Hello, Holly? Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I guess here. Let me slide down one more too. Thank you. Check. Check. Chuck. Chuck. Bob leading the way as usual. Getting my checks going. Right. Exactly. That's the rule. That's the rule. We already made a rule. If you come last, you have to sit in the crack. You get the uncomfortable scene. Well, we Yeah. There's no microphone. Change that. I gotta go. No. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Hello? Yeah. We're good. It is now 06:19PM, and I am going to call our special meeting for the
purpose of interviewing our candidates to order. May I have a roll call, please? Heil. Here. Olivia Wright. Here. Thompson? Here. Withers? Here. K. And then technically, we need a motion to approve our agenda, which the sole item on our agenda is our candidate interview. May I have a motion? It's been moved and seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none of vote, please. Heil. Aye. Olivia Wright. Aye. Thompson. Aye. Withers. Hi. And now we're on the right. And the way we're vice president is we'll let each of you give your, statement
first, and then we'll rotate through the questions. You have the five that you were given in advance in front of you. And two that you were not given in advance obviously when you're when they get announced. And so, let's just go forward and so, Holly Bombria, you can go first. Great. Can you hear me okay? Hi Board, I'm Holly Bambria. Some of you know a bit about me and here's a bit more. I'm a fifth generation Colorado native. I was born at Memorial Hospital and grew up as the third of the four Hardcastle girls. When I was little, we could get mail addressed as simply to Hardcastle, Colorado Springs
and it arrived just fine because we were the only Hardcastles. I grew up in D11 schools and I could walk to school from age four at Audubon through graduating Mitchell at age 17. I loved school. I still remember the names of all my elementary school teachers. I came home every day and played school with my baby sister who was three years younger than I am. She was my baby and my best friend for fifty five years until she sadly died from brain tumors. I've been with my husband Chris for thirty three years and it's still fresh and
lovely. We adopted our three daughters in China and they all grew up in D49 public schools. I loved their teachers, many are still close friends. Anyone I trusted my kids to for seven hours a day had to be trusted and wonderful, and they were. They went on to attend UCCS becoming a registered nurse, a registered behavioral tech who works with children with autism, a computer science major specializing in gaming and art. They are as different as night and day from each other. We have lived in Falcon for twenty three years.
We own our home in Paintbrush Hills and it backs to the open space which borders on horse properties. It's been a wonderful place to raise kids. I'm a realtor and I've hung my license with REMAX for about twenty five years. Currently with REMAX properties, I've sold homes and land in 11 Colorado counties. I'm used to advocating for my clients through difficult details to help them reach their goals. I'm results driven having lost 115 pounds recently which allowed me to stop using daily
supplemental oxygen and have great health and tons of energy. I've cut back on my real estate sales and I'm currently very involved in civic and volunteer activities. I'm a court appointed special advocate through El Paso County Courts with CASA. I advocate for children in abuse and neglect court cases. I also advocate on behalf of marginalized people and communities doing public speaking and attending court cases. I'm involved with local politics but I firmly hold that religion and politics have no place in public education.
That said, I also advocate for public education through my political context and would love to expand upon that. I'm passionate about teachers, they change the world and about students, they are the future. Thanks for having me here and getting to know me better. Good evening, everyone. Thanks for thanks for coming out this evening. Good evening. My name is Jack Ryan. My wife and I have been married for thirteen years and we have called Peyton home for the past five years. We are invested in this community. Our oldest son is a proud Bennett Ranch bull, and our youngest will join d
49 family in 2026. I am retired US Army Sergeant Major e nine and currently serve as a senior IT project manager. I hold a master's in leadership and a bachelor's in business, providing me with a solid foundation in both organizational strategies and physical responsibilities. Since retiring from the US Army in 2022, I have focused my career on strategic operations and large scale project management. I specialize in taking complex organizational challenges and finding clear data driven solutions.
Other ways I support the community. I'm a Trail Life leader for Troops sixteen thirteen for the past four years, a Little League coach for two years, PTA active member at Bennett Ranch. I am standing for this vacancy because I believe my background in leadership and resource management is the right fit to help District forty nine achieve its strategic goals. Throughout my twenty four years of military career, I lived by the principle that the most valuable asset in any organization is its people. My goal is to serve as a leader who protects and invests in our students,
teachers, and community by ensuring our district remains a place where every member can thrive. And in closing, I'm not just looking to serve on a board, I'm looking to secure the future for my children and yours. I am devoted to this district, I am rooted in this community, and I'm ready to work. I spent my career serving our nation and now I'm ready to serve the students, teachers, and families of District 2. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Bob Felice. I built teams. I've been building teams my entire life since I was in the third grade out
at at recess. I built teams through a thirty year plus career and still counting in public education. I've been a coach, a teacher, a dean of students, an assistant principal, a principal right here at Falcon Middle School, a principal right here at Vista Ridge High School, and the Power Zone superintendent. During that time, I reported directly to the Board of Education because we were in transition. We didn't have a CEO or a superintendent in that moment. I was tasked, like all the other zone superintendents, to engage our community, to engage
our students, our parents, our staff, and the community at large to bring them in and actually develop a plan, have those hard conversations, deal with all the obstacles that occur along the way. We did that. We had that plan secured and we brought that plan to this Board of Education where it was approved five-zero. We went on to the State Board of Education where we were also unanimously approved, And that started the age of innovation for District 49 when Power Zone became the
first innovation zone in The United States Of America. Over the last several years, I've been working inside schools, coaching principals, leading professional development on team building, and, doing a lot of inspiring and motivational speaking. Through that time, it gave me a chance to get behind the curtains. I got to see how the sausage is made. And when I got behind the curtains in District 49, I was very pleased to see that cultural compass. Because if you take a look at how that cultural compass, its values are directly
related to those original Power Zone values and mission statement that we laid out over a decade ago. And I was interviewing every district in this area to see who I was gonna devote my time and energy to. And there's no better district to do it than this one right here. That's why I'm here tonight. Thank you. Hello, everybody. I'm Candace Lehman, Colorado taxpayer, El Paso County, and B 49 DD 2 resident. I retired can y'all hear me? Okay. I retired to Colorado Springs in 2019 from Saint Louis to be near my family.
I worked for a global chemical company for thirty eight years in various capacity. My background's in biochemistry. I raised three kids in the suburbs of Saint Louis, Missouri, so I do understand the angst that kids go through growing up. Between peer pressure, personal insecurities, classroom and coursework, and district policies, I sometimes wonder how I survived. One of my sons was very gifted, and I was constantly dealing with the administration to challenge him in school. It was an uphill battle. We had no choice like we have in d forty nine. My other son was unhappy with the wording of school policy, so he challenged him
to the school board. And I was there to support him, and I so I understand how school boards work. My job will be to enhance the success for stakeholders in D 49. This means understanding the issue, researching the solutions, presenting my view to the other members of the board. But most importantly, my job will be listening to the other members' view to get to the best solution for the issue at hand. Our future depends on our success of our children. I'll be happy to support the d 49 cultural compass of respect, care, trust, and responsibility. All of our children need to wake up in the morning feeling safe, happy, and
confident in going to school. Growing up is hard enough, and peer pressure is awful. We need to develop an environment free of hatred and divisiveness and embrace the rock of value all people. And I ended up with a valedictorian and an MIT graduate in math and physics who became a lawyer. And my other son, Brown University in biostatistics, went to law school and graduated Stanford Law in June. And my daughter works for the Department of Education, Colorado Department of Education. So Currently, I serve as director of financial administration for Wyndham Hills Metropolitan District of
the local government that provides water, wastewater, and parts of record services to customers also within this report. I'm responsible for financial planning, budgeting, and turn long term fiscal sustainability. I also serve as vice chairman of the Centennial State Liquid Investment Fund, which is a Colorado local government investment tool where I help oversee investment strategy, financial stewardship, and public resources. These roles have strengthened my ability to evaluate risk plan for the future, and make
disciplined financial decisions. Skills that are critical of the VISTA forty nine, navigates growth, resource allocation, and long term financial planning. Earlier in my career, I worked directly in higher education as an admissions advisor and later as an assistant director of admissions, where I focused on student recruitment, retention, and improving the overall student experience. That experience gave me a strong appreciation for how systems, processes, and leadership decisions impact
student outcomes over time. I also have direct experience with District forty nine, serving on the long range facilities planning commission, which has given me a deeper understanding of the district's long term needs in growth, resource allocation, and infrastructure planning. That perspective, in line with my professional background, allows me to make those decisions from both a strategic and a practical lens. District forty nine is at an important point. Like many districts, it faces challenges around maintaining trust, supporting staff, and ensuring strong outcomes
for students. These are problems that get solved quickly, and they require study okay. And so on the questions, we'll remind you of your time limits as well, and I'll ask whomever's that each person is asking the question they wrote. So when you're asking a question, come up to the microphone just because we need the the mic is the only way we ensure that it's on the tape. So I'm sure you all can hear us, but I wanna make sure it's on the video for others later. So the first question actually does not have a time limit, and it's identify the
big rock that speaks the most to you. In what ways do you see district forty nine meeting or exceeding expectations in that area, and in what ways do we need to improve? And we'll start with mister Ryan on this one. Thank you. So while all six big rocks are essential to the district's health, the rock that resonates with me most is engagement of our community. I learned that no mission can succeed without the trust and buy in of the people it serves. A school district is no different. It is a community driven organization. I believe the Board of Education has done an excellent job of establishing high level
transparency. The infrastructure for communication is their public meetings are accessible, strategic goals are clearly published, and the intent of the board is visible to those who seek it out. The high level connection is a strength that many districts struggle to achieve. Where I see an opportunity for growth is the tactical engagement, the day to day connection at the different district levels. Strategic goals can sometimes feel distance to a teacher in a classroom, a student in the hallway, or a parent at a bus stop. We need to move beyond just informing the community to truly engaging them.
In the Army we call this circulating the battlefield. It is about being present where work is happening. We need to improve the frequency and depth of two way communication so the staff, excuse me, so the students, staff, and parents don't just hear what the board is doing, but feel that the board understands their daily realities. I plan to bring a start to finish leadership style to this role. To me, being a director means more than just showing up for a vote. It means being fully invested in the process. First, I believe in the active presence.
I won't just be a face on a board table. I will be visible, approachable, present in District two schools. I want to see the challenge of our teachers and students face firsthand. Second, I am committed to closing the gap. When parents or teachers or staff take the time to share their points, show their give their inputs, they deserve to know it was heard. I will ensure that our community can see exactly how their feedback helps shape the final decision. Finally, I will always prioritize the right voice by engaging our students, teachers, parents, and
neighbors in the order we ensure our decisions are rooted in the need of people most affected. My goal is simple, to lead with transparency and keep our focus on what is belong to the people who make the this the district work. Thank you. The big rock that resonates with me most is launch successful students. Before we can launch successful students, we need to define the launch. Author Andy Andrews does that really well in his book, The Bottom of the Pool.
He describes a story where as a child he's grown up and they played a game called Dolphin. And the objective of Dolphin was to you're treading water in the in the deep end, and and you just swim your way, launching yourself out of the out of the bottom of the pool, and whoever got highest is the winner. And every summer, it was the same kid who wins. And he was a little bigger, a little stronger than everybody else. And one day, a kid says, let me go last. And they let him go last and everybody's bored.
They don't even wanna watch him do it because they know the big kid's gonna win who already who already did it. And this kid jumps in the pool and he swims down to the bottom of the pool, and he and he kneels down on the ground and he gets down as far as he can and he launches himself off the bottom of the pool and he wins the dolphin competition for the first time. The lesson there is to launch successfully, we have to connect our students to the schools they attend. And so no more important thing than connecting students.
It's, we've done an outstanding job in District forty nine with all the activities, clubs, sports, all the different courses that are outside of the academic arena. This is the glue that makes our students wanna get up in the morning and come to one of our schools. And it's our effort to connect kids that is the predictor of success in the future. Thank you. Alright. The rock that spoke to me most was value all people.
We value all all people by putting our values of care and respect into action through strategic initiatives that promote equity, respect diversity, and celebrate the contributions of all. I looked up synonyms for value. The one that spoke to me was worth. If we can demonstrate and understand the value, worthiness of all of folks, kids, teachers, parents, community, and d forty nine, then the rest of the rocks fall into place. By providing respect, dignity, and value for all and infusing it in the d forty nine culture, the other big rocks of successful students, firm foundations, exceptional choices, engaging community,
and especially enduring trust will fall into place. In learning about each other and valuing this knowledge, we become better citizens of d forty nine and the rest of the world. Some may not or like or agree with what they learn, but if they can value and understand the different perceptions presented in valuing all people, then I believe many conflicts can be averted. Is d forty nine meeting or exceeding this rock? I think they're just meeting minimums. I think more can be done to understand and value all people. However, you cannot force folks to change or understand or value others. I think that with the creative talent in d forty nine and its social media
presence, presentations can be helpful to provide understanding and value all people to students and teachers. If students and teachers can just learn one thing to make another person's life easier, it's the pure joy to the recipient. Honestly, though, it is parents that are gonna help to not get to cross it. I know. I'm a parent. And if you had told me I needed to change or value something I wasn't sure about, I would have really balked. But if d 49 can persevere and keep presenting information in low key ways, I believe many parents would eventually hear.
Parents may say, I understand the issue now, but I don't agree with it, but I understand it. That's actually a win. They understand it. It. Some parents may say, I didn't know that, but now I want more information. I can't say that unicorns and rainbows will result, but I think the DEFCON level would be lowered if we could open our hearts and minds. The big rock that resonates most with me is trust. Specifically how trust is built through consistency, transparency, and disciplined leadership over time. I see district forty nine meeting expectations and its emphasis on data, planning, and long
term strategy. The district uses metrics, dashboards, and performance indicators to inform decisions rather than relying solely on instinct. That approach aligns closely with how I lead professionally. Where improvement is needed is in how decisions, especially difficult ones, are communicated and understood. Even the right decisions can damage trust when stakeholders don't clearly understand the assumptions, trade offs, or long term purpose behind them. In a large complex district, clarity and consistency are just as important as the decision
itself. Moving forward, I believe district forty nine would be strongest when its data driven decision making is peer paired with clear, deliberate communication that connects today's actions to long term stability and student outcomes. If appointed, my approach would be simple. Be prepared, be consistent, and be student focused. I believe in using data to guide decisions while also listening to educators, families, and the community to understand what the data doesn't always show.
I would work to support transparency, accountability, and a culture where decisions are made with clarity and purpose. I'm not coming in with an agenda. I'm coming in ready to learn, to contribute, and to help this board move forward in a way that builds stability and trust. Thank you. Instead of reflecting on Stephen Covey's big rocks, pebbles, and sand filling a jar, I can't help but think of our Rocky Mountains. Which is most important? It's hard to say with regard to Rocky Mountains, right? But with our D49 big rocks, I think it always has to come down to
value all people. And even more than that, it comes down for me to rock number five. Every student brought one of my rocks with me. I collect rocks, sand, dirt. Anyway, everything we do, every grain of sand, every pebble, every rock, every lesson, every hour of teaching, every minute, each board meeting, it all points towards turning out great humans into the world. Excuse me.
Even the term public education is centered in the student. Our students run the gamut in all types of individuals. No matter who they are, their background, their health, their family, belief system, culture, moral compass, level of commitment, every student must learn. How they learn is unique. What they learn is taught and modeled. How involved and supportive are the parents? How safe is the home? What are the students' interests? Where do they shine? Where do they struggle? Such complex issues, such complex individuals.
How do we teach to the test result and also create a spark, a joy for life and learning. Ideally, we educate lifelong learners, people with thirst, people with spark, people who are seen, respected and not just cranked off a conveyor belt. My mother taught me to look for the kid who was sitting alone and go sit with them. I taught my three daughters the same thing. Go make friends with the lone kid. Be inclusive. Not everyone needs to be just like you.
Variety is good. Try new groups, try new things. Think back on yourself in school. Remember, did you fit in a group? Were you on a team? Were you in a club? Who did you sit with at lunch? Were you lonely? Did you experiment with substances? Or were you straight laced? Good grades? Bad? Favorite teacher? Least favorite teacher? These things are still real today for every student. D49 absolutely excels in offering different types of learning and schools to every student.
This environment caters to the individual student. We have such a wide variety of schools to attract and serve a wide variety of students. D49 could do better in serving marginalized students. Marginalized students are at higher risk for suicide and depression and often face things such as learning disabilities, food insecurity, financial insecurity, being unhoused, being in the foster system, living with aging parents or living with extended family, all sorts of individual situations.
We cannot roll out a public education platform that doesn't see and serve every student. We can always do better and we must. Okay. Your second question, this comes from the student board of representatives. It is research to success and struggles of District 49 post COVID, the student enrollment, budget cuts within the district and at the state level, school performance, satisfaction survey results, technology in the classroom, and so on. Based on your findings, what do you think has contributed most to the to those
successes and struggles of the district? You have two minutes for your response, and we'll start with you, mister Brooks. When COVID hit, I was watching ESPN and I saw that they sent all the NBA home teams home and canceled all the basketball. I knew right then in that moment I was coming back into public education. Nobody was more uniquely qualified than me, to to come back and support public education because I went home, myself after I was diagnosed with MS. That's why I left the district, and I spent four years facing exacerbation after exacerbation
and had to come back from that. And there is nothing that was more important coming out of COVID than the school culture. The actual culture of the building is determined by how many students are connected to the staff that works in that building. And the more that happens, the more our culture takes off. Right now, forty percent of every single student in District forty nine and every other district in the state is disconnected from the schools they attend.
By the time that that student hits high school, that number is 70%. 70% disconnected from schools. Every educator in this room knows that connected students do better academically. Connected students are emotionally secure, they are safe, They are not going to be depressed. They are not going to face that suicidal moment. They are not going to become a school shooter in the future. This is the most important thing on our plate, connecting our kids to the schools
they attend. Thank you. Go ahead. Okay. I believe unfortunately that the struggles are easier to identify. We had the budget shortfall due to lower enrollment, increasing expenses, and transportation, and all of this resulted in declaring a fiscal emergency, which unfortunately allowed for staff cuts. And then we had a loss of relief fund. But the district is trying to mitigate those with admin administration reduction in college consolidation, contact renegotiation with vendors, program cuts on transportation and conferences, and infrastructure changes.
D forty nine is also trying to raise funds by raising tuition and activity fees and possibly initiating an MLO. But the district is also marketing its successes by promoting some of its program benefits, the year round choice window where families can come to the district at any time during the year, the new D49 success center, target targeted marking campaigns, which are very clever in cubes, expanding the early childhood education with the openings of new classrooms. I also took a peek at the satisfaction surveys for the South End Zone. One thing I noticed that Clear Rules for Behavior was highly rated.
This is a win for the district. However, the Safe to Tell program did have did not have a positive spin, especially in the lower grades. Maybe somehow six year olds and eight year olds can't report as well as 10 and 15 year olds. But that's something we can work on. Genuine care was fair to middling and the value maybe the value of all people needs to be boosted. But all in all, the scores would look pretty good and points to the success for d forty nine. I believe that d forty nine has taken an honest look at itself noting its all its positives and negatives after COVID. No one expected a worldwide pandemic and no one could foresee its aftermath.
But d forty nine is doing the best it can. Self evaluation and adaptation are the hallmarks of a of a successful organization, and we're on the right track. Post COVID, district forty nine has experienced meaningful successes alongside real challenges. On the success side, the district benefited from resilient staff and leadership who maintained educational continuity during unprecedented disruption. Investments in technology and data systems supported instruction and accountability, and student performance has largely stabilized compared to the immediate pandemic period.
Workforce engagement also remained relatively strong, which is significant given broader labor market pressures. On the challenge side, District 49, like many districts, faced enrollment volatility via expiration of one time federal COVID funding, rising operational costs, and state level funding uncertainty. Longstanding growth assumptions also had to be adjusted, which complicated financial planning and the short term frame term time frame. What most contributed to both outcomes was structure.
Where systems and planning were strong, the district weathered COVID effectively. Where strain appeared, it was largely due to external funding changes and the difficulty of adjusting large systems quickly. These realities reinforce the need for steady long term planning rather than reactive decision making. Thank you. Everything changed after COVID. During my research on this topic, many online resources reached the dreaded four zero four, page not found, time after time.
I located lots of statistics from the Colorado Department of Education, local news immediate and D49. Enrollment trends up but it's starting to trend down. Funding per pupil and expenditure info can be found. Details on the financial situation from pandemic relief pandemic relief and funding per per, oh,
no? Is it me? Oh my God. Okay. Local news media, the funding per pupil and expenditure information can be found. Details on the financial situation from pandemic relief, funding, revenue trends and on up to the most recent fiscal exigency can be reviewed. Having lived through it with two of my daughters in Falcon High School and one at UCCS, I'll speak from my hard and lived experience. During lockdown, you couldn't please anyone or so it felt.
Maskers, non maskers, conspiracy theorists, public health officials, kids who needed the classrooms, kids who did fine at home, depression, increased suicides. It is traumatic just reflecting on all of that. I personally know two people who died from COVID. And my daughter is an RN and she had stories about COVID when she came home from work. I'm a NOVID thankfully. It resulted in obtaining guest or substitute teachers being very difficult. Staffing and teacher retention is a huge issue.
The population has increased. School choice is a factor we face. D49 is the fastest growing district in the Pikes Peak region and the largest school district in El Paso County. But enrollment fell just a tiny bit. Funding has also been cut when it's per pupil. Respect in so many ways has fallen. Respect for teachers and teaching, respect by students for teachers, sped teacher retention, para's being cut, increased legal fees for the district.
There are so many challenges in this post COVID world within D49. The bottom line is we must do the best with what we have. Hard choices must be made. D49 must conform where legally required and mandated. And I think the board is doing great making these tough decisions. When I look at our district today, we have learned a lot since the pandemic. Our biggest success has been our ability to adapt. We've embraced new technology and we found ways to keep our students moving forward even when the world felt upside down.
I'm proud to see so many of our schools being recognized for their high academic growth recently. It shows that our teachers haven't missed a beat. However, our biggest struggle is the new reality we face. Since COVID, our student numbers have been hard to predict and state funding hasn't kept up with our needs. We have we've had to make some very painful budget cuts that have affected our staff and our morale. On top of that, our kids are coming back to us with different needs. Some are struggling more with social skills or their mental health than they were before
the pandemic. It is, it is hard to picture one thing that has shaped our, current situation is uncertainty. Before COVID, things were more predictable. Now we are certainly having to shift our plans. But I believe our certain successes come from being proactive instead of reactive. A perfect example is our current plan to create our space, like moving Falcon Elementary to Bennett Ranch. While this decision was difficult, it shows that we are learning to be efficient with what we already have.
In closing, to be successful in 2026, we must stay agile. We need to be honest about our budget, but we also must keep focused on the kids. Thank you. Just go ahead. Someone who wants to say the question. Hi, candidates. My name is Yudine Barr. I'm a junior at the school that you're currently sitting in, and I'm a student on the student board of representatives for District 49. Our question for you is whose voice matters most when making decisions? Students, parents, your opinion, staff, and community. Rank in the order of most important to least important and explain more.
You have ninety seconds. And candidate Leland will start with you. Well, as unusual as it sounds, I think that the student's voice matters the most in making decisions. Most kids don't have a filter. They wanna go from a to b quickly and easily. And usually you say you do this and you do that and so on and it and it works. So a lot of the time what they say makes sense and people go, I didn't think of that. So staff would be next. They could review what the students proposed and see if it's, applicable financially. They can review from a regulatory and educational perspective.
Then they can look at how to implement. And if this all goes well, the Board of Education takes over and takes a look at it and it goes yay or nay. And parents then can review that decision and the specific specifics involved. Depending on the issue and decision, if a parent parent is vehemently opposed to this policy, d forty nine can work with that parent to make it more palatable because the flexibility of d forty nine is well known. So that's my thinking. If asked to rank, whose voice matters most when making decisions by order would be
students, staff, parents, community, and lastly, my own opinion. Students come first because they are the core purpose of the system. Every decision should ultimately be evaluated by its impact on student safety, opportunity, and long term success. Staff comes next because they translate board decisions into daily reality. Teachers and support professionals understand what works in classrooms and school buildings and ignoring their perspective leads to decisions that may look good on paper but fail in practice. Parents are essential partners and provide critical accountability.
Board decisions must balance individual experiences with system wide sustainability. The broader community matters because schools are public institutions and community anchors. Governance requires balancing community input with educational expertise and long term outcomes. My own opinion comes last. The role of a board member is not to advance personal viewpoints, but to listen carefully, synthesize data, ask thoughtful questions, and make decisions in the best interest of students and the district as a whole?
Thank you. Oh boy, a trick question. My answer is, it depends. Is the student in kindergarten? The parent is the key voice. Is the student an 18 year old about to graduate high school and make decisions about their future? The student's voice is key. Student voice emphasis grows as they age. When the student is young, then as they mature and they learn more and they get to graduation, the student's voice should be stronger. They find they spark, they can become more interested in their future as an adult,
and they should be increasingly empowered. I would love to believe that the parent's voice is extremely high priority. But something one of my kids' teachers told me in a parent teacher conference really says it all. She told us that the parents who don't need to show up always show up. And the parents who need to show up never do. The parents' voice is vital to both the parent student success or failure. I believe that the teacher's voice is a high priority all along the student's educational
experience. We must value teachers in order to retain teachers. I believe the community is very important to public education. The district depends on voters to support school bonds and MLOs in order really? Okay, I'll just tell you the rest of it. I believe in people first approach because while the mission may change based on the situation, our commitment to the people carrying it out must be an absolute. Students, they are the primary stakeholders. Since they live with the consequences of these decisions every day, their needs and experience
should be the North Star. Staff are boots on ground who deliver the mission. They know what is possible on the ground and are responsible for turning the decisions into reality. A special note to make at this point is April is month of the month of military child. Congratulations to all seven schools in District 49 Falcon Zone that earned a Colorado Purple Star designation for outstanding support of military connection to children. Parents, community, as a board member, my job isn't to impose will, it is to
act as a steward. Why this order? In the Army, we say mission first people always. In District 49, the students are the mission, but we only reach them by supporting the parents and staff who lead them. Thank you. Students, parents, staff, community, and then me. I'm last because I need to listen to all those stakeholders first before I'd make a decision. The students are first because they're the primary mission. The parents' voice occasionally will rise to the top with issues of safety around curriculum,
that happens. Typically, the students are first. Our staff is obviously a a big, part of this. Their role is on a day to day basis, giving that feedback all the time every day in the in the school. I'm last because I've just gotta be a listener. Thanks. Good question. So mister Bullion, you will field this one first. This question was provided in advance and you have a maximum of three minutes. Please review our policy manual and respond to one of the question prompts below.
One, what existing policy would you modify, how would you modify it, and why? Two, what existing policy would you repeal, and why would you repeal it? Three, what existing policy do you celebrate, and why do you think it's important? Or four, what policy does not exist that you would propose? What are the particulars and why do you propose it? Thank you for the question. Rather than proposing entirely new policy, I would modify existing financial transparency and communication policies
to better align Standing with decision making. Specifically, I would support clear expectations for claim language, budget summaries, scenario based financial projections, and earlier communication with staff and the community when high impact financial actions are being considered. The goal would not be to slow decision making, but to strengthen confidence and trust. Transparency is not just about access to information. It is about whether people can reasonably understand how and why decisions are being made,
especially when those decisions are difficult. Thank you. The policy I would repeal is JICA, student dress code. I bet you thought I'd say JBAA since it it violates Colorado law, right? Please join me and SpongeBob and use your imagination. Imagine this utopian District 49 where all the students have a strong moral and ethical compass. They have respect for all people in their schools.
Each student has a spark for learning. They're committed to their own academic performance. They come to school to learn and to make friends and get along with everyone. They don't bully or get bullied. They couldn't care less what anyone chooses to wear. It doesn't distract. Width of a strap on a top, who cares? Wearing a hat, wig, sunglasses, graphic tee, they don't even notice. Length of skirt, whatever. There is no rape culture to feed into. There is no male centric mentality to be afraid of.
Dress codes are strongly biased against female presenting people. Instead of teaching that attire is distracting or dangerous, what a wonderful world it would be if we each owned our behavior, showed respect and had commitment to drive our own lives. When my oldest daughter was in middle school, she came home one day wearing shorts that barely stayed on her thin frame and a V neck t shirt that was cut very low and showed her cleavage. I asked her where her clothes were expecting some sort of biohazard had occurred. She said she got dress coded.
She had been wearing a skort, which is a skirt with shorts underneath. She could have done cartwheels and no one would have seen anything inappropriate. It also reached her fingertips when standing. Where is the logic? The existing policy I celebrate and why I believe is important is the District 49 Innovation Plan because it supports personalized education by giving schools local control. Schools have the power to make their own financial and teaching decisions, including flexibility to
manage their own money in classes. Personalized learning. Instead of one size fits all, schools can create pathways that fit their specific students. Empowering teachers. This aligns with the District forty nine Cultural Compass, which helps teachers give every student a personalized education that fits their goal. This makes d forty nine the best district to learn, work, and lead. The three innovative zones are Falcon Zone, Sand Creek Zone, and Power Zone. Thank you.
What existing policy would I modify? How would I modify it and why? I would modify policy AEA because the school performance framework lives there. I would unleash the three innovation zones and ask them to engage our communities and ask them how do we want to finish the School Performance Framework. Why? Why finish the School Performance Framework? Well, we have a fiscal responsibility to oversee, all of the courses, all of the
activities, all of the clubs, all of the sports, and weigh them and measure them on the School Performance Framework. Because what you measure, you prioritize. What you don't measure, you are not prioritizing. We can fix schools doing this one thing. We'll make impact with academics, we'll make schools safer for kids, will make kids safer emotionally, physically? That's the policy I'd look at. Thanks for the question. Okay. Mine was, what policy does not exist but should exist?
Children don't hate or act out indiscriminately. They have to learn about it or have something going on in their lives that they're reacting to. And as we've seen recently, parents have brought in a lot of the issues, but as we've seen recently, they've been also been brought to trial. Therefore, I believe we need to let parents know where and when their responsibility borders on criminality. I know the districts can't and should not tell parents what to do, but based on recent court cases, and perhaps parents should be aware and be warned that there can be legal repercussions and issues if they do not understand the policies presented in
the manual. It's a safety issue for you guys, for the parents, for the teachers. And I think that some of the parents need to be brought in closer scrutiny or be aware of certain things so that nobody gets hurt. Hi again, candidates. This question this question was submitted by our superintendent. What is one decision or action taken by the Board of Education over the past two school years that you strongly support? And what is one decision or action that you would have proposed? You have two minutes. Okay, this one is super easy for me.
The JBAA bathroom policy is the one decision that I most oppose because it breaks Colorado law with regard to protected classes and is not morally or ethically enforceable. It also targets at risk marginalized populations in a hugely negative manner. And so the decision to set JBAA aside is the decision I most support. I would go a step further and repeal JBAA. Let's move on from what is inside people's underwear.
Thank you. One of the decisions I supported was the approval of new science, social studies, and math curriculums in the Falcon Zone. I appreciated how the board took the feedback and direct buy in from the teachers in the Falcon Zone and ultimately got our students new curriculum to be successful. I know it said one decision, but I realized there's another decision I approve and I really enjoy as a new cell phone restriction. Personal devices are being shut off with limited access throughout the day. It supports our teachers and creates a more effective learning environment.
The decision I oppose or this decision is the recent financial cuts. While I have concerns regarding the recent decision to reduce staff positions, I fully respect the board's responsibility to maintain and balance a budget. As a leader with a background in business and project management, I I understand that the physical health is non negotiable. Moving forward, my goal is to work with the team to find strategic efficiencies that
protect our classrooms, talent, while ensuring our district remains financially sound. Thank you. The decision that I supported that you guys, had in the last couple of years was around fiscal exigence. You did an excellent job getting out in front of that early. You allowed every staff member that was impacted the opportunity to find a job. Good job on that. The, decision that I disagree with is also around JBAA. And I actually disagree with both decisions we made, not necessarily because of the decision,
but because the priority was wrong in the first place. The issue that JBAA, the bathroom issue, is a symptom of a much larger issue. The epidemic that's inside schools right now of 40% of your students not connected to their school and 70% by the time they get to high school. That's the issue to address. I would have been pounding the table to to get our focus on what really matters connecting our kids to our schools. Thank you.
Okay. I also strongly supported the vote on the JBAA. The move to rescind the policy was driven by concerns that have violated the Colorado Anti Discrimination Act and those are high litigation risks to the district. State law overrides the local legislation. So as all of you know, I did run for the seat vacated by miss Thompson. My loss did sorry. I am so sorry. Shit. My loss did not diminish my interest in the board. I attended some meetings and and viewed others online.
I did view some votes on the textbook by the board. So my opposition to issues and decisions would fall under this subject. I would oppose any textbooks that whitewash or suppress certain history. History is very important. It is all we have to guide us for future decisions. No one alive today is responsible for what happened over a hundred years ago. We need all the information about the past for our future. In that same vein, I would not back issues on banning books or discrimination against any minority. To me, education should provide all information so folks can make their own decisions even
if I don't agree with them. One area of board action I strongly support is the board's decision, that impacted my family specifically was, making the decision to place Liberty Tree Academy on watch. I fully support this decision because it made Liberty Tree Academy undertake significant governance changes in order to deal with difficult issues and ultimately come out a stronger school. One area I would have challenged is the communication strategy with the community surrounding some
recent high impact financial decisions, particularly those affecting staff like the region's recent budget cuts. Even when outcome may be the outcome may be unavoidable, I believe earlier alignment, clear communications of assumptions, and stronger linkage to long term strategy help preserve trust and stability. My focus would not be on criticizing past decisions, but on improving how future decisions are communicated and understood so that the sound governance decisions strengthen rather than strain district
trust. Thank you. In District forty nine, we have a parents bill of rights and responsibilities. What is your definition of parental rights and can you think of a situation other than abuse or neglect where the parents or guardians should not be notified of anything going on with their child? And we'll start with mister Ryan. Can you read the question again so we can you read it again? Can you read the question one more time she's asked? In District 49, we have a parents bill of rights and responsibilities. What is your definition of parental rights?
And can you think of a situation other than abuse or neglect where the parents or guardians should not be notified of anything going on with their child? I think parents should be notified as soon as anything happens to their child. I think it's important that we because that's our first first our we're primarily focused on students alone. Right? So if something happens to a kid in our formation, we need to relay that to the family, whether it's good or bad. What we do know is anything that's bad doesn't get better in time.
So we have to be upfront if we hear something of that nature that would affect a student's health and well-being. Thanks. There are zero situations where, we're not gonna contact the parents and and let them know outside of the abuse that you already outlined. Zero situations. It's a primary mission to pick the phone up ASAP and call parents and let them know if there's something happening with their students. I was an administrator for over twenty years. We, I get a student in my office, that means I'm making a phone call.
If I talk to a student in the hallway, I don't have to make that phone call. But I get a student in the office, I'm making that phone call. There are zero situations where we don't contact parents. Thanks for the question. I concur, there's no there's no situation where you don't contact the parents. Even if there's abuse and neglect, you may call the department children and welfare but that parent is still gonna get notified. So I think parents, you have to notify them under any circumstances. The the definition of parental rights, I agree with the what the other candidate said
in that a parent has a right to know what is going on at school with their child. Regardless of the situation, they they do have a right. It is their child. I think when you understand different situations that occur at school, I can understand why some people might think there might be times when a parent shouldn't be involved, but I would disagree with that. I think a parent always has a right to understand what's happening with their child.
But I also think it's it's a partnership between the school and the parents to understand what is going on with that student and that child so that there can be a proper support plan put in place for the child. Because ultimately, both parties, the school and the parents are there to support the child. So whatever the child needs in order to be successful in the classroom is what those two parties need to be discussing. But ultimately I think it's the parents' rights to know what's going on.
Thank you. I think parental rights are super important because I parent very intentionally. My children were all added to be adoption and my parenting is on purpose. They're all in their 20s now, but I'm still their parent. And when they were in school, I wanted to know what was going on. We talked about their school day every day when they came home. If there were bullying situations, and there were, you know, different people deal with bullying in different ways. For my kids, they all occurred in middle school and they had at that time,
I don't know if they still do, but they had a bully form. Any kid could go to the office, get a bully form, fill it out and work it out with the person who bullied them or who they had an issue with. So, sometimes they would do that, my kids, and sometimes they would just bear with it. And they would let go at home or whatever. But if there were behavioral situations at school, I definitely wanted to know and I believe the parents have a right to know. Absolutely if someone gets attacked, they have an injury, there's something that is going wrong
with mental health, you can tell, a great student suddenly gets F's, what's going on? There's something going on. Something needs attention, the parent needs contacted. The only issue I have, and you guys probably already know with my advocacy for marginalized people. What if a kid is transitioning and they're socially transitioning at school? They want to be called a different name. Can they be called that different name at school? Can they not? Should parents be, you know, informed? This is a hot issue.
And with the parental rights, you know, that comes into play. But for things that happen with my kids, I don't care what age they are, I think parents have to be informed. And some of the things we're informed about are tough. And sometimes the school can act, sometimes the board can act, sometimes they can't. And sometimes it's legal issues, but yes, parents have rights. Are you so excited? Like, at the end? I've been waiting for like two weeks for now. Quick round of applause.
How do you feel? You look good. Okay. We're a snap. Yep. Trying to get you guys like psyched. Okay? Alright. Can you describe a situation where you had to collaborate with someone whose working style was different from yours. What was the situation? What did you do to adapt and what was the outcome? Does anybody need me to repeat that? Yes. One more time? Okay. Wait. My mind is going to have all the words. Describe a situation where you had to collaborate with someone whose working style was different from yours. So I'm looking for what was the situation, what did you specifically do to adapt,
and what was the overall outcome? The very base of my leadership framework is compete. And what that means specifically is that you're competing with yourself to be curious about everybody that you work with so that you can truly listen to the why. I'm I'm trying to get to the root cause, a specific every single human I've ever worked with is is different.
All the teachers that I worked with as a principal, all the principals I worked with as a superintendent, they all have different leadership styles. And it's critical for me to be able to be curious about them and and really understand the why that they wanna do the way they do. That's how I operate at baseline and and so it's difficult for me to come up with a specific situation because it's literally every single situation that I'm in.
That's something that's standard that I'm going to be doing that every single time I meet regardless of who I'm meeting with. I want to listen to what their why is. I appreciate the question. Thank you. Well, as I said, I was a biochemist. And I was telling Bob here we sold over a 180,000 different products at at my chemical company. So there are certain large manufacturing companies that wanna take that product, that specification that we sell to, and narrow it down so it becomes a tighter spec to work in their recipe for whatever they're making.
You might know production chemists. They people who make that product, they think differently than anybody else. It's like a a chef on steroids. So I my job was to get that number, talk to production packaging, talk to all these different departments. But when I call production, I get yes, no, I just make it. So I had to stop and I because sometimes it's millions of dollars waiting on this custom part at the end. So I had to stop, pull back, talk to some of my friends, and then
I had to put together a certain list of questions that they can answer, that they will understand, and show them what the importance of why I'm asking what I'm asking so they can have the paperwork at their desk, so I can get to the bottom. Can I do this for this customer? If I can't do it, I just need to go and I tell them no. But it did work out. We get the custom numbers, but I know you have to have production chemist speak. And that's most a lot of departments I had to do that with and I did. Thanks for the question. That's a really good one. So in my current role as a director of finance, I work with a peer
group, and, one of my peers is a director of parks and recreation. Prior to me getting my role, he had a large capital project, a park renovation that he wanted to do, and got immediately denied by our board of directors. And speaking with him about that situation, you know, he was very, you know, just a big obstacle with the board of of directors thinking that there's no way they're ever going to approve this project.
They just don't wanna give parks and recreation any money, making a lot of assumptions about why the board did that. And so what I did in that situation is I asked him, what did you do specifically with the board? How did you convince them that this was the right project to do? And then we walked through that with better data. And so what we went back to is we said, well, what what's the current condition of this asset, this park?
What does it need in order to be continually maintained and continually used for district purposes and for the community? What is your suggestion in the renovations, and how is that gonna impact the community? What we found was, I'm speaking about Balcon Park. So if anybody lives out there, you know, we've made a lot of renovations to that park recently, and it's been great. Well, what we found was two things. One, the amount of soil that we were going to need to bring in on an annual basis and water that we, as a water district, we're also water conservationists,
believe it or not, we actually don't want you to use water, was going to cost the district an additional $250,000 a year just for annual maintenance. When you consider that with what we proposed to the board this time around was, let's put in turf. It saves on water, saves on the annual topsoil that you have to put in. Sure. It's an upfront cost, but long term, you have better uses of your resources.
Board was unanimous in that decision. So taking the approach of let's think about this differently. Let's use data. Let's use the resources that either we have or we don't have. Let's go find this information. And ultimately, we came to a project that continues to be kind of the jewel of our of our district and is used by the community, by the district every day. I mean, every time you drive by that park, you can see what it means
to the district and that was a collaborative effort, to get that done. Thank you. I really like that answer. Okay. This is a great question. Working in real estate for so long, I've dealt with all kinds of personalities. The agents work for either the buyer or the seller generally, sometimes they work as transaction and it's for both. But usually you have a side and you have a style. And with every contract, every house and every piece of land that I've sold in
over twenty five years, it's been more than twenty five years, there are personalities involved. There are problems involved. But both sides want to reach the same goal. The buyer wants to buy, the seller wants to sell, right? But they come to snags a long way. And some are big snags and some are little snags. And I've been really happy, thankfully, that I've been able to deal with these snags. And so I kind of look at what's the personality of the other agent?
What do they want? Are they saying what their client wants or are they saying the way that, you know, we used to, a million years ago, we had these bully guys and they would come in all aggressive and beaten you up and calling you little Missy and everything. And I am not kidding, I had other agents say, listen little Missy, I have been doing this for twenty three years and blah, blah, blah. And it's like, okay fine, but the buyer wants to buy and the seller wants to sell. So when you come across a furnace that won't certify, you've got to deal with
that. When you come across a roof that's bad, you've got to deal with that. So in every circumstance, you kind of have to mold to reach the goal. So for me, I keep my eye on the goal. And I don't have a nine to five, a lot of people have a nine to five where they have the same problems with the same people every day, every day, every day, every day. I'm so lucky because if I have a problem with an agent or a house or something, that's going to come to an end. We're going to see them at the closing table.
Hopefully everybody's going to be in the same room and happy. The house is going to sell and everything's going to be okay. But you have to keep your eye on the goal, listen to people, figure out solutions. I definitely agree with everyone. It's communication, right? We have to get buy in from the certain, individuals that we go with or that we work with. I took over a team and, back in my military days, and one of the the fondest parts I'm I'm most about is there's a retention, bonus that we were able to get for US Army Cyber Command. And it was such a challenge because they just stood up.
We had to actually go back to human resources command at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and then we also had to go to the Pentagon. And then we had to relay to them why do we deserve that bonus, and not me either. It was three critical work roles that the US Army Cyber Command deemed that it was so important. But this is when it was being stood up. So when it was being stood up, we had to make sure everyone had buy in and then that we weren't asking for more than what we were to receive. May meaning, there's a cap that we had to reach, but they wanted the data
driven evidence to show why it's so important. But the challenge to showing that to anybody was because we didn't wanna show our hands to the adversary. Right? So we're not gonna tell them what work rules we have, how many we have. And so it was so crucial to get buy in from everybody because it was almost kind of an off the, on a side shelf type of, hey, we're gonna give these key work roles that that, highest bonus that the army can offer at that point. So I think it's important that we work as one team, one fight. Thank you.
So, I want to thank everyone. I'm gonna kind of go through so everyone's aware of what the next steps in the process are. So Monday, we will have a special meeting. Candidates do not have to attend. You're welcome to attend. It is an open meeting. All of our meetings are public. But at that point, the board will, deliberate and hopefully make an appointment. The goal would be not to swear you in whomever is chosen then, but instead because it would kinda stink to have all six of you there and whomever you'd like to have there and to watch the whole day, like, that's miserable. And I would like whomever's chosen to have a good experience, and I would like
all of you to also walk away from it as a good experience. So our plan would be for us to make the motion to appoint and do the board part Monday. And then Wednesday at 05:30 before our work session, we would have a swearing in ceremony because swearing in doesn't actually have to be in a board meeting itself. That way we can make the swearing in the center of that event. You could have whomever you like, family or whomever present. We can have a short reception afterwards so people can say congratulations and staff can greet you and that type of thing and then, be able to participate in the
work session. And our work session agenda is public and so you can access every I don't think there's anything in executive content on that so you're welcome to read that and so that you're prepared to participate in that meeting if you're chosen, but you'll know Monday, hopefully. That's my goal. And with that, we will adjourn tonight's meeting. Thank you so much. Laurie has it. Yep. The papers that are in there are just for your own use. They're not for anyone else necessarily to see or use, so you use whatever is helpful to you. So for example, I'm much more of an auditory person.
If I was taking notes, I wouldn't remember near as much as if I'm just looking at you and listening. So I very intentionally don't take notes. That's how I went through all my years in college including the ones at Harvard, so that serves me far better than trying to take notes. Other people have to have notes. That's the way their brain processes. So whatever helps you to process best, that's just something that Lynette provided in case people would find it useful. Where will you guys be Monday? I believe it's the excellence lab, isn't it? Yeah. Say it again. I'm sorry. The excellence lab. So where we've been so at Creekside, the room that we're using for work sessions,
because I think the crowd isn't gonna be much bigger than what we have here probably and this would fit in the excellence lab. So thank you so much. Thirty, correct? Monday's meeting is at seven. 07:00. Yep. Thank you. Thank you. And with that, we're adjourned.