong voice around providing more staff to help with
work based learning opportunities for our students that brought that element into our Milavi Override Plan. So it will have at each of our comprehensive high schools, Bowman and Washington Square, an assigned staff member who can do the really time consuming work of building connections with the business community, getting students placed, working through insurance, workers comp, all those kinds of issues that sometimes get in the way. And so that advocacy I think is going to result in some real tangible improvements in how we do work based learning in the district moving forward.
So with that, I am really excited to present this beautiful work of art, that's been selected for Courtney in recognition of her service on the board. It comes from a student artist at Stargate. I know that's a school that Courtney's felt a strong connection to, given her children's attendance there. And this, art piece was best of show in the district juried art show this last year. Fortunately, the the student artist was willing to sell this piece to us, and it's gonna be a beautiful addition to your home or office, wherever you wanna choose it.
So if you can meet me down here, I'd like to present this artwork to you, Courtney. Turn it around this way. That was Oh, that was And there's a caption right here that says, in gratitude to Courtney Potter for service to the Adams Fault Community Board of Education director February 02/25. Thank Big time.
Yeah. Big time talent. That is really impressive. Alright. Audit presentation. I see Gina, and I believe we have, our ACFAR. We have somebody from Clifton, Larson, and Allen. Thank you. Good evening board. I'm going to be very brief. I'm here to introduce John Paul Lechavalier. Did I get that right? Close. The knight. The knight is what that translates to. He's the signing director for Clifton Larson Allen, our independent auditor. So he's here to present the results of the audit.
Sorry. Great. Thank you. No. I've, I've been to France, and they tell me that I'm pronouncing my last name wrong. So I I don't know. But, again, I'm John Paul LeChevallier with Clifton Larson Allen or CLA. Happy to be able to present the results of the, last year's financial statement audit. So that's the year ended 06/30/2025. So I realized, at this point, we're kinda on to the year ended 2026. So my intent is to kind of, go over some of the broad strokes for what was included in the audit, but not to go into too much detail unless
there's any specific questions or things that we'd like to, spend some more time on. So, to start, I'm pleased to be able to say that we were able to issue an unmodified, audit opinion or informally referred to as a clean audit opinion. And so what that means is that off after all of our audit procedures were performed, that we believe that the financial statements included within the annual comprehensive financial report are materially, correct. And so, really, the audit report is not to say if something's good or bad.
That's really the judgment of, the board to kinda make that decision on the trajectory of the, district's finances, but it's to make sure that the financial information is accurate. So that's really the, intent of the, audit report. So we do also review internal controls. We do if there was any concern around fraud, that would be brought up, but our audit's not specifically designed to be, reviewing for fraud. So a common misconception, so I do bring that up.
It's also something that's kind of done. The audit's done in tandem or kind of in cooperation with management of the district, but that doesn't we're really more of the editor, of the financial statements, and the district is the author. So making sure that what's included in there, we're reviewing to make sure that it's accurate. So, this is kind of the typical scope of the annual, comprehensive financial report, that would have all of the financial information for the last year, all of the required
disclosures under governmental accounting standards. There is a slight change this year with what's included in the report and that normally the single audit report is also included within this. The single audit is an audit over federal awards. So the annual federal, funding that most of which is passed through the Colorado Department of Education. There's audit procedures performed for that. They have the federal government through the office of management and budget has delayed issuance of what's referred as the compliance supplement, which kinda has all of the specifics of
what they want auditors to look at. They did release a draft of that, so we're probably eighty, ninety percent complete. But at this point, we're not able to move forward with that until the federal government releases the final version. So typically, that comes out in May. At this point, it still is not released, so we're not sure on what the timing will be for that. That's not in specific to Adam's 12. That's every government and, any nonprofit or other entity that's receiving federal awards is all
basically facing this delay. The required timing for that is nine months after year end. So, there's still time for everything to be done, within the normal kinda time frame for that, but it is later than what the district normally has. The financial statement audit, however, that was on time with the same typical, timing. And so, that, typically, they're presented together, but for this year, based on that timing, they're presented separately. In terms of findings and recommendations, we don't have any findings, audit adjustments, things that
rose to the level of communication to the board. As with every year, we do have best practice recommendations that we discuss with management of the district. And so that happens throughout the audit, but none of that really rose to the level to, be warrant the attention of the board. So something we bring up, but is not something that is a concern, for the board. So I do have just a couple of slides just outlining some trends, that you'll see within the financial statements. So the first, and not to go into too much detail on kind of how
things are set up, but the district, like, every other school district in Colorado, presents two sets of financial statements. One is on a long term basis, and one is on more of a budget base basis. This is, showing your assets minus your liabilities. Kinda this would be the ending number on that long term basis. So what that's going to include is all of the school buildings. It's going to include, your bonds, and it's also going to include the net pension liability that relates to participation in PERA.
I know that's something that we've talked about, that's been required to be presented for about the last ten years on the district's financial statements. So if you'll see, you'll notice that all of the numbers are negative on here. Though that negative number has been decreasing over the last, five years, most of that, is really relating to that net pension liability. So on this slide, you'll see that that's around for fiscal year twenty twenty five. That was around 700,000,000, which is really why that, number is negative when you have
your assets minus your liabilities. That net pension liability is an actuarily calculated number by PERA. It's not something that the district could pay even if you had 700,000,000 that you didn't know what to do with. Doubt that would happen, but you couldn't pay it even if you wanted to. So it's really kind of more of an informational disclosure, something to be aware of that in the future, either, contributions would need to increase, there'd need to be an increase in, state direct payments to PERA, which is currently happening, or a decrease in
benefits in order for PERA to continue, funding, in the long term. So that's kind of the purpose of that, but that's really more of a thirty plus year outlook than something that's, you know, right now. I'll also bring up the net OPEB liability. You'll notice this is a much smaller number. OPEB stands for other post employment benefits. It's not something you normally hear discussed, which is why I have a slide on it just so you know what it means. This also relates to PERA. There's a health care subsidy that's also provided to retirees.
And so it's basically calculated the same way as the net pension liability and goes into the financial statement. So bring it up just so you're aware of what that is. K. So, the other thing that I wanted to talk through is the fund balance for the district. This is on that current basis, so this is going to be a lot closer to the, outstanding cash balance that the district has. And what you'll see, I have it divided into two different categories here. Kind of the light, blue is going to be what's included in the building fund. This is primarily the results of, bond issuances.
So you'll see back in fiscal year nineteen, there was a lot of bond proceeds sitting in the accounts over, you know, the next five, six years. Those decrease as all of that gets spent. And then there was another bond issuance of 186,000,000 including the premium in fiscal year twenty twenty five. So you'll see that there's a really big increase in the amount of the fund balance, but, again, that's a lot of that's relating to the cash that's being held relating to that debt issuance. If you look at the dark, that's really kind of excluding the bond proceeds.
So you see fiscal year 2025 is right around the same amount that was, sitting in, fiscal year 2024. So that was kind of it for, you know, the 100 some pages that the financial statements are, but did just wanna give a really high level overview of that. Again, with the single audit, normally, we'd kind of talk through this in more detail, but, again, it's still in draft form at this point. The district did receive around $33,000,000 in federal awards in, fiscal year twenty twenty five.
There's two programs that were required to be tested. So that's what's kinda still pending, finalization of that, and that's based on the federal government guidance for what programs are required to be tested each year. They have a formula. And so the nutrition cluster and then the refugee and entrant assistance, grant were both the ones that were required to be, tested for fiscal year twenty twenty five. At this point, we don't have any, findings or, question costs or concerns, but, obviously, it's still preliminary at this point.
There's also kind of a two slides on required communication. I'll say there's not this is things that we're required to mention to the At the end of, our audit, but it's pretty much the same as previous years. There was a new change in accounting standard, related for compensated absences that relates to the liability for, sick and vacation time, so paid time off. It wasn't an overly significant change, for the district, but it did slightly, change the
amount that's presented. It doesn't change the district's responsibilities or how employees would take time off or be compensated for that. It just reflects, what number is presented within the financial statements for that. The other thing that, I wanna point out is that there's no uncorrected or corrected misstatement. So the information that we received from the district was what ended up in the financial statement, so a very, clean and smooth audit. There wasn't a lot of things that we needed to do in order to, you
know, as the editor of the financial statements get to the end product. So, very nice job by the district in, keeping very accurate, records. That's really kind of everything I have. Again, kudos to, the district for a very smooth, clean audit, everything on time, and just pending kind of the federal government to give the a okay to be done with this single audit as well. So I'll pause if there's any questions, comments, or discussion. Any comments, questions, or discussion?
I just wanna say kudos to Gina and Aaron for another unmodified, audit opinion. I think that's a pretty big deal from what I've heard, and it just goes to show how hard you work to make sure that everything is clear and transparent. So thank you for that. Ditto. I mean, we can't thank you enough and appreciate your expertise, Erin and Gina and your team. Yeah. It's a lot of work, and it's hard to understand. So thank you. And I've, said my thank yous to Gina and Aaron before. I'll just, say that they're well deserved, the comments that board members have made.
I just would also say, John, Paul, you and team appreciate your work very much. I think over the course of my time, there have been years where it felt like there's frustration on one side or the other in this process because of, like, staffing challenges or information access. There's times that we've had to kick the can in terms of getting audits done because of things that have slowed us down. And so it just feels like it's been very, very smooth the last few years. And I appreciate you and your team, and our team as well for making it so. I did see something on that last slide that I think you, moved past that
referenced charter schools, I think. I just wanna check base because I haven't heard anything from, Gina about this. Do we have all of our charter school audits done too? Because I think they're like incorporated into what you do. If you could just do a quick update there. I assume everything, if they are in, is good to go there too. Yep. And so, what's included there, it's called a group financial statement. So the district, includes all of the charter schools within its financial statements. All of the charter schools have separate audits, so they issue their own separate, financial
statements. They, have their own auditors that review that. And then, our responsibility is really just reviewing the work that the, auditors did in terms of, you know, they issued their report and we're relying on their, opinion, in order to include that within the financial statements. So that's what that line relates to. Thank you, John Paul. Thank you. K. On to some more fun stuff. Proclamation. Proclamation Adams twelve day. Recommended action to adopt the proclamation declaring 12/12/2025 as Adams twelve day as presented.
So moved. Second. So this year is the seventy fifth anniversary of our school district. And the reason that December 12 has been chosen to celebrate Adam's twelfth day is because it's the seventy fifth day of school. About how many of those years I've been a part of this district, it's more than half. Somebody made some comment about, I've been around for almost half. I'm thinking more than half. But anyway, we've as a district, our history is very rich. And, I think it's it's great to celebrate this.
I also wanna, point out, Raquel Williams and her crew for all the work that they've done. And Joe Ferdani, lot about, how we document and store our documents. There's actually, a digital document depository of all kinds of stuff. And and it made me go look through some of my old pictures and, I'm sure a few others. So, and I also appreciate the thoughtfulness in making sure that we did this in
a way that was definitely visible yet not costly. Because, you know, we do have to be frugal with our our funds. So, anyway, anybody else wanna say anything? It's exciting to celebrate, seventy five years of a community or educating a community and providing not just even education, but, I mean, Adams twelve is, I think, the largest
employer in Adams I think so. County. Right? Yeah. And so it's just or it started off a few schools, and now it's 56? Correct. Yeah. 56 schools. So, it's grown and has been serving kids and community for so long and will continue serve serving for many more years. So it's great to be able to celebrate. I think one of the most exciting things about celebrating seventy five years is it
doesn't I did not graduate from Adams twelve. I never attended an Adams twelve school. My husband is a graduate. My children will all graduate, but I still feel like I'm part of the family. And no matter where I go in this community, somebody has a story about Adams twelve. It could be something as small as, you know, they went to Chicken and Pickle, and there's an Adams twelve student that they had waiting on, and then they had an amazing experience. And how great is Adams twelve? To, you know, seeing five b paintings on cars to, you know, whatever it is,
somebody no matter where you are in this community, you have some sort of positive story about Adams twelve, and I think that's truly special and something you don't find everywhere. So great work. Superintendent Godowsky, board former boards, former employees, everyone from the last seventy five years that's helped make Adams Twelve such a special place. And don't forget all the ones that graduate from here and come back and work in our district. I see one back there. And the way that these celebrations were tied in at different schools too, and some of our schools are are celebrating milestone years this year too.
And, you know, like Westlake had their fiftieth, and, I think Northglenn is at 60 and maybe Thornton High is too or they were last year. 50. 50. 50. Yeah. Right. 50. So no. I think Northglenn is at 60. Northglenn's at 60. Yeah. Yeah. At 50. Yeah. Yeah. Alright. I guess I will just say ditto to what everyone else has said. Celebrating a seventy five year anniversary is a big deal, and And there's also so many other things we have to celebrate this year. And to be honest with you all, I was looking for a few celebrations.
I needed a win. So we have the superintendent of the year sitting over here in Colorado. Our mill levy override passed, and, yeah, we're just in a good place. So this feels like the a good time for this sort of thing. Director Assad Lucas? Aye. Director Battistelli? Aye. Director Goldstein? Aye. Director Potter? Aye. Alright. So December 12. Wear your Adams 12 gear. I think we'll be at CASB. Yep. Okay. Next, as an action item, revision to the graduation requirements. We have talked about this, and we're gonna decide how we wanna vote here.
And because it's a two pronged choice, I'm gonna give you guys, and the audience, and everybody else, the two options. And then once I say what the two options are, one of you can make a motion to whichever option you would like to move, and then somebody has to second it. And then we'll just go from there. So option one is to revise district policy sixty three forty graduation requirements to require successful completion of personal finance literacy and healthy choice choices courses to graduate beginning with
the class of 2029. The other option is to clarify district policy sixty three forty graduation requirements that students must enroll in personal financial literacy and healthy choices courses, but are not required to successfully complete these courses to graduate. So, do one of you guys wanna make a motion to either one of these options? I would like to make a motion for option one to revise district policy sixty three forty graduation requirements require successful completion of personal financial literacy and healthy choice courses
to graduate beginning with the class of 2029. Do Do I have a second? So moved. You second. Second. Okay. Sorry. It's okay. Alright. Would you like to speak to your motion, director, South Lucas? Yeah. So put in a lot of thought about this, and, you know, we've had a lot of discussion and work study in our last board meeting. You know, and even our last board meeting when we were discussing it up here after the presentation, one of the the themes that just kept coming up is, when
we set a bar, our kids will rise to it. And and I think we owe it to our kids. We owe it to community to set that bar, in this. I think, you know, it was talking to somebody the other day and, with so some of our clients can't have electronics, so they have to learn how to budget. Right? Like, the old way and, like, it was I mean, school finance seemed easier to
understand than them trying to gather a concept of budgeting and financial literacy and all that. And, and it's just it's it's so crucial. And we talk so much about wanting to make sure, our communities continue growing and being sustainable, and financial literacy is such a significant part of that. Also for, healthy choices, that is a topic that is incredibly important to me.
When our kids can understand for themselves and for others healthy, choices, they can develop healthy relationships. It'd be intimate friendships, employment, whatever those relationships may look like. And, again, it continues building strong communities and, empowers, I mean, just overall mental health. But yeah. So that's why I think requiring this is so important because it it we set
a bar and get to override rise to it, and we will see the benefits of it. To, director Assad Lucas' point, I think, you know, setting a bar high is pretty important, but also when weighing both of these options, we're not making calculus required to pass. These are not classes that should be, you know, extra require extra studying and tutoring and all of the things. And so I hope that there isn't a lot of stress from students around the fact that this is going to be a requirement, but also I appreciate that even
with this being a required class to pass, parents still have the opportunity to opt out of portions. I think that can also, you know, be a little bit misleading to be like, oh, it's required. I can't, opt out, but they can. And so I appreciate the thoughtfulness around that piece. And I think it sends a really important message that in order to pass this class, which is required, you have to show up to class. And if we can start, building some healthy habits around the importance of being in class, I think that could go a long way, district wide, especially as we take
some steps towards addressing chronic absenteeism. So that's really why I leaned towards option one as well, and I think it's I think it's a smart choice. So what I will say is I was probably the person who was more hesitant about option one, but not because I don't disagree that they should be requirements in the schools. It was mostly because the performance at two high schools may be a little concerned. But I think that those concerns have been alleviated. Students can opt out and opt in to other alternatives. This will be taking place in 2029, and so there is ample runway time to
kinda get a look at what's going on in those two schools and, you know, make sure that things are working for students the way that they should. So I am not averse to it, at it that you know, for any reason. And I think, the deputy superintendent and, the director of curriculum and the chief academic officer for, listening to those concerns and responding. Thank you. Yeah. And I too, I would you set a bar, and and I I guess I
I kinda have to channel my son because, well, he already took healthy choices, and he did just fine in it. And personal finance definitely will be something that he's gonna need, but he tends to be that person that you say, okay. This is my expectation. He will do just enough to meet that expectation. And then when you raise it a little bit, he will do just enough to do the next expectation. So I don't think he's any different than a lot of kids, and so, you know, he was my my North Star on that one.
But anyway, I too, support option one. I'll just elaborate a little bit more. I think the two schools that Paul has had concern about are Thornton High School and Five Star Online Academy where the course failure rate has been high in, Healthy Choices. We did some speculating about root cause behind that. Is it potentially that there's lots of multilingual learners at those schools and they're having a difficult time with the language and, the reading assigned on those classes? Some wonder on my part about, as Courtney raised, is it about absenteeism, which I
know is higher at those two schools than many of the others. There may also be things in terms of how we're delivering the courses from a presentation and content standpoint that we can revamp to make those courses more engaging. So the commitment I made, to Paul is that we'll dig into those things deeper to see, what we might need to adjust so that more students are equipped to be successful, but I concur with everyone else's comments that raising the bar on these, expectations for really important classes for kids to complete successfully is the right thing to
do. Director Assad Lucas. Aye. Director Battistelli. Aye. Director Goldstein. Aye. Director Potter aye. Okay. Action item, resolution Thornton Development Authority land acquisition. We have a resolution you've seen to, I will entertain a motion to adopt the resolution authorizing the acquisition of real property from the Thornton Development Authority as presented. So moved. Second. Just to remind you this is the property that's just a little bit north of the existing Thornton High School.
It is part of the redesign and redevelop rebuild of Thornton High and it's on the North West side of the campus. Did you want to talk to it out, Phil? Just briefly. This is, an important part of the Thornton High School campus. It's an acquisition that district staff has worked on for many months, with the city of Thornton and Thornton Development Authority. The board's been kept abreast of developments there, for months, and we are scheduled for closing this Friday.
So we need this official, resolution, to show the title company, and the city that we mean business, and I strongly recommend you approve this resolution. Comments, questions? Director Assad Lucas? Aye. Director Battistelli? Aye. Director Goldstein? Aye. Director Potter? Aye. There you go. Okay. On to minutes. Adopt the minutes of the work study session and regular board meetings of 11/05/2025 as presented. So moved. Second. Director Assad Lucas?
Aye. Director Battistelli? Aye. Director Goldstein? Aye. Director Potter? Aye. Alright. Consent agenda recommended motion to approve the personnel actions as presented. So moved. Second. Director Assad Lucas? Aye. Director Battistelli? Aye. Director Goldstein? Aye. Director Potter? Aye. Okay. Onto, the next action item. I am going to entertain a motion to recess for an executive session to receive legal advice and discuss student matters regarding an expulsion appeal pursuant to board policies two
point zero general operating limitations 2.1 treatment of students, their families, and community members and Colorado revised statute 20 four-six-four zero two four b and h. So So is there a motion? So moved. Second. Director Assad Lucas. Aye. Director Battistelli. Aye. Director Goldstein. Aye. Director Potter. Aye. And then we will be returning after the executive session to make a decision on
what we talk about. Okay. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. What about the parents? Do we want them to come here? I think they have a way to do. Do we tell them that they can come here if they want? Yeah. Okay. Somebody doing that? I'm not. Hopefully. I can go I can go tell them. Yeah. They're waiting somewhere. They're waiting in the room behind us. In your room here. I think Lee just said he could go. Would you go tell him Lee? Okay. I don't know. Lee can go say, we're waiting for you guys.
We need to use the bathroom. Okay. So because it what I need to say is yeah. Yes. Courtney's gonna go home and have a glass of champagne. I always have to wonder, so what was my son doing at that time of day? Mhmm. Hello. Hello. I think no. Like, to make it so but how does it look like? To make an emotion in What's what's it say there? So to recess for executive session. Oh, so that yes. I make a motion to Hey. To a phone. But That's all you have to do. Open session, one of the following motions that you made with oh, mentioning the students' name. Got it. Got it. Got it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Emotions that you made with oh, mentioning the students made. Got it. Got it. Got it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. And then I have another one. Straight and you look as too high drive. Mhmm. Yeah. Well, there's different kinds of a there are different kinds of that. Right? There's the high focus and there's the low focus. What about doing the low focus. What am I doing tomorrow? Everything in between. So I said, what am I doing tomorrow? I've gotta be at Greenwood Village at Junior Achievement by 7AM. So, that I know. I'm going to a Medicare seminar. A Medicare seminar? Along that one. So maybe you should go check this. Yeah. Did you tell you 64?
It's so good early. For me. Hope I could change. Okay. We are back in we are out of executive session. K. Is there someone that likes to make a motion that would like to make a motion? I'd like to make a motion to affirm the decision of the superintendent with respect to the expulsion of the students, discussed. So moved. Director Assad Lucas. Aye. Director Battistelli. Aye. Director Goldstein. Aye. Director Potter. Aye. Okay. Just want to wrap up.
Thanks for the meeting. Our next meeting will be on December 1. That is not Wednesday. It's a Monday, and we will be swearing in our board members that were just elected or reelected. And, the agenda's on, we'll be talking about, taking the oath of office, we'll elect officers, and we'll talk about CASB. And we will also establish, our tax revenue and mill levy. Any comments, questions?