--------- Good afternoon, and welcome to the work session for the board of education of Greeley Evans School District six. This meeting will now come to order. Miss Lemon, will you please call the roll? Director Nazari? Present. Director Bentley? Present. Director Campos Fitzi? Present. Director Edmonds? Present. Director Lemos Garcia? Present. Director Mash? Present. Director Rogge? Present. All board members present. Thank you. First item is to review our calendar. This week, we have a lot going on. We will be in negotiations Wednesday through Friday for those of us who can attend.
Looks like the Greeley Evans Elementary Choral Festival is Tuesday evening. Next week, school visit to Greeley Central and the Success Foundation breakfast. Excellent event. Great way to start your Friday. Invite your friends, neighbors, colleagues. And you can either RSVP people through the website or some of us are table captains captains. So let us know if you need any help with that. The Evans Chamber dinner, I'm assuming we need RSVPs for that, miss Lemon. Is that has that come and gone? Or We have a table. We do have some extra seats.
So if anybody wants to attend, let me know. And then that gets us to our next board meeting. So just keep an eye on your calendar whenever you know for sure that you can RSVP, that'd be great. Helps us know who will be attending. Any questions on the calendar? Nope. Okay. And moving on to board member Thomas, we'll have mister Azari start us off. Okay. Thank you, president Nash. I'd like to start by recognizing our students, Sarah, Abby, and Levi, who attended the
CASB student day at the Capitol on February 12. They did an outstanding job of recognizing our school district and our community, and I was really impressed by their professionalism, their knowledge, and their respectful bearing, and their insightful questions and conversations with our state representatives and the CASB staff. There is a Facebook video that CASB has produced about that event, and our students and director Rogge were featured on that video, and they did an outstanding job representing
our district. I also attended the Martinez Elementary board visit. Great work going on there as always. I'm very impressed with the work of the staff and the students at Martinez. They make that school a welcoming environment, and it shows with their progress, in their academics over the past several years. They do a great job. I also attended the Discover six academy District six academy that was held at Greeley West last Thursday. I'd like to give that shout out to Jeff Cranston and his staff, for welcoming
the community into that school and and mister Cranston's, well put together presentation about Greeley West IB and all things that are happening at that school. And, I'd also once again like to recognize several of our students that, represented, the four mainline high schools here in the community, and they did a great job as a panel. And I'm sure president Masc will probably talk more about that. And finally, I had the opportunity to attend the Greeley Central High School Big Bend
Boogie Ball. That also was a great night, especially since I'm a former Greeley Central High School staff member. I've always enjoyed that event. It's a great school community builder, for Greeley Central, but it also featured Toynton, Chapel Hill, and University High, their band students. And I'd also like to thank our adult community band, the John Mills Orchestra, for their contributions to that event. It was a very, very good event, although it can be a late night for our kids.
Thank you. Okay? So that's all I've got. President Nash, thank you. Thank you. Doctor Lemos Garcia? Yes. I, unfortunately, did not do a whole lot. I did, get to go see my brand new grandbaby in California this weekend. Oh. Fiona is a month old, and so that was part of, the reason as to why, unfortunately, I wasn't able to contribute a lot, to the school district this time. I did attend the Greeley Chamber, dinner, which was really fun.
A lot of networking, fantastic MC, that evening. So I didn't get a chance. I don't. I've always done. Oh, nice. So great. And I look forward to attending more events in the coming weeks. That's it for me. Mhmm. I was also able to go as well as director Azari to the CASB, student day at the Capitol, and that was a wonderful experience. Got to ride down in a district suburban with the kids and some of our, important people in our district. And, I'm not seeing them right now.
I'm trying to twist around. But, anyway, that it was really I was really glad I had the time in the vehicle just to get to know the students better and, get to talk to, just kind of interactions and the questions were very interesting. And, then on, Tuesday the seventeenth, I did my, interview with, or not interview, I guess it was the Zoom meeting to get ready for the new negotiations. So we got that done. And then, that afternoon, visited, Martinez Elementary and met, Monica Draper, who's the principal, and,
Veronica Lucero, who is the assistant principal. And that was just just a wonderful experience. Got to learn about project based learning and, got to be with some of our other board members, on doing that. And then, on Thursday the nineteenth, I also did the, District six Academy at Greeley West. And that was really it was really helpful to me to have a presentation on what we're going for in terms of looking at graduates.
What are we? What's our goal? And and when we say someone's graduating, well, this is what we want them to look like. So, superintendent Azmas did a wonderful job and, principal Jeff Kranzan, I think did a really good job of, highlighting his school and kind of the positive things about that. And then, that evening was the chamber dinner and, thanks to director Bentley for opening a table for so that, Mark could come with me. But we had a really nice evening and visited with people in the community and
enjoyed that time. Thank you. Director Edmonds. Thank you very much, president Masch. So, got to do some really cool things since the last time we met. President Mash and I had the pleasure of attending Greeley Central High School's Culture Assembly, which I was really excited to have that opportunity to be there, but didn't fully know what to expect. And when all the students came into the room with their, national flags and some of them dressed in their their cultural garb. It was just a very moving experience to see just the beauty of diversity within
Greeley Central, which was actually a really great reflection of the diversity of our district. And one student in particular caught my eye, Mercy Lubay. She's from the Dominican the Democratic Republic Of Congo and she had this beautiful outfit on. She had face paint on. She looked very proud of who she is. And then she went and performed a dance from her culture in front of all the students. And so I just admire the courage of these students too to show themselves as they are, to not try to be someone else, but to be proud of where
they come from. This was another reminder of why I love District six so much, why I love Greeley so much, is that we are such a diverse culture here, a diverse community. And so just hats off to Greeley Central. I think this is the fourth time they've done this, possibly, maybe fifth. So I just I hope it's something they continue for years to come. And it'd be great to see that expand out if anything like that would be a a district wide thing with other schools just to give them some opportunities. I think some students from other high schools joined some of the bands.
So that was just really cool to see that, to see the competition between the, different classes. Although I was I wasn't keeping score, but it did there was there was some controversy on the score of which class won the won the trophy, but it was great to see president Nash's son too in his natural element of just being with his friends and being a leader. Then after that, I went to Fred Chartis Spelling Bee to watch my daughter compete in the spelling bee. And they it was just wonderful to see all those students try really hard and to be proud of themselves when they get up there to to do their best.
And and I think it was just a wonderful highlight of of something that's a timeless tradition now of of all the official rules and you have to say the word and then spell it and then say it again. So it's just really cool to see the kids have something more formal like that, especially at FredChartis. It is a different type of school. So for them to kind of experience that as well was, I think, very nice. And then I was at the Martinez school visit. It was wonderful just to see, that school and see what they can do on a 90% free or reduced and 90% Latino population.
So to see what a school that is often just it's an uphill battle when you have people that are in that their families are in that economic situation that they're in, that they're in that cultural situation when they don't English isn't their first language. To see them in performance is just incredible. And talking with the principal, I think something that really struck me is she said she's been in education for forty years, And when they got the, money from the bond, extra money to build the expansion, she said that was the first time in forty years she had all of her students under one roof.
So it really highlighted not only the impact of a bond issue, but also the impact or or the work that's that's left to be done to make sure that all of our principals can say that. All of our principals can say, we have all of our students under one roof. We're safe. We've got a good a good school building. So it was just wonderful to see that, to see the kids, the third graders in their tiny homes and trying to fit a pool and a two bedroom and a kitchen and a bathroom. But they were really proud of themselves just building those and learning math, like, how math actually impacts real life instead of just, like, why am I learning this?
They get to see why they're learning that. So it's just it's great to see that and then to be there for the free bike giveaway that they were doing with the second graders and to see some of, my friends and contacts at Chevron. It was just a nice full circle moment. Chamber dinner was amazing. Yes. The MC, I feel like they now have a permanent MC from now on. Although next year, I vote that she's allowed not to be on script. They just give you the bullet points. Well, if I if I'd had more than just a couple of days You would have asked me. I would have been just bullet points. Yeah. Good. Good. But no. You did wonderful.
And it was great just to see the the support of our community, how much they love district six. I mean, the amount of people I knew in that room that kept asking me, how's it going on the board? And I was like, it's amazing. Like, we have a we have a great community and they all had wonderful things to say about our district. And then lastly, didn't have an opportunity to do this because she wasn't here at the last meeting, but I wanna extend congratulations to Danielle Bach for the Silver Plate Award. Nutrition services and and what we do in this district is one of the the leading reasons why I ran for school board because of the amazing things we're doing for our kids, to just make sure they have good nutrition.
So it's a very well deserved honor. Proud to have you as part of district six and feeding our students every day. Lots and lots of food. So Mhmm. That's it for me. Thank you. Director Campos Pizzi. Yeah. So I got to join, a few of you at Billy Martinez, and a lot of the same things, stuck out from that visit. One of them was that, we asked principal Monica Draper how long she'd been at performance, and she couldn't remember. So that was pretty cool. And and, yeah, to see the the problem or project based learning, at that school,
it sounds like Fred Chartas and Billy Martinez are are two project based learning, schools, and and to see some of that in action watching the third graders design tiny homes. We also got to see fourth graders go into second grade classrooms to teach them about wearing helmets and the importance of protecting their brains, right before the bike giveaway, which I believe the Eagles were the ones giving the bikes through Wish for Wheels or something like that. So it's cool to watch, the hockey players helping some kids who who don't know
how to ride bikes just, like, around the gym and then the ones who did know how to ride bikes, you know, zooming around. Another thing that stuck out from that visit, principal Monica Draper talked about her community and family engagement through her cafecitos. And she said, that this year, they're planning to celebrate, which is nationally celebrated in Latin America. It's a day for children and that originally they were planning to get one pinata for each grade. And she brought that was talked about at one of the cafecitos with the parent
group. And one of the parents was like, oh, we can get you a pinata for each class. It doesn't have to be for each grade. And so that's what her and her daycare people are doing is making sure that all the Billy Martinez classrooms get a pinata on Dia de los Ninos. So that was really cool. I I did drop by the big band Boogie Ball. It is long. It's there is programming from, like well, it starts at 06:30, but it goes till 11PM. And that is way past my bedtime. So, we participated in the silent auction, watched a few of the bands, the Greeley
Central dance team, or it's I don't know if they're a team or it's a class, performed this, like, nineteen fifties fun dance. And my exchange student, who is no longer mine, was one of the dancers, which was a fun surprise. Yeah. But it is the way the Greeley Central High School Music Boosters, fundraise, and I think it it was a successful fundraiser. Other things, yes, the chamber dinner was wonderful. That same day earlier that day, I was at a UNC board meeting. We had our quarterly board meeting was Thursday and Friday.
As we all know, big news came out of those board meetings. But aside from that, one of the things we review at every meeting is enrollment. Our our student enrollment at UNC, and they show off their different ways the swag they send our students, to convince them to make UNC their four year university home. And this one's specifically for Greeley High Schools. So, it says, our promise to you, Greeley High School graduates receive up to 8,000 in UNC scholarships, and it has the logos of all of our different high schools
highlighted on the postcard that our students all get. One other thing university related, I got to brag about the Zello platform that I had just learned about at our last work session, with the with the Hispanic Advisory Council to the president. And so president Feinstein meets regularly with Latino leaders in the community, and, I get to be part of those conversations. And we talked about how Xello might help connect district six to UNC even better. Yeah. So those those were a few things. And, yes, please come to the Geek Fest tomorrow.
It is so wonderful. It you see a bunch of elementary school students from all of our schools, performing in choir, and they all get on the stage at one point. It's like I wanna say, like, 400 students or more and singing. It's fabulous. I think that the voices of children is just pure joy and innocence and all the good things in the world. So yeah. Vice president, Bentley. They cover most of it, but, I just wanted to mention I did make it to the Greeley Chamber annual dinner.
It was just kind of nice to see the the Richardsons, honored, for all their there's work they've done quietly around the the community throughout the years. We're working with them on the downtown redevelopment in the in the new Admin Building and just to to see kind of their heartless acts that they they give back to the community and and most of it, they do it quietly. So it was nice to see and recognize. One other thing of of mention, just kinda exciting my life. I was appointed to the UBTech Foundation Board, which is my hometown's version of AIMS,
I guess, is is the best way to put it in in d six terms. This is a tech college. They only serve that that little community, but they're right across from the highway there or the right across the highway from this the high school, the walkway where the kids do their co current enrollment walk across. But that's where their welding and their construction is a 100% done. It it they don't even have a, a high school program. It's all done through the college. So, it's a foundation much like the Success Foundation. Their their but their goal is just raise, scholarships for kid potential students.
So, just excited when I got in there and and, you know, hearing some of the similar stuff they're doing. And, hopefully, there's there's just some stuff I can, you know, through osmosis, bring or take both ways from here to there in that. So just a just kind of a little bright spot in the in the week. So exciting. Congratulations. Yeah. It's well, I also enjoyed the Greeley Central Cultural Assembly and just two examples of of positive culture, meaning, where students can thrive and feel at home.
I feel like watching all of those students do solo performances, or bring their culture to their entire student body. Like, you you don't do that if you don't feel safe and, you know, emotionally safe or, that that that's a safe place to demonstrate that. And I love that they do make it a competition for cheering, but I don't think they would have to. The kids are all cheering for every single group that comes out there. So that was really special. And then I've mentioned before, any anytime I have the opportunity to talk to a kiddo in my professional life or somewhere else, I just ask where they go to
school. So this little girl is like, I go to Anne k Hyman. And I was like, oh, do you do you like principal Ramirez? And she's like, yeah. She also keeps us safe. And that was just unprompted. This little girl feels safe at Kay Kay Hyman. So I just love to bring those little stories. It's it's always fun to see their eyes get wide. I got to talk about, assistant principal, Derek Lafebre too, and I was like, I was at his wedding. I was at the birth of his children. And they were like, woah. We'll have to tell him. So, anyway, it's just fun Mhmm. To talk to our students out in the wild, so to say.
And then, yeah, the District Academy at Greeley West, it was fun to have a panel of students from each of our high schools, and they each spoke so eloquently exactly what we want in our picture of our graduates. But, you know, highlighted what was special about each high school. So that was just really cool to hear somebody talk about the STEM program and why they specifically chose it and came from a neighboring district so they could go to Northridge for STEM, and how they realized they really weren't into technology and mechanics, but love the science.
Anyway, that was great. Of course, is always just a walking billboard for ECA, ECA. And some people were like, how do we apply for that program? She's like, it's a high school. She's like, do not overlook us. Anyway, so that was great. And the Greeley Central student saying, do you know how hard it is to walk into your rival high school in the middle of the day when there's not other people arriving? So that that was a lot of fun. And we got, the catering was done by the Greeley West, catering department, and I
think maybe they're providing us dinner tonight. So I'm excited to see what they brought us this time. Alright. We've all done a lot of great stuff. It's this is a fun part of the year where there's so much going on, and it's just, like, gonna get faster and faster until it's summer. But thank you all again for your jumping in with both feet and supporting the district. And now we will receive an overview on negotiations. So you all know what to expect. Yeah. So, assistant superintendent Wes Tuttle and assistant superintendent Annette Overton are going to do just
what you just said, president Masch. Give some overview of of what y'all can expect at negotiations. And could you all just remind me who's there and when? So Okay. Do you just wanna go around? Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. I'll be there, Wednesday, Thursday, and then I've gotta leave by, like, 11:30 on Friday. K? I'll be there the whole time. Yeah. Me as well. I'll be there. Me too. I'd like to leave Friday early, but I can save that. Be there Wednesday and Thursday. Although, I have to leave for a lunch meeting on Thursday. And maybe Friday, I'll be there in the morning.
I'll be there Wednesday morning. I'll be there Wednesday during the day, the whole day. Okay. Thank you very much. And we did update this slightly. So Amy will send out an updated it's all the same information. It just has pretty graphics that Annette put in and things like that. So but, Terje, do you wanna start it out? Sure. I'll start out. I think what you want me to talk about here, Wes, is that, when I came to the district, and I saw what was happening in the district, I called
Diane Groves, and I said, oh my goodness. Let me tell you about my new job, and I'm gonna send you some Greeley Tribune articles. That's our local newspaper, and then I'm gonna need your help. And then I said to her, it'll be the best work you've ever done. So, before the night of, well, like, the week after my contract was approved, the former board president Roger DeWitt called me and said, sorry to to share difficult news, but we're currently being sued by our teachers association.
And so, that was one of the issues we were able to work on once we brought the consensus work in. We did the very first consensus circle, in late July after I got here. I had been advised to stay out of it. We were almost impasse on our teacher contract. We did not have a teacher contract, and we were headed near impasse. And I had been meeting with the then president of the association, Pat Otto, and so I had a sense of what she needed to be able to come to
agreement. Annette's predecessor, doctor Kevin Aton, he and I and Pat Otto and Kelly Longacre, who you all will meet on Wednesday, I invited them to come into a circle, really just weeks into the job. And it was a a big risk, But it turned out beautifully within literally within sixty minutes, we had an agreement. And and the reason we had agreement was because I had I on it, frankly, I had taken the time to really listen to what they needed. And and when we were able to give them a piece of that or give
them that, they were able to meet us partway. And so since that time in 2015, we've been doing consensus negotiations for our teacher negotiations. We practice, consensus practices outside of negotiations. We have, ongoing committees and teams that use the processes as well, as they're solving problems that come out of negotiations. We have trained every district leadership team member, and every department in the district, and every school has a team trained.
Typically, we do training about annually. There's been a few years we've skipped, and so we'll bring in the administrators with a teacher team or a a support team when we do those trainings. So several of our people have been trained multiple times, which is really good because it you'll see as you go through this, over the three days that, it's pretty complex. And although it looks easy, it's pretty complex, and it takes a lot of trainings to get Yeah.
To be able to really use the processes. So that's part of why the three days takes so it takes three days to do what we're gonna do is because we're we're being trained along the way. With that, I'll turn it over. Is that what you wanted me to do? Thank you. I'll take this down. The things doctor Pilch just talked about, that was one of the things that we have we have on our list here of consensus and action. So over the years, we've done these things. We talked about she talked about the lawsuit, and then, we've used it at the district level for the lawsuit go away.
Yes. We didn't have to go to court. That's right. That's right. We we had the distribution of title funds where we had the, group of people come together and talk about how we can use title funds at with people at the district level, principals. And then we when the there was a bell change, bell times, that that was another option that we used for for a new salary schedule. Megan used that and worked very closely with the association to, create a new salary schedule that was affordable and sustainable.
When we have budget cuts and we have to make, staffing changes and things that happen at the building, that they know they're gonna make program shifts or staffing, the principals will bring their leadership team in and then use this process to have those critical conversations. Of course, negotiations as doctor Pilch has already talked about. And then, Wes and I have participated in, staff communications where there was conflict, where we needed to have them, be able to talk with one another, and we went
out and did that together and then, operated as the listener, so to speak. Conflict mediation, same thing. So yeah. I did it with the I did it with the parent to parent. So it's one it's not just a few of us that do it. It's actually a a wider scope of people that do it, but there are key there is a group of people that, are key, users of this process, and they will help, navigate or coach people along the way. So so the what you can expect in negotiations is that three day window.
You've heard doctor Pilch talk about that. So three days, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week. Wednesday and Thursday is really where it happens in the circle, where we'll sit in the circle. Just for those of you who are new, I would encourage you to wear business casual or just be, comfortable. And, because we're in a circle most of the day without a table, just saying, I it's really comfortable to wear pants. It's you feel a lot more comfortable if you're wearing pants. And the, meals are provided.
That's just housekeeping, for you. Meals are provided breakfast and lunch all three days. And then, the patience is necessary. It's one of those things that Deirdre started talking about just a minute about how long, the the process is complex and how the conversations can be really long, and we'll take time to really just listen as she did when when we were, when a lawsuit was filed. And so we we spend time. And sometimes we think, oh, we could just solve it if we say it this
way, but we really want to listen. And they listen to us as well. So it's a really, nice good process that, you know, iron sharpens iron, so to speak. So it's a it's a great opportunity. For you guys, there's not any preparation that you need to worry about. There, you just come and listen and have conversation. You'll know, what to say and what to do at the time because the, the because the, facilitators will give us that information. And then, the day three, the twenty seventh, is work time will be big circle
the first two days, and then we'll be in small groups the last day. And so that will time will determine whether or not there would be, time that you would need to be there. We'll make that determination when we're in negotiations. So k? And then that first morning, there'll be grounding. So everyone when everyone gets to know who's in the room, we'll go around the circle and introduce ourselves. We'll talk about how we feel about being here. What are we thinking about that? And what what is your what are your best hopes? At some point, we'll be talking about that. Best hopes about being in negotiations, worst fears, and that will come through, Diane Groves
and Wes Tuttle, who are our facilitators. So you might ask who is gonna be sitting in the room. There'll be all of you, the school board. There'll be district level administrators, from the instructional side and from the operational side of the house. And then they'll also be, representatives from district six, appreciate, and Erin and I talk about this regularly, is that we are a team. We're one team. We're not the admin team and the GEA team and the school board team.
We are one team solving complex problems together. Turn it over to Wes. And that's one of the reasons we sit in the circle is, Deirdre models for us, taking off the hat of the superintendent and and sitting at that circle in a in a fashion that equalizes the power. Mhmm. So everybody does have the voice, and we truly listen to each other. We don't wear badges. Mhmm. We don't wear our badge so that there's not it's we're just all of us are sitting there together solving complex problems. What'll happen is we'll have several committees report out to us.
So after we do the grounding the first morning, we'll the other things, and then we'll have some committees report out to us. And so some of those, committees are compensation, SOCOM, systems of support or SOS, time and learning, professional development, and then there may be some additional ones that'll be extensions of some of those. So you'll hear from each of those committees. You may hear, some ideas of next steps. And so you'll start to hear the workings that have been going on all year long and then leading into this next upcoming year and the work that we're going
about and the problems that we're already solving and maybe the next steps that we're needing to look at. So some of the protocols we'll utilize. Yeah. What is Zolcom? Good question. Oh, and the Volutions Committee. Yes. Okay. And it's it's, a small group that kinda have extensions in each one. So Megan, Annette, Deirdre, Erin, Kelly Longacre, Don. I think that's the team. Yeah. We have the And so and then they just kinda make sure that the some of the stuff is continuing to work. And so they solutions committee.
You'll hear more about that. Thank you for stopping. Sure. When reports are shared, there's gonna be different things that we'll utilize, some of the protocols. So one thing is listeners. There'll be opportunities for some of you to, at times, be a listener, and all you are doing is echoing back what you hear. Sometimes, if if Brenda is talking and I'm gonna use Brenda as an example because I I get along really well with you. But let's just pretend I didn't like Brenda. I might not hear it from Brenda, but then when Robin echoes the same words,
I have relationship with Robin, and I can hear it. So there's a lot of different reasons that we use these protocols, and so that's an example of why we might have somebody else also echo the same information. But it also verifies that did we hear it right. So we use listeners. And as listeners then report out, they'll have a backup listener to allow them to say, okay. I I try to remember it all because we don't take notes. We just try to remember. We just absorb it. And so you'll have a backup listener that then can fill in some of the holes when you're listening there.
And we'll stop it in short segments, so it won't be ten minutes that you're having to recite everything from. But that's two of the protocols and then the responders. There'll be times then that there may be an idea, suggestion, something we're wanting to do, and we'll have then somebody respond. And you'll be able to add your own opinion as far as is this something that makes sense to us. And we'll try to have different perspectives respond from different avenues as to before we go down that path. Is that the right path for us to continue? Or what advice would you have for this small group that's gonna be working on
that? Some of the things we'll be doing, there may be times that we come to an agreement in negotiations where we all different parties sitting around the table come to an agreement of here's the next step that we're gonna do. Sometimes we might say, boy, that's a great thing, but we need this subcommittee time and learning to continue to explore that for us, or compensation is gonna continue to do that work. And then, eventually, all this is gonna go into some work, and that's gonna continue working because as you know and we shared with you, the we don't have the
state budget situation finalized yet. So there's some pieces of the puzzle that aren't gonna be final for a little while. So that will come back to you and back to GE membership to vote on once that is finalized. And so you'll have an opportunity to, approve then those contractual things that will come to you, and Annette and Aaron will bring that to you later this spring. Those of you who have participated in negotiations, what other comments, advice do you have
for those board members that are new joining us for the first time this week? The whole listening thing, like, I have admitted to you guys, I'm not the best listener. But it's it's crazy how much you might miss because there's like, you literally have to say exactly what you think the person said. Mhmm. It's not like you're summarizing it or you're, you're, like, trying to include every detail. So then having that backup listener is really nice to fill in all those holes that you might have missed. Keeps us awake if when it's after lunch. I'm actually really glad for the venue change because we're gonna have windows.
So, at Ames, it's usually no windows. It's a little bit it feels a little long, and it's a little bit cold. I wonder if the panorama room will be warmer. To the listening piece, guys, and and some of what, you've heard, don't let this cause you anxiety, please, really and truly. It is not a test. It's not, it's not a performance. I mean, you do not need to prepare anything. And Diane is a beautiful facilitator. She she will put everyone at ease. I don't want I don't want that to cause you anxiety hearing about this or
or wondering if you can do it and how you're gonna do it. It it goes the day goes really well. I would just reiterate, which I think we kind of have, like, pounded into everyone from day one to stay out of the weeds. So we will get to hear the struggles, the priorities, the challenges from our teachers, but we're not the ones that are gonna be on the committee solving that problem. So that's not to say that you don't the opportunity to make a suggestion or give advice. Actually, that's the word that's often used as what advice do you have for the group moving forward.
But we're not gonna get into the nitty gritty. Well, what if we shaved off minutes here and what if we change the calendar there or could we give everybody this much raise instead of that? Like, that's what the committees do. And the board's role is really to be listeners to again, we're that high level mission, vision, value, so we need to know what the mission and vision is of our staff as well and make sure that we are listening and hearing and able to support with decisions that we make.
Anyone's welcome to agree or disagree with that. But yeah. No. I think I pointed it out at our our last negotiations how brave it is to have your entire board of directors listening to teachers talk about the parts of their job they're not satisfied with. Right? Like, we don't necessarily go to negotiations to to talk about everything that's going well. We talk about how we might improve their work life balance and things like that. So I have always thought it's so brave of our superintendent to allow us to
be there to kind of hear not the worst, but, like, the complaints. Right? And and I think to put it into perspective that that that is what we're there to do, not just talk about all the great stuff. Meaning, like, it doesn't mean that all our teachers are terribly unhappy if they're just bringing up things that they would love to be better. And so I yeah. I think it's very vulnerable for our superintendent and the cabinet to let us be there and brave and fully transparent. And so I I really appreciate that we get to be part of this every
year. I would just say, be patient. The the first day can can be slow, and it's a little frustrating when you feel like you're in there to get some work done and how long that process takes to develop. But just know that once it develops, you're gonna you have a a an moment and you'll really be thankful that it it went the way it did. It it really it really lays the foundation for us to be able to work together and to kinda take all the, the unknowns out of the air. But when there's unknowns, we we all human nature's worst case scenario.
So we get those out of the way and and kinda realize we're all just humans and and people again. I've I've found personally so much value in this process that I've I've brought Diane in my own business multiple times and and she will be back more. So, you know, you you'll you'll learn some things that you can take home and and use, like, with your spouses and and all sorts of things and coworkers. You know? It's a it's a very valuable tool, and I think you guys will will be very, very thankful to have come through the process and very appreciative of it once once we're done.
Well, we are looking So, I wanna Go ahead. Say just a couple more things. Thank you, Brenda and Kyle, for what you added, and Natalie. I, the their the the association's role is to bring concerns. I mean, they survey they survey their membership. They talk to their membership, and then they they bring issues. That is the goal. So there will be issues as Brenda indicated. So just be prepared for that. And and know that we have solved some very complex issues using these processes, in
particular, getting a contract every year and, getting a new salary schedule and fixing the lawsuit. And there will be new issues yet. I mean, we still have not solved the issues that exist around time and teacher time and the the stress they feel about all that is on them in the time that they have. And we've not solved, the student, social emotional issues, the behavioral management issues.
All thirty plus years I've been in negotiations time, and it used to be called classroom management, then it was student behavior. Now it's social emotional, but that's always an issue. Both of those things will always be an issue. And then, and we still continue to work On solving issues around professional development and having the right menu there for our teachers. And so, you'll hear some updates on those areas, but there's you will also hear that there's still work to do there. Doron, I'm just curious because you were a teacher, and you and then you came
into this process with I'm just curious. Do you want to share anything that you didn't get to share? Well, I I always say the same thing. We had huge issues, for many, many years in school district six between the district level administration and the school board and the teachers. And, since doctor Pilch has come into the district, that has changed. I'm always leery of it going back, but I believe that if we, are open and we do listen intently and share ideas in a positive way.
And I think West does a very good job along with Diane Groves of setting that tone in the room. I think that this positive consensus building way of doing business in school district six will continue, and I hope it does. And I think we have buy in from the three entities, the the board, the admin, and the GEA. And we kind of talked about this with previous board members. Like, we want this is the way we do it in district six, and and that is what we're gonna continue to pass on to new board members, to new
GE, membership to new admin. To new admin. Like, this is this is the way we do it. This is the way that and you'll hear sometimes from people who have come into our negotiations from other districts or, like, the UNISERV person, who works with other districts, and they're just kind of like, you guys are a unicorn. This is not how it goes in other places. And so I think as long as the three entities can remain committed to this process, we'll continue to be really successful.
Mhmm. As we're wrapping up, any questions from anybody? Does does all that. Yeah. Well, we look forward to seeing you. Will you guys review, parking and times, please? Are we really starting at 07:30? We'll start. 08:00 is when the meeting will start. 07:30 is when food is available. And I would encourage you to participate in that. It's a chance to Diane shared with each of you, food is on-site so that we don't leave. We get chance to interact with each other all the way through lunch. We never together. So that's important.
Lunches. Mhmm. And then, Amy, I believe you've sent an email out, with all the information for parking and what their what the directions are. That's what I was trying to do. Invite also. Mhmm. Yeah. Thank you. There's a special code. Yes. Sounds like you need to download an app or something. Yes. Yep. There's a a parking app that you'll need to download before you get there. And then, you'll add in the code for free parking, but you will still need to add in a credit card. So it it feels weird, but you will it won't let you get to the checkout process until you have a credit card entered, but then it won't be charged.
It'll be a zero balance. Okay. Can you park on the street? If you can, absolutely. Okay. Yeah. And I would I'd also encourage you just to plan for parking and walking in. I mean, it's a big campus, and, I was there for an event a meeting today. And, you know, that lot on the other side of the campus commons, that's the c lot that they're offering us is almost always open. I mean, we were parking way in the back of it because there was, there were so many events going on today. So just plan for that. It'll be closer to the ballroom. Do you remember the old ballroom?
Yeah. It's over on the ballroom size. I was thinking. It's on that side. It's on that side. And you go in and there's, like, the chimney, the big, like Mhmm. Fireplace. And go upstairs. Like, on the main level of the university center. Yeah. And then to your right, there's some stairs that go up to the panorama. Yeah. I think I've been there for And then I'll Just to get And then I'll and then I'll later. Yeah. It's really easy. The elevator. We look forward to being together. I'm gonna head out and go and with Diane. I'm meeting tonight. She just Wes, thank you for this. I know it's an you know, we've been training Wes up. Tom and Danielle have both, been trained too quite a bit.
I mean, a lot of our team have been Annette, the the HR directors. I mean, we've got several people in the district that have, you know, have really done a lot of training so that we can deploy folks. Thanks for doing that, Wes. I can help you with the app maybe during dinner if you want, or we can carpool. I see. Download it now. But we're we're parked on the street. There really is party. Very close. Alright. We will move on to our legislative update with mister Nathan Fall. Yes, sir. Mister Fall. Good evening, board directors, president Masch, doctor Pilch.
My name is Nate Fall. I'm legal counsel for the school district. I have provided you just an outline. I provided a more detailed copy, but I just felt like it was a little bit easier to follow along. I'm just kinda adding on bills as we go along through the year. So that's why you have what's in front of you. But if you do wanna pull up a little bit more information, I do encourage you to share all of that memo that I shared with you earlier today. So, on the outline and as included in the report, there's three new bills that
I wanted to talk about today. I did wanna mention that I think after we've had some time during negotiations to talk a little bit more about school finance and give you some of that more foundation as well as waiting for the March forecast to come out. Okay. It should come out in several weeks. We should have a better understanding about finance, and I think it would do us some service in March to come back and just spend a full work session just talking about school. Well, not the full work session, but Oh, you can count the whole session. I would prefer not to, and and I would certainly lean on to the sponsor,
during that meeting. So just know that is coming. And certainly, if you do have any questions around school finance right now, I can do my best to get some information over to you. So in the outline, just, you know, some updates, some some past bills that we've already talked about. That first bill, ten fifty option optional individualized readiness plan. That was supposed to go for a second reading in front of the house today, meeting in front of the entire house to review that bill. I was just pulling it up to see if they actually voted on it. I don't know if it was laid over. They They don't have any updates on the website.
I wasn't watching today to see if they voted on it or not. Just know that this bill was pretty heavily amended. I am looking there is a fiscal note that's been attached to this bill. You know, I think the bill sponsors are arguing that this is gonna really significantly reduce workloads for administrators. And according to CDE, about fifteen percent of kindergartners were identified as having significant reading deficiency and would continue to receive that individualized readiness plan under this bill. But the majority of kindergartens have already passed.
As I mentioned with the amendments, parents can still make the request. Districts can still produce these individualized readiness plans. I don't know if it's gonna really affect us regardless of how this goes. But nevertheless, I just thought that was a little interesting to just kinda get a little more insight into why the bill sponsors are willing to move this bill forward. So we'll see. My assumption is that this bill is probably going to pass through the house with those amendments included. They might continue to amend the bill, and we'll see where it goes. The next bill, the senate or house bill ten twenty eight, that was that second
language educational program for high school students. That's just been assigned to the appropriations committee, and we don't have any updates on that bill at this time. The next one I wanna discuss is eleven forty one discriminatory practices in public schools. I did get a chance to really more thoroughly review this bill at the last, time we met. They had just introduced this bill. I met with our lobbyist, Anne Barkus, at the last, on last Friday to kinda talk through this bill a little bit more. I'm hoping to set up some time with, representative Jennifer Bacon, who's the prime sponsor
on this bill. She's really been the one advocating to get this legislation passed. Just so you know, this is a bill that kind of creates a new OCR light through CDE, for civil rights discrimination in public schools. This bill is specifically for public schools in the state of Colorado. So just like the office for civil rights under the US Department of Education, this would create kind of a new mechanism for folks to bring discrimination complaints under Colorado law. Again, the district does not condone discrimination. We work very diligently to ensure that our staff are aware of what those those
laws require. There was some legislation passed several years ago, senate bill two ninety six that prohibits discrimination and harassment in public schools. So we've already been doing this. We've already been training our staff. We've already been aligning with these new state standards. I will just say it can be quite challenging for school staff to keep track of all these discrimination and harassment laws to get new trainings to know what is acceptable or what is unacceptable. Again, discrimination and harassment is not condoned. That's something that we find to be unacceptable in this school district. But just a few pieces that I pulled out in terms of areas of concern
for this bill. There's another standard in here where it's unwelcome, objectionable, unacceptable, or undesirable, could be considered discrimination or harassment in public schools. That's quite vague. I know that a lot of groups have been moving forward amendments to this bill just to provide a little bit more consistency between state law and federal law if ultimately that is what the purpose of this bill is trying to do. There's also kind of this tacking on or tolling to bring a claim. So ordinarily, you have a hundred and eighty days from notice of harassment or discrimination
to bring a a claim. If you don't bring a claim within that hundred and eighty days, then you're time barred from being bringing a claim forward. Does that make sense? Mhmm. So this adds another sixty days to even if another agency has already reviewed. So let's say you bring a complaint forward with OCR. OCR completes an investigation. They don't reach any findings on the merits. Perhaps there's some procedural reason for them to, end the investigation, then this bill would add another sixty days for somebody to bring a complaint through this bill.
So then there would be an additional investigation that we would have to file a responsive, answer to. We'd have to do a lot of additional work. Hopefully, if we've been working with OCR or whatever agency that we already have that information readily available, but you can just understand that this just creates a ton of administrative burden, in terms of responding to the same complaint through multiple agencies. Because really with OCR, oftentimes, that's kind of it. You have your opportunity to bring it through them. And if that is ultimately determined, if there's an investigation, then it's over.
Now we'd have to kind of review it again through a different agency who's then gonna review it through a different standard, that might have a different outcome we're finding discrimination, right? But nevertheless, this is just creating a little bit of confusion. And I know a lot of groups have been having some concerns around this bill and what we need to be doing with it. So we're gonna be working, with lawmakers on potential amendments to this bill, hopefully to align it closer to federal law.
There's also a provision that guarantees attorney's fees, in cases if there is merit found for harassment or discrimination in these cases. So kind of that fee shifting burden, applies under this law. There is some good though with this bill. It does give agencies and opportunities agencies like Greeley Open School District six an opportunity to cure. So if we receive a complaint, we have sixty days to essentially cure the harassment or discrimination. And if the division determines that we have cured the alleged violation, then they won't proceed with an investigation and findings.
So, I mean, there's a little bit of give and take with this bill, but, at the end of the day, I just have concerns as an attorney, as somebody who represents the staff of this district that it it just it's just adding a lot onto the plane of teachers and staff. And, you know, they're not charged with being attorneys and understanding all the laws. Right? They're here to teach, and teach effectively and efficiently. So, it's just a little bit of a challenging bill. So I don't know if anybody any comments on this bill. Our current position, we don't have one. I recommend we just monitor this bill, or or recommend an amendment.
Again, hopefully, I can get a chance to meet with representative Bacon just to kind of share some of the concerns, and that if there are amendments proposed, though, hopefully, she'll be, you know, open to amendments. There's just so many questions surrounding it and so much it's not clear. So the federal level, is the civil rights folks at the federal level going away. I don't think so, are they? And then if they are going away and this doesn't pass, then what does that mean for civil rights investigations? I mean, it just it's very convoluted right now.
Wouldn't you agree? Thank you, doctor Azari. I I agree. I mean, in in you know, it's it's unclear what is happening with OCR. I mean, I I gotta be frank about that. But at the same time, you know, we already have the Colorado Civil Rights division that already is charged with reviewing and investigating claims of of discrimination. There's also EEOC that reviews employment discrimination cases, in public schools. So, you know, I would agree to the extent that it just kind of adds on to the burden and confusion, around kind of what are the standards and what
are we supposed to be doing. You know, again, what is undesirable behavior? Right? I think that's a pretty vague term that could be interpreted in many different ways. We don't have any statute that defines what undesirable behavior means. And so I just think it adds a little bit of But also the word severe and pervasive. Federal law. Right? And that's more of a an objective perspective. Right? But it brings in some subjective perspective. Right? But it brings in some subjective perspective as well. But what state law does is it's not severe and wait. Wait. Sorry. Or or.
It's an or. Sorry. Severe and pervasive under federal law, but state law says severe or pervasive. That's right. Yeah. Right? So now we kinda have two different routes to go. And so one incident could be enough under state law, but it might not be under federal law. Right? And I don't wanna claim any right or wrong with that, but at the same time, it just makes it a little bit more challenging to know when is a single incident certainly discrimination under state law and when do we need to kind of cure that deficiency. The next bill, Senate Bill four expand list of petitioners for a protection order.
Just know that that has been assigned to the House State Civic Military and Veterans Affairs Committee that will be heard on March 2. That's the bill that just expands, who can bring an extreme risk protection order, forward, which would then include institutional petitioners like school districts, for an individual that they fear may be of a harm to themselves or others, and have that kind of seventy two hour hold so that they're not they don't have access to firearms. Again, I know we had a pretty spirited discussion at the last hearing around this
bill, but just be I just wanna kind of be mindful less about kind of the issue of guns and more about the obligation, right, that this is gonna put on school districts. I think in terms of kind of relationships that we have with the community, this could cause a lot of issues, right? One way or another, whatever side you're on, I think folks feel pretty strongly about gun rights in this state, in this country. And certainly I think it could just lead to some pretty complex relationships. If this is something that we could bring forward. Of course, if if there is an instance where we would prefer after going through a threat assessment, for example, that somebody really is at a risk of harm or
danger to others, you know, maybe, there would be an opportunity under this law if it were to pass. So, but just know that there this will be heard on March 2. Right now, we don't have any official position on this bill. Do you really think that it would change? How would it change what we already do now? Like, I assume if one of our teachers or counselors feels that a student's at, a danger to themselves or others, they would alert chief Corliss. He would take that from there. Do you really anticipate that it would change It would our process?
It would just change it like we would have an opportunity to file for that emergency risk protection order. Right? Like, because right now, that would just go through the police department, and maybe that's just where we kinda end up anyways. This bill does have immunities kinda built in, so we don't have we don't have to do it ever. Right? But we're figuring some question marks about why didn't we in a situation. Right? And I think there might be some folks on one side of the fence who would be really concerned why didn't you file for an emergency risk protection order. Right? And so I think it would just kinda create some questions about our practices and
our decisions, and a lot of these decisions are really split second. And I think it could it would just it would just put a little bit more pressure on school districts that I don't I'm not I'm just not sure if this is an obligation that we need to be having. But It is a whole process and a court, decision. So it's Yes. It's not like if you ask for it, you just get it. Right. That is true. Okay. The next bill, Senate Bill 57, that said elector, school board elections director district bill that will be heard by the Senate Senate State Veterans and Military Affairs Committee tomorrow.
Most school districts are coming out in opposition to this bill. We've also registered a position of opposition to this bill. Senate bill twenty six nineteen. I think I'm on my numberings a little off here. Early childhood local system consolidation, that went through the whole senate. So that did pass through the senate just as an update and has been assigned to the house education committee who will be reviewing it. That's not on the schedule yet. Senate bill 68, modify administration of education assessments. This is the bill that would kind of we could make request a waiver from summative assessments, from the federal government.
This has been introduced in the senate, and there still doesn't seem to be any committee that's been assigned to this bill. Same thing with senate bill 60, youth athlete mental health training. This is that concussion bill, that was introduced way back in January, and, it's now with the senate health and human services committee. And I'm not sure if that was, on an agenda yet, and I maybe I missed something there. But so on to the three new bills that I wanted to touch on with you all. Senate bill 100, youth sports safety requirements.
So this bill would require that, any organization that has youth sports like District 6 would require that at least one adult like a coach possesses a current first aid, CPR and AED certification. That is something that we're already doing. So great job by us. It would also require that for overnight trips, if there's a chaperone assigned, to the team, that they would have to pass criminal background check. Right now, we just require coaches pass background checks. You know, a lot of chaperones are parents, community members, things of that nature.
I'm not sure if we are requiring background checks for those individuals. This bill would make that criminal background check. It is a a check for sex offenders. Correct, Wade? Is that important policy? The volunteer background check. The volunteer background check? No. It does not. Oh, it does give us more than just volunteer program. Yeah. It does a full criminal So it does do a full criminal background check. Thank you. Yeah. So we currently do that. Is that in board policy? Excuse me. The volunteer background. Okay. Thanks.
And and I think that's KIA, visitors and schools perhaps, or volunteers. And and it also has the criteria of which we go by further from In the policy. It does create a cause of action, though, for failing to conduct a background check. So if we have a chaperone assigned and we don't conduct a background check for that individual, it could create a cause of action for failing to, do that. And then it also adds crime of violence and other violent crimes as a list of disqualifying offenses. So, right now, you know, there's a list of what would be a disqualifying offense for working with or around children.
Crime of violence is not currently on that list, and so this would add that to the background checklist. I think this bill is great. I think that there's a lot of reasons why we support it. We already do a lot of this work. I'm just generally hesitant to advise supporting legislation, without adequate financial compensation, and there's no liability protections embedded in this bill. You know, we create additional workload for us just to make sure that everyone's going through these background checks. You know, a lot of these decisions can be made rather quickly. I know that we do have a very robust process with chaperones.
We're not just letting anybody kinda willy nilly, go in and be around children. Right? But, like, of course, this would just, again, add that kind of cause of action if we fail to do something along those lines. So it could create, legal and liability costs, for responding to allegations and noncompliance and things of that nature. Again, this is a bill that I think we can monitor or potentially support. Again, we're doing a lot of this work, and I think there's a lot of good reason why we'd wanna support a bill like this.
The next bill, senate bill one zero four, require key boxes at schools. So this bill would require us to install a key box that contains keys and other access control devices necessary for law enforcement agencies to access each building and room located on school grounds. And we could use school security disbursement program money to install those boxes. I spoke with Chief Corliss. This is again something that we are already doing, in the school district, which is great to hear. There are funding mechanisms that are already included. This is something that we would, probably support.
I would just add that there are a few kind of specific provisions around what needs to go in the key box, including things like accurate maps that that kind of set forth the building's interior, names and identifiers used by staff to identify rooms, doors, stairways, and hallways on the map, locations of critical utilities, things of that nature. So, you know, I think we might have to make some adjustments around what's included in those key boxes. But I, again, I think in the interest of safety and security, this is certainly
something that we could consider supporting, especially because, chief Corros and his team have already been working really closely with law enforcement to do, great work like this. And the last bill today is, senate bill one zero seven, modify Colorado Open Records Act, Cora. This bill makes me super excited. I just so you know that, representative Kathy Kipp or senator Kathy Kipp, who, just was appointed as president pro term of the Senate, has been working diligently for several
years to make revisions to CORA. This bill actually did make it through both houses last year with a ton of stakeholder involvement, and then governor Polis vetoed the bill, in the interest of transparency, things of that nature. So, kudos to senator Kipp for coming back to the drawing board and trying it again. There's just a few provisions in this bill that I think would make it super workable for especially me and my department and communications, when we are responding and finance really. We spend a lot of time responding to core requests.
So this would just give us a little bit more time to respond to open records requests. I can say in this district we are very transparent. We respond to open records requests with fidelity. We provide everything that's asked of us. But again, I would just add two days to actually respond to it. Right now we have three days to respond. This would make it five days. If we have extenuating circumstances, we get an additional seven days. This bill would give us ten more days. So just or I mean, sorry, three more days. We'd have ten days instead of seven. So really, it's a few extra days, and I cannot emphasize how nice that is
to have a couple more days to respond to these open records requests. And it creates additional extenuating circumstances if our records custodian is not working that day. And we can say, no. They're not here. We need a little bit more time to respond for when they return. There's some flexibility for right now under Colorado law, no matter what, if somebody is making an open records request, we can never disclose student telephone numbers or addresses under any circumstances. This bill would add a prohibition of any other student information that could be used
to directly contact, address, or send a message to a student through any means or method, which would be super beneficial. Not that folks are really trying to do this for nefarious purposes. It's really for marketing reasons. They wanna sell their stuff or get information out to students, which we just find to be unreasonable. And then one other area that I thought was really, important about this bill is it adds kind of this thirty day response time because a lot of folks we get for open records request, especially our businesses.
They wanna see all the contracts that we get so that they can work with other businesses to work on invoicing and pricing and things of that nature. It's really only for business purposes is the reason that they're making open records requests. And so this would give us thirty days to respond to those requests because a lot of times, those requests are asking for 15 contracts. Right? So then we have to go and we have to dig through all these contracts. A lot of them contain provisions that there's nonproprietary information in the contracts. So we have to send the information back out to our vendors and say, you've
identified that this contract is nonproprietary. Can you tell us what's nonproprietary, redact it for us, then we'll get that back, and then we'll send them a copy of a redacted version. And so it does just take time. I'm curious, Nate. Is I I correct me if I'm wrong. I would think in the past, there were more core requests when things were a little bit more heated on the school board. I'm curious what the current situation is, how many requests you guys get. And is it mostly from journalists, reporters, or just and if you can Yeah.
So I would say we are getting less targeted requests for, I don't know if a good word is for ideological purposes. Right? We get a they're mostly business related requests. So it's a lot of me sending an email to miss Sponsler and her team saying, you know, we just got another core request. Actually, we got another core request today asking for 15 contracts, related to this kind of one specific issue. And so a lot of those are really more the type of request we receive. Maybe one a week right now, But we do occasionally receive very, very interesting requests
asking for every single policy, all of our practices related to this one specific issue. You know, maybe once or twice a year, we'll get a open records request from a university for research purposes that's requesting a ton of information. Usually, it helps. I'll just pick up the phone and call them and say, look. I know what you're looking for. This is gonna take us a ton of time. If you're willing to kind of waive this three day response period, we'll get you what you need on kind of a rolling basis. Most folks are pretty agreeable to that, but every now and then we get some pushback, and some demands. We have to meet these records request in a specific amount of time.
So, yeah, I would say by and large right now, it's mostly business related. We do get a lot of requests kind of for staff emails and things of that nature, staff position, staff salaries. And, again, a lot of that is for marketing purposes so they can send staff information about all the great products that are out there, that their staff should suggest that we buy, for them. So it just kinda depends. But right now, that's mainly what I've been seeing. So Cora requires that we that as a district, we have to provide that information to anybody that asks. Anybody that asks. If it exists. And they don't even have to put their name.
We could just put Batman. Thanks for telling the public that, Brenda. We do get just, like, blows my mind. We we have I I call them frequent flyers. We have a few organizations that make open a presser based out of, like, New York. Right? They're they're not even local. So it just it's very strange, but, you know, I I'll see an email and I go, okay. This is this company and Yeah. They're asking for this information. But sometimes it's parents. Sometimes it's local organizations, wondering what we're doing. I mean, it's it's not all business. Right. And it does get tricky with journalists and things of that nature.
And if they are requesting confidential student information, for example, and, you know, then it becomes a question of what we can and can't share and, you know, and then And sometimes stuff is so redacted then you can't even it makes no sense. I mean, you you all had a parent in front of you at the board from one of our charter schools talking about information they had, and they didn't have all the information because we had to redact so much of it. Mhmm. It becomes especially tricky too with emails, right, if they're requesting every email from 08/01/2022 to present with these key terms.
And then we have kind of a robust process with our IT team, and we have bought this technology that we use to help kind of, call all this information. It'll be 7,000 emails. Right? And then we'll call it. And then we have to kind of actually pick through every single email to determine if there's confidential information or if it's not public information or if it doesn't meet the request itself. We can charge a reasonable fee for that time, but it's it's not an equal you know, it's the the amount that we can charge. Burden seems like it would be tremendous Right.
Or all of that. So but you can charge if if if, you can charge for the time that it takes to get that information to people? Yes. And it's every so any request that's gonna take us longer than one hour, and then we just kind of, like, give them an estimate. We say, this is gonna take ten hours, you know, and and we've we've, you know, done this so many times. We have a pretty good idea of how long it'll take to review emails. So we'll say it'll take ten hours. If you once you remit payment, then we'll start the work. And so, but more often than not, we kinda undersell the amount of time.
If if we ever do, say, it's gonna take ten ten hours and it only takes eight, then we would offer a refund. But by and large, it always ends up taking more time than we estimate. We don't ever go back and ask for more money unless it's really a significant amount of time. But, yeah, the staff time to actual charge fee, like, ratio, it's it's way more money to respond to these requests than what we get back. So that's it, unless we have any other questions. I did wanna say that, the future is bright. I had a wonderful time at the CASB Student Day at the Capitol with you
all. Sarah, Abby, and Levi were tremendous. They kind of cornered senator Bright for about fifteen minutes and really asked him some pretty direct questions. And I, you know, I think senator Bright did a wonderful job of responding to their questions. But I just was so impressed and so proud of them for for coming down to Capitol and kind of putting themselves out there in that way. Something that I never did in high school, and would have never thought to do when I was in high school. And so I was just like I just left with such an amazing impression of those kids, and, I just think that they're gonna go do great things and it's
so exciting to see that we have students in this district that are so capable and amazing. And so again, I just one of my favorite days of the year is to be be with students in in that capacity and it was just a really amazing experience. So, thank you all who were there and, experience. So, thank you all who were there, and, I'm I'm sad that I won't be able to do that again. So that's everything. Thank you. Thank you. Alright. Let us debrief our work session, and we'll start with you, doctor Campos. Thanks, Nate, again, for all that information. It was nice to kinda go through a lot of these a second time, now
that we've digested more of the information. Yeah. And, the overview of negotiations was a good refresher, and I learned something new that one of the reasons we have a second reader is in case you really don't like the first one. So or later. That's all. Director Edmonds. Yeah. I'm I'm looking forward to negotiations. I think it's gonna just be a great time of conversation and to take care of our teachers. I'm grateful for the work that, mister Fall has done for us, with a lot of these bills because, again, just even just looking at them and having to sort
through it would be, incredibly arduous task. So to see, just but it's also encouraging to hear the things that, like, District six is already doing. When I saw this come through this afternoon about the sports safety and, you know, my son's really big into flag football, and so so trying to keep him with flag football and not contact because of all the things with CTE, but so just to see we have that in place and strengthening student privacy. When I saw that, I underlined it. I could highlight it if I could. Just that's, I think, incredibly important.
So, yeah, thank you for those updates and for all the work you do for open record requests. I can only imagine. Especially when you talk about marketing. Goodness gracious. Didn't think that was most of them. Director Rokey. Again, just a learning opportunity in terms of understanding, just our approach to negotiations. I'm really looking forward that on Wednesday. That will be, I just think, just fascinating to see, you know, what the the conversations are about and, just again, the focus on listening I think is, super important.
And then, the legislative stuff, I just amazes me how I guess, just from my perspective, how much, I guess, government oversight is within everything we do. So and I I think that is concerning, but I sure appreciate, Nate's work and keeping us up on all of that's going on at the state capitol. Director, miss Garcia? Same, as everyone else has said, I appreciate the update on negotiations, and I'm really
looking forward to learning more about how that works. And then the update, with the legislative and putting it in layman's terms so that way then I can understand it a much terms so that way then I can understand it up much better than I did before. Thank you. Okay. Doctor Azari. Not much to add. I too am looking forward to negotiations, listening to the voices in the room, and appreciate Nate's, updates on the legislation. There is a lot out there and, many bills that he did not talk about,
but I'm sure those will pop up. And I also wanna extend thanks again to Annette Overton for going down to Denver. Tony, check. And, Nate makes a very good tour guide of the capital if anybody is ever down there, and he's there at the same time. Vice president? Yeah. Ditto. Optimistic for negotiations. They've they've kind of grown to become one of my, top favorite, things that we get to do as a board just to finally it's a it's a couple days where you can really see some tangible work getting done.
Some of the work that we do so big that it it's, I think when somebody told us one time, it's like staring at, a dis you know, like, an aircraft carrier. It just takes a long time for it to turn. So to sit in those rooms and see something get done and and maybe add your your opinion and hear it be heard and utilize make you know, kinda gives you that I'm doing something factor. So it's exciting. And then just as always, thanks to Nate for all the the detail and the hard work he puts into this.
It's a big time of year for him and for the state. It's it's nice to be abreast of everything that might affect us. Yep. Thank you for the update on negotiations. So I'm looking forward to that. Thank you, mister Fall, for all of your work so much that we probably don't even know. This meeting is adjourned. Let's eat. Part: 2
Good evening and welcome to the board of education meeting for Greeley Evans School District six on Monday, 02/23/2026. This meeting will now come to order. Please join me 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. Miss Lemon, will you please call the roll? Director Azari? Present. Director Bentley? Present. Director Campos Spitzi? Present. Director Edmonds?
Present. Director Lemos Garcia? Present. Director Mash? Present. Director Roegi? Present. All board members? Present. Well, I'd love to see a bar boardroom full of students and their families. Much to celebrate today. I wanted to start off by mentioning that we got to have delicious fajitas made by the Greeley West catering team tonight. And I got to enjoy their cooking twice this week, for another meeting. But, one of the wonderful career pathways and, opportunities we have available for our students. I also wanted to congratulate, I believe, four wrestlers from Greeley Central who placed at
state this week and one diver, one women's diver. So, we will be honoring all of our state, qualifiers and state champions at a later meeting. But congratulations. We know our students are working super hard here, quick before spring break where they'll get a a short break and then on to the end of the semester. I wanted to also call your attention to a couple of events coming up. On Tuesday, February 24 at 6PM is the Greeley Evans Elementary Choral Festival. This is something you do not wanna miss.
It is all of the beautiful, clear, precious voices of our elementary school students. They've also been working super hard. That will be at the Union Colony Civic Center. And then Friday, March 6 is a day that you could attend the Success Foundation breakfast, at 06:45AM at the Toynton Academy, and help to raise funds for our Success Foundation, a foundation that exists solely for the purpose of supporting District 6. They have helped us get instruments into the hands of students, technology, our smart labs,
increase the participation for sports, especially even at the elementary school level. So that's a great event. And then that evening, join us for the art walk in Downtown Greeley where many businesses and art galleries will be showcasing the art of our, of our students across the district. We would like to approve the agenda, which is an action item and requires a motion. I move that the Board of Education of Greeley Evans School District six approves the agenda as presented. Second. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, miss Lemonwood, please give us a vote.
Director Azari? Aye. Director Bentley? Aye. Director Campos Fitzy? Aye. Director Edmonds? Aye. Director Lemos Garcia? Aye. Director Masch. Aye. Director Rosheide. Aye. Motion carries seven zero. Great. And our next item on the agenda is our '20 twenty six Dream Team Scholars presentation. So I will give this over to you, doctor Pilch. Thank you, president Masch. We are honored to welcome our Greeley Dream Team scholars tonight, and I would like to invite, their thank there she is. Come on up. I wanna invite their staff to come up.
They'll introduce themselves and then they'll begin to to introduce the dreams team scholars. While Miranda's making her way to the podium, I will just say it is such an honor to have the partnership we have with the Greeley Dream Team. When we look at that ninety five point something percent on time graduation rate, there's no question in my mind that the work you all are doing is contributing to that. And we're just so proud to have you as a partner and and welcome to tonight's board meeting. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you for that. Good evening. And, president Masch and members of the board, we are, so thankful to be here
this evening. My name is Miranda Ochoa, and I have the privilege of serving as the the executive director for the Greeley Dream Team. With me this evening is our leadership staff, including our assistant director of programs, Emily Crooks, and our program coordinator, Alex Estrada. We are also joined by several dream team board and staff members. Having so many people here tonight matters because this work is so deeply relational, and none of it would be possible alone. It's so amazing to see so many educators and parents and families here tonight to celebrate everybody. The Greeley Dream Team is a community based nonprofit that has partnered with Greeley Evans
School District six for nearly four decades and with the Platte Valley RE seven for just over two years. We are proud to continue walking alongside students in Weld County as they imagine and then build their futures beyond high school. One of the ways we help turn possibility into reality is through scholarships. Over the past twenty years, Dream Team has invested more than $700,000 in students supporting over 500 young people as they take those first next steps. Tonight and this year is no different as we are awarding a total of $84,000
five $84,500 to, in scholarships to 50 deserving seniors. So we'll have 50 students up here tonight, 40 or 46 of whom are from district six. I had the privilege of meeting many of these students, during their interviews, and I'm still in awe of their resilience, their courage, and authenticity. I'm so honored to bear witness to the dreams and hopes in this room. Among the scholarships gifted this year is the Delia and John w Haefley scholarship. This scholarship honors two long time Greeley educators who wish to make a lasting impact for students in need.
We also celebrate the Bond Family Summit Award. This award will benefit three dream team scholarship recipients who have demonstrated superior academic performance with the highest GPA. So tonight, we celebrate students who have shown perseverance, determination, and deep commitment to their futures. We're so proud of each of you. And at this time, I will announce this year's scholarship recipients per high school. So please hold your applause until all of the students' names have been read. And students, as I read your name, please come forward.
We start with Greenpeace Central where we have Jaslynne Kadi O'Maraz, Feliz Duro. Tiffany Flores Lopez. Keena Grigsby. Salam Legaza, Ashley Mejia, Damien Prewano Romero, Carly Romero, Gisenet Tekla. And from Greeley West, we have Nadia Adam, Azariah Buenavides, Miriam Chavez, Elizabeth Chihuahua Chayerez.
Gracie Duplex. Soraya Flores. Eileen Garcilazo. Juliana Hernandez. Henry Hutu. Diana Kudu. Eileen Manjula Morales, Itzel Rivera, and Huneya Jonathan Schran. Hey. We are going to pause for a picture because we don't know if you guys are gonna be on the phone. So I'm actually gonna. Look away. Board members, I don't know if you stand up if we can see you in the back or not necessarily. No. I don't think so.
Alright. You want us to you want them to come around? It's up to you if you need them to come around. Yeah. Then come around. Okay. That'd be great if, board members. Okay. No. It's just you. Yeah. I mean, you don't Good job, you guys.
And again, tonight, we are excited to celebrate these students who also have shown such great perseverance, determination, and commitment to their futures. We're incredibly proud of all of you. And as we announce the year's scholarship recipients, of course, per high school, we ask that you hold your applause until all students' names have been read. And students, as I read your name, please come forward. So we start with Jefferson High School with Moses Guzman Gomino.
Marisol Rodriguez Vincent. From ECA, we have Nora Arriaga. Tun Awe, Sarah Bell, Keisha Cobos, Yorelli de la Cruz Vergara, and Isaiah Lara. Melanie Martinez. Hey Blue Moo. Melissa Moran Maqueda. Hema Ortega Guzman. Anthony Ortiz Bonifacio.
Mia Sanchez. Sarah Venegas. And from Northridge, we have Camila Carrillo, Angel Corona, Jesse Granados, Julie Gutierrez, Victor Guzman, Daisy Lopez, Emily Massey, and Noah Moreno. Yeah.
Awesome. Thank you again for letting us, be a part of this meeting and honoring all of our students tonight. Thank you. Thank you for serving our students in this way, and congratulations to each recipient. The next item on our agenda is the silver plate award recognition. Thank you, president Masch. While I rarely ever come to the podium to do a presentation, I feel like tonight's presentation is certainly worthy of this. At first, we'd like to invite, chief financial officer Megan Sponsler to join me. She, is the supervisor of the individual who we are honoring tonight.
So I want her just to stand here and, you know, soak up some of the energy. So, I am so pleased to have a a very special recognition to share tonight. And we know that here in District 6, we are who we are because of the people who show up every single day and the people who love our children and care for our children and do whatever it takes to meet the needs of the students who we serve. And tonight, I'm proud to recognize one of those individuals who truly goes above and beyond in all areas, Danielle Bach.
Would you please join us, Danielle? So Danielle is our Director of Nutrition Services and and you all know, and most of our community knows what a champion she has been for our students. And recently, her advocacy was recognized nationally. Now Danielle has received lots of national recognitions over her career, state recognitions, national but this is like the Academy Award of recognitions for folks who are in the food
service industry. She joins a lineup of very, very impressive leaders who have been given the IFMA silver Plate Award. And she is the twenty twenty six Silver Plate Award winner in the elementary and secondary school category. So think of all of the school districts in the nation, thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of school districts, and we have the one nutrition services person in the country getting recognized. Yes. Please. You wanna cheer.
So because this is the Oscar of the food service industry, it isn't just, oh, good job. Yeah. You do a great job. It it's a recognition of those individuals whose entire careers have gone to serving, children and, folks in the nutrition services area. And it models that we we, Danielle, and her team are at the forefront in our country in this work. She joins an elite group of past award winners from very, very, very large school
districts like Seattle Public Schools, Cincinnati Public Schools, and Detroit Public Schools. And what matters most to us is what happens right here in Greeley, Colorado and Evans, Colorado in our schools. And, Danielle, your leadership has made district six, and you put us on a national blueprint for how nutrition should support students and families, and a community. You've proven that well prepared, nutritious meals are a critical part of every child's education
well-being and and you know and you remind us every day that children cannot learn if they are hungry and children cannot learn without healthy food in their bellies. And food has to be tasty or kids won't eat that food. So, we're so proud of you, Danielle. We're proud of your heart. We're proud of your advocacy. We're proud of your drive. We're proud of your tenaciousness. And we are proud to call you one of ours. Congratulations on this well deserved award. Thank you. You wanna say a few things? You're gonna say thank you. You're gonna save your time. I'm glad to.
I'm done. Doctor Pilch's sweetie. My pen to the account No. You can have the pen. I wanna say thank you. That's what I wanna say, doctor Pilcher. I wanna say thank you. I wanna say thank you first to the two ladies standing behind me, because they took a chance on me nine years ago. The competition was qualified, potentially far more qualified, than I am. And so thank you for taking a chance on me, and giving me this opportunity. And, next, I wanna say thank you to that competition, because I have the best assistant director in the entire world, and she, serves as a mentor to me every
day. And I appreciate her letting me have the opportunity to, be in the spotlight. And then I really mostly wanna say thank you to the 264 school nutrition professionals that work tirelessly every single day in this district to ensure that those delicious meals are prepared for our students because this ward isn't about, the work that I'm doing. It's about the work that we do as a district, and, our school nutrition professionals in this district are the best. And lastly, I wanna say thank you to Deirdre, her cabinet, and the board of
education, because to be recognized at this level, I have to have great people doing the work and a great team, but I have to have great leadership that's willing to listen even when sometimes my tenacity might get overwhelming. So, thank you for letting me be tenacious, and thank you for, giving our students the opportunity to access delicious meals so that they can learn and achieve and grow. And thank you for, embracing me as a part of this community. In the words of doctor Pilch, it's a big darn deal. So congratulations, Danielle.
The next item on our agenda is our school social work week proclamation. This is an action item and will require a motion. I move that the board of education of Greeley Evan School District six approves the proclamation recognizing March 2026 as school social work week as presented. Second. Thank you. And vice president Bentley, will you please read that proclamation? Absolutely. Proclamation recognizing March 2026 as school social worker week. Whereas the significance of school social work as established in the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act remains integral role in educational settings, and whereas social workers play a central role in cultivating positive school environments, and whereas school social workers empower students to harness their unique abilities, strengths, interests, and talents, while using evidence based strategies, while championing educational equity, and whereas as licensed mental health professionals within educational settings, school social workers administer vital assessments, interventions, counseling, family outreach, and
community referrals, and whereas, the expertise of so school social workers address addresses a complex spectrum of challenges including but not limited to mental wellness, family dynamics, trauma, homelessness, and substance abuse, and whereas, National School Social Week social work month serves as a meaningful opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the unwavering dedication, professionalism, and compassion of school social workers, and meeting the diverse needs of students and families. Now, therefore, the board of education of Greeley Evans School District six proclaims March as
school social work week in District 6, recognizing and honoring the invaluable contributions and accomplishments of school social workers in fostering the well-being academic success of students in Greeley Evans School District six given under my hand in the executive seal of Weld County School District six. It's February 2026. Natalie Mash, president. Thank you. Is there any discussion on the motion? Miss Benagas. Thank you, president Mash. Not much discussion. I think it's more of just a kudos from most students' point of view, of
course. Our social workers at ECA, which is miss Jess and miss Vanessa, they are just an amazing support to our students, of course. Whether of course, they said mental health or really anything. They just create these safe spaces within their offices. They have, you know, those little extra snacks that the students enjoy or just a safe space to just sit and you would just be with yourself for a little bit or if you need someone to talk to. And miss Vanessa is also one of our social workers there, and she has been a great help to me personally, especially getting out of my comfort zone when, speaking
about interviews or whatnot. So our social workers just do amazing work for many of our students within our district. Just wanna give a little shout out to our ECA ones. Thank you. Thank you very much. I also want to say that I am always pleased to get to make a proclamation for the amazing work done in our district. I can also say that school social workers have touched my students specifically, and this proclamation really attempts to to describe the breadth of what you do.
And we know that it it it can't even capture it, But, truly, having a trusted adult there are so many trusted adults in the building, but I know often you are the one that that students come to and can help to recognize their strengths and to, you know, shore up shore them up. So thank you so much, and I look forward to voting yes on this proclamation. Could we please have a vote? Director Azari? Aye. Director Bentley? Aye. Director Campos Fitzy? Aye. Director Edmonds? Aye.
Director Lemos Garcia? Aye. Director Mash. Aye. Director Rogge. Aye. Motion carries seven zero. Thank you very much. And I see some of our wonderful social workers here to accept this proclamation. Sure. I'm Jesse Caziano. I'm the lead school social worker for the district and also the social worker at Northridge High School. And because my last name is hard to pronounce, the students just call me miss Jesse. I just wanted to say thank you for having us tonight, for the recognition and for the ongoing support. We it's a tough job job sometimes, but we really appreciate all the support that
we get from you, doctor Pilch, director Masch, president Maschari, and all the members of the board. We also want to thank Tammy Brennan. She's been a huge support for us as well. As part of the mental health team at our school, we work to support students to help build that connection between the school, home, and community. And just to comment on what you said, I think one of the key points that you pointed out was the snacks in our room. So I do wanna do a little shout out to our nutrition department because when they heard that I was buying snacks for my students myself, they put together a
program, and now we have the snack drawer program within the school so that we can help provide nutritious snacks for our students because it really does help build that rapport. They often come in and say, do you have a snack for me? And they really want an excuse to come down and have a conversation about what's what's going on in their lives, and that really creates the space to do so. I'm here tonight with a few of my social workers, and I'll let them introduce themselves. Hi. I'm Amanda Shamley. I'm the social worker at Winnograd. I'm a first year there at Winnograd. I'm I'm Susanna Fuller. I I'm Susanna Fuller. I'm Susanna Fuller.
I am, the school social worker at Gap, and I've been in the district for thirteen years, and I was the first social worker here. I'm Cassidy Stone. This is my fourth year in the district, and I'm at Brentwood Middle School and Prairie Heights Middle School. Thank you all for being here, and thank you for the work you do in the district. The next item on our agenda is a report from our council of student representatives from Greeley Central High School. Good evening, and thank you for your support of Greeley Central and all of our district six schools. I am proud to introduce three fantastic Wildcats who represent GCHS on the council of
student representatives, Abigail, Ramon, and Era. And I do want to know, I did offer to all wear matching outfits tonight, and they respectfully declined. That is true. Good evening, board, doctor Pilch, and council student representatives. I'm Abigail Tovar, a senior at Grilly Central joined by fellow representatives, Ramon and Era. I would like to start off tonight by thanking you guys for your unwavering unwavering support for our students at Central. I am constantly seeing different district officials at events surrounding our school, from our culture assemblies to our tennis matches, rivalry basketball games, our annual plays and musicals.
It means everything to us to know that we have support from the people who can better our schools. Greeley Central has gifted me many opportunities, such as serving as student body president, team captain, a district six intern, and more. I've had the privilege to interact with a variety of different social groups further expanding my exposure on different topics. As I'm sure you'll hear later tonight, our students are proud of our culture, community, and diversity. We are a school rich in culture, soon to be celebrating 100. Now you all know how much pride I have in my school. I love that our school is the original Greeley High. We see the efforts you have already put in for us.
As an example, you updated our parking lot a couple years ago, and it has greatly impacted our entire student body. You also got us booths installed into our lunch rooms providing more seating options. We also love our newly painted classrooms, so thank you. We see and appreciate the efforts you have already put into ensuring upgrades while also preserving history. We come to you tonight representing Greeley Central to thank you for all your work and commitment to our school. I admire my school for being so inclusive, diverse, and welcoming. Our IFL students in the career and readiness program started collecting recycling this year. They're doing us a huge favor by collecting recycling from all three floors.
However, there are some challenges with their work that Ramon will address later. Again, thank you so much for your time and consideration. I love this district, my school, my teachers, my counselors. And if I had more time tonight, I'd spend an hour speaking about the valuable opportunities this district and school have granted me with. Moving forward, it is my honor to introduce Era, another representative for Grilly Central and the Council of Student Representatives. Good evening. My name is Ere Reyes, and I'm a sophomore at Grille Central. I am very grateful for the opportunity to share about our school today. At Grille Central, I run both cross country and track, and I've had an amazing
experience running there for my two years. The community at Central is something that I love about our school, and I have made countless memories and friendships. We have a lot of recognition for our state athletes, such as state walks and assembly, and I believe it's important to mention our slogan of why not us. This is something that I experienced firsthand when I went to state for cross country. At Central, we believe that anything is possible, and everyone should have an opportunity to be celebrated and to succeed. Another way that Central students are given the opportunity to excel is through our AP program. I took AP Human Geography last year, and I'm currently taking AP seminar in EP US history.
We offer the most AP classes in the district and lead in AP scholars. Our AP program is also super supportive and helpful. Last year, taking my first AP class, I was able to transfer really well because of the guidance of the program. Coming from a self paced middle school, taking an AP class my freshman year felt like a huge feat. However, my AP Human Geography teacher, mister Paulson, who was also awarded Colorado Teacher of the Year, did a summer program for incoming AP Human Geography teaching students. I spent and spent countless hours doing out of school AP reviews with us. This helped me tremendously, and taking an AP class last year really helped me with
organization and studying skills. Thank you so much for your time tonight. Now it is a pleasure to pass it on to Ramon. Good evening. My name is Ramon Gomez Esquivel, and I am a junior at Glee Central High School. And this is my first year being a part of the council of student representatives. First, I would like to thank you for your time tonight to present to you. Second, I want to recognize Glee Central's AVID program. Because of this program, I am able to collaborate with other students. Geely Central's AVID program has always been so unique and incredible because of not only the students but because of the teachers involved. Everyone at in Geely Central AVID program has been able to complete many successful successful
pathways because of the guidance given. Additionally, I would like to add how Glee Central students come from many different cultures and backgrounds, which because of this, our school has just celebrated its fourth annual cultural assembly representing all the different cultures and backgrounds, which I had the honor of performing in and which allowed me to be in the Glee Tribune. I I cannot express how thankful and grateful I am for Central to give me an opportunity like this because very little times have I been given the opportunity to express my culture inside a school community which has made me feel very assimilated. But, again, thanks to the district for allowing this acknowledgment for our cultures and countries.
Central has this unique diversity of culture of embracing and allowing people to have pride in their backgrounds. Yet despite this awareness from the district, not every part of the school gets recognized like the restrooms for instance. We understand that Guli Central is a landmark and cannot be modified externally. However, internally, it should be able to accommodate all the students that attend. Fixing the restrooms for the student so the bathrooms will be fully ADA accessible needs to happen if Central is to accommodate all the students, staff, and families and maintain the inclusivity. Additionally, compared to other schools in the district, our bathrooms need an update. This affects our entire student body, especially the students with special needs when they are
recycling at different floors. Not only does it cost our custodial staff to fix them when they are when they break down, but it which causes them to be closed off, which leaves the students to have less available access to restrooms. We understand the financial cost of resolving these issues, but we cannot be the only school in the district without access to usable restrooms. As you can tell, at Glee at GleeCentral, we really prioritize diversity and inclusion. We want to give everyone equal opportunity and to feel as though they belong at our school. We hope that bringing these issues to you today puts them on your radar. We would love to sit down and to with someone at regarding the facilities master
plan to be able to provide a student perspective. Thank you all for everything you do to work for our district and school along with maintaining our schools. Does anyone have any questions? Thank you all for being here and yes, I do see a couple of comments. Director Edmonds. First thank you for being here tonight representing Greeley Central as a fellow wildcat. I really love hearing from Greeley Central and just seeing your heart for the school. It is a beautiful school, but thank you for your honesty too as far as just where some of those improvements, need to happen.
And so we love hearing from the students' perspective, especially just so that we know when we go to issues, whether it's with budgeting or things that we need to take to the community, it's great to have that and to hear from the students is wonderful. I had the pleasure of being at the cultural assembly, and it's so far, I have to say probably one of the best things I've been a part of and I've only been on the board since November, but just seeing the beauty of your guys' school, the diversity that you shared with pride, to see that you are proud of where you where you come from, to see the the gym full of flags
representing so many different countries and to see the, the culture and the camaraderie. I think one of my favourite things, I didn't get to mention this in the work session, but one of the student groups that was performing, they had shirts that just said, be kind and I talk about a wonderful message to have, but then we saw that through all of it as everyone is just encouraging each other. So, hats off to you guys, thank you for your leadership among your your peers. People really do look up to you and they see you standing up there. If you're going here at the school board or you're at school, they really do see that, you're someone to follow and so, just appreciate you guys being here tonight.
Thank you. Miss Venegas? Guys, you did awesome. Thank you. I know you guys I know CSR members are always so nervous to, like, come up here and represent to the board You guys are just, like, saying how awesome your guys' school is, which is really easy. Right? Because you guys are so well endowed in your school, which is really, really awesome. So you guys are doing great. You guys didn't stutter, so good job because I know you guys are worried, but you guys are awesome. And I'm really happy you guys are in CSR, and we get to have Era and Ramon back next year. So you guys are just amazing. You're doing so much good things in your school, and your school is is really
nice. I'll give it to you. Thank you. Thank you all for being here and sharing, and, I believe this is the second year that you have shared about the bathrooms. And so similarly to that students can't learn if they're hungry, they also probably can't learn if they have to go to the bathroom. So, yes. I what director Edmond said, thank you for your honesty. And we will we have heard you, and I obviously can't make any promises, but we will see what we can do to make that piece of your day better. I remember that was a big portion of the bond issue for another high school
where there was, like, nine toilets total. So I'm sure you're in a similar situation. So, but thank you all. Best wishes for the rest of your semester. Hope you get a little bit of break over spring break, and we'll look forward to your part next time. Thank you. Thank you. The next item on our agenda is our superintendent's report. Thank you, president Masch. I have, a few announcements and a couple of introductions. So first, I would just like to remind everyone that this week begins our week or next week begins our week of freshmen transition nights at our high school.
So these are the nights where eighth graders and their parents come to our high schools learn about the high school they plan to attend next year. So on March 3, Greeley Central High School from six to 8PM. On March 4, Greeley West High School from six to 8PM. Also, Northridge on March 4, and then from six to eight, and then on March 5, Thursday night, Early College Academy, six to 07:30. So, it's a a big night, an important night for, parents and and our incoming ninth graders to participate in. And thank you to our high school staffs for for doing yet one more thing.
So thank you. I also wanna announce that Friday, March 6 is the d six arts walk in Downtown Greeley, and hope you'll come downtown and and check out the art, that's been created by our district six students. And then a huge celebration. I have permission finally to announce this. We do have two Betcher finalists in district six. And, for those of you who may not be aware of of the Betcher Scholarship, this is, as I like to say, a big dang deal. It's a full ride, four year scholarship, for students, here in Colorado and it is
a big deal. It's it's highly competitive, highly, highly selective. And thousands of high school students only dream to be a bachelor scholar or to be a bachelor finalist, and we have two of them here in Greeley. So Sofia Vasquez at Greeley West High School and our very own student representative, Sara Venegas from Early College Academy. So, Sara, before I go on to my last announcement, do you wanna tell us a little bit about what's next for you then? What do you have to do next?
Okay. Oh, thank you so much everyone for the applause. Please don't get too excited. Right? This is there's still one final stage before I am awarded, hopefully, this scholarship. But I really appreciate all the support in this room. The last part is the interview part, and my interview is in March, during spring break. So no spring break for me, unfortunately, but, you know, that's okay. If I get this scholarship, it'll be worth it. Right? And so that's really right now, it's just preparing for my interview, which is somewhat
I brought up earlier with miss Vanessa, our social worker. She's been kind of helping me a little branch out a little bit because it's so hard talking about myself. Sometimes I'm like, well, what do I say? Like, I don't do a lot. You know? It feels like I don't do much, and everyone's like, you do a lot. But either way so the next step is just doing an interview, and then hopefully they they choose me. But thank you so much again for all the support, and I really appreciate every single one of you. And you guys are awesome. And I wouldn't be here without district six, without the teachers, without everyone in every
single building I have ever been in, without every classroom. I wouldn't be here without everyone. So thank you to district six. Congratulations to both both Sofia and Sarah. So then I have two more announcements I wanna make. The season of hiring has begun, as you all know. And we we are getting out fast and furious, in hopes of, grabbing up the very best candidates. I am super excited about two announcements I have for you tonight. They're on your personnel agenda, for approval, but, we are welcoming back to District six,
mister John Kleyber, as principal at, Toynton k eight Academy. So, a little bit about John. John was here in the district when I very first came. He had served as an instructional coach coach in both areas of mathematics and literacy, so he brings that back both backgrounds, in elementary ed with us there. He was an assistant principal at Hyman Elementary, trained under Anne Ramirez, and then he was at Franklin Middle School, with Chris Joseph, a master principal.
And, we were very sorry to see him go. He left us from that assistant principal role to go over to the Thompson School District in Loveland, where he was tremendously successful, at an elementary school, so successful at the elementary that they moved him to a middle school or asked him to go to a middle school there. He has expertise in turnaround work and, and has demonstrated exceptional student achievement and growth. And I will just tell you that when we get a chance to welcome back one of our own with over ten years of experience as a as a building
principal, it is truly a win for District six. He he is, going to be a real asset to us here in District 6, and we're super glad. I've been trying to get him back since he left us. So we just had to get the right position at the right time. So welcome, John. We are so glad to have you. Yes. And just as proud of of this next recommendation I have for you, I think all of most of you know, mister Caleb Flores. And Caleb, stand up. Don't just wave. Yeah. Yeah. And, And every every role that Caleb has been in in District 6, he has
been exceptional. From the time he was a student, as I understand it, he has been in district six. He went to elementary school here. He went to middle school here. He graduated high school here. Went to And see and then came back to give back to his community. And I don't think there's anything more honorable than that, Caleb. And, Caleb joined us, joined district six in 2017. It it's been here almost ten years. It's amazing. He joined at Greeley Central High School as a migrant education graduation specialist.
They quickly draw drew him over to Greeley West High School to be a CLD teacher. He served in that role until '23. And then as soon as we had the opportunity, we brought him up here to the district office to serve as coordinator in CLD. He has done an exceptional job, and he is going to go be the assistant principal at Franklin Middle School. This, this is his middle school and where he went to middle school. And I I will just tell you, we want Caleb to be a principal one
day in this district. We want Caleb to be in my job if he would choose to one day in this district. And to do that, you've gotta go and be a building principal. So we so the opportunity is here for him to go work, alongside Suzette Lester, to work in a school that that still has a lot of need even though we've moved that school to performance and, to begin that pathway up through the principalship. So congratulations, Caleb, and we're so glad to have you here in district six. Thank you for committing to us. That concludes my report tonight.
Thank you. Excellent. Thank you. The next item on our agenda is public participation, but we do not have anyone who has signed up to speak. And our final item is to approve our consent agenda. I move that the Board of Education of Greeley Avenue School District six approves items as presented on the consent agenda and authorizes the officers to sign any and all contracts. Second. Is there any discussion on the agenda item? And I will just say that we probably get to approve those two personnel recommendations. If you please give us a vote.
Director Azari? Aye. Director Bentley? Aye. Director Campos Buetzee? Aye. Director Edmonds? Aye. Director Ramos Garcia? Aye. Director Mash? Aye. Director Rogge? Aye. Motion carries seven zero. Well, that oh, sorry. I haven't banged the gavel yet. Okay. Okay. It was a short and sweet meeting full of all kinds of celebrations, and we're glad that you were here with us. Have a great week. Meeting adjourned. Thank you. Bye.