##VIDEO ID:https://vimeo.com/1044344124## Good evening and welcome to the January 28th, 2025, regular meeting of the District 60 Board of Education. I would now like to call the meeting to order. The time is five 30. Ms. Patron, will you please call the role Mr. Ciro? Here. Dr. De Niro. Here. Judge Mays. Here. Mrs. Peno. Here. Mr. Tebow here At this time, the Board of Education has issues to discuss in executive session as follows, pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes, section 24 dash six dash 4 0 2 4 E Roman one, and section 24 dash 6 4 0 2 4 A to de determine positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations, develop strategy for negotiations and instruct negotiators for the potential sale of the following real properties. Carlisle Elementary School located at 7 37 West Evans Avenue, Pueblo, Colorado, 8 1 0 0 4 Andra School located at two 10 West Fairview Avenue, Pueblo, Colorado, 8 1 0 0 4 in which no board director has a personal interest. May I have a motion to go into executive session for the previously stated purpose? So, vote Do I? Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio Aye. Mr. Tebow Aye. Superintendent Kimsey and Ms. Melissa Barber of Kaplan and Earnest the board's legal counsel this evening will be joining the board in executive session. We will now ad adjourn and reconvene in the conference room. Thank you. Thursday. And if everyone would please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. All right. Before we, uh, move on to adopting the agenda, does Superintendent Kimsey or another board member, I think we're gonna pause right there and give a few more minutes to get closer to six o'clock. 'cause most people think we're gonna begin at six, so we're gonna kind of hold off for a few more minutes. Thank you. All right. We are now ready to begin. Before we adopt the agenda to Superintendent Kimsey or a board member have any recommendations for corrections or modifications to the agenda at this time? Seeing none, we'll move on to 3.0 adoption of the agenda. May I have a motion, please? So moved. Is there a second? Second. It's been moved in seconded to approve the agenda for the January 28th, 2025 regular meeting of the D 60 Board of Education as presented in the board materials. Is there any debate? Scene none. Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Benzi? Aye. Mr. Kibo? Aye. First up on the agenda this evening will be a staff student presentation. I will now turn it over to Dr. Kimsey. Good Evening everyone. It's my Distinct pleasure to welcome, uh, the choir from our Franklin School of Innovation, uh, the, with their principal, uh, Ms. Um, Jumpman. So, uh, Franklin, are you out there? Hello. Good evening. I'm Alma Vijo Bonos the Fine Arts, um, specialist for D 60. Uh, president Pen Nuncio, superintendent Kimsey and members of the board, thank you for having this performance. I have the pleasure of introducing our performers for tonight's meeting to tonight's performers are from the Franklin School of Innovation Bobcat Choir, under the direction of Mr. Mitch Kora. The Franklin Bobcat Choir is in its second year and is made up of fourth and fifth grade students that meet before school at 7:00 AM. Every Tuesday, students in the choir get to take a deeper dive into vocal techniques and are challenged to learn music at a faster pace in order to have extra performance opportunities like tonight or at school assemblies or after school programs. The Bobcat Choir has performed with other schools in D 60 for events like Pride and patriotism, and they will be joining other Pueblo Elementary schools for the choir celebration this march. They will be singing two songs for you this evening. The first will be the Franklin School song. The the Franklin Alma Mater is the school song known by many generations of Bobcats. Students learn the song and continue to sing it throughout their time at Franklin. Most notably, the Franklin School song was performed at the groundbreaking for the new Franklin School of Innovation School building, which was built last year. Their second song will be La Baba. At this time, I would like to invite the board members to please come up and have a seat at this table, and the B Cat choir will come up and get situated. You guys can go that way. Well, what a treat that was. Thank you so much for being here this evening. We will now move on to public comments. Uh, Mr. Kora, uh, before, uh, he probably can't hear me now, but we wanna thank Mr. Kora and all of the students from Franklin School of Innovation. We are so happy you were able to join us this evening and impress us with your wonderful talent. We'll now move on to public comments. Mr. Sprouse, are there any, uh, recorded comments this evening from the public? Thank you, Madam President. Uh, we did not receive any recorded public comments for this evening's meeting. Thank you, Mr. Sprouse. Therefore, this evening we will have two Citi. We have two citizens signed up to share public comment. At this time, the board invites Mr. Mr. Elvis Martinez to the microphone where he will be discussing vape detectors, metal detectors, and ice. Good evening, Mr. Martinez. And as a reminder, you will have three minutes to speak in front of you. Uh, there is a box with three lights. When the light turns green, your time will begin. When the light turns yellow, you will have one minute remaining and when the light turns red, your time is up. Again, thank you for being here and welcome. I don't know if I could top that performance by the kids, but I'll try my best. So I just have a couple questions. When it's all of your guys' terms to talk, if you guys could address this or, or maybe at a future meeting, has there been any talks about putting vape detectors or or metal detectors in any of the schools that I know at least one school has vape detectors in the bathrooms? I would like them probably in all the middle schools and high schools and everything. And what's the policy and everything if ICE does show up in the future for any kids or whatever, or maybe school employees or if a mom is there volunteering or dad, what's the policy from our stance with our sh sheriff's department, police department and our council writer over here from D 60 and has there been any talks about, especially in the high schools, about doing r random, uh, drugs, sniffing dogs? Because there is proof that there has been some drugs at a high school and everything. And I could talk to the superintendent about that, uh, later on or in a phone call. And then another question, whoever runs the Facebook page and everything, if we could put back on the comments and everything, because that is a First Amendment right and I know why they were taken off for that one post last year, but that's already done and gone. And lastly, although I didn't have it right there, I would like to ask the superintendent a good question. Since you have been here in Pueblo, who has the best lobster that you have tried? I'm not telling you to put a restaurant on the bubble, but some are better than others. I'm not saying what restaurants are. And are you still a Cowboys fan? And also, I hope all of us could be in agreement that we're all rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Thank you. Thank you so much Mr. Martinez. I would now like to invite Alyssa Fuentes Fuentes Fuentes policy, who is going to be discuss, and she will be discussing with us, uh, policy AC dash e dash three. Welcome to you and what and you know, the protocol with the, the lights. Thank you so much. Good evening everyone. Last month, president p Nuncio proposed several amendments for policy AC dash e dash three guidelines regarding the support of students who are transgender and gender non-conforming. While most of them failed, there was one amendment that did get passed. Part of the amendment states any student who has a need for increased privacy or their parent or guardian may request regardless of the underlying reason, alternative access to a single stall bathroom, an alternative changing area, or a separate changing schedule, or a reasonable accommodation for an overnight trip, which may require, which may include a private room. The focus of the amendment is for all students. However, this policy is specifically for supporting transgender and gender non-conforming students. With the amendment added, this changes the intent of the policy altogether. While the addition in itself may not be discriminatory, its implications, support that discrimination is tolerated and maybe even encouraged by the district when saying, regardless of the underlying reason, what are the limits? Can another parent ask to not share a room or locker with my child because they're mixed, they're Asian, Hispanic, or white? Or what if someone says they don't wanna share a room or locker or et cetera with my child because they're disabled? How can the district claim that they don't discriminate based on gender identity or expression, um, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by law when clearly this policy at the very least, allows discrimination of any kind as suggested by President p Nuncio. Thank you so much. We appreciate you being here this evening. We will now move on to recognitions 5.0 and we have one recognition this evening. So at this time, I would like to invite Dr. Henry Roman and any members of the District 60 Educational Foundation to join the board in front of the DAAs to be recognized. And at this time, if the board would join us down in front of the dais as well, please. Okay. Here it is. This'll work. I've got it. All right. On behalf of the Board of Education, I would like to congratulate you Dr. Roman, as president and all members of the District 60 Founda Educational Education Foundation on receiving a very special award from the Pueblo Downtown Association. If I may, I would like to read what is written on the plaque that the foundation was awarded last week at a luncheon at the Pueblo Convention Center. The plaque has at the top district, uh, 60 Education Foundation supporting educators building futures in appreciation for your extraordinary efforts to make downtown Pueblo the vibrant heart of our community. The Pueblo Downtown Association, proclaims Beautification District 60 Education Foundation, downtown Downtowner of the year 2024. And this is from the Pueblo Downtown Association. Dr. Roman, the board would like to thank you and the members of your foundation for your efforts commitment and dedication to District 60. Our teachers, our students, and the Pueblo community. We would like to thank. We would also like to thank specific foundation members and District 60 staff for chaperoning students during cleanup. That would include, uh, director Tebow's son. Um, he's part of that as well as the high school students who generously volunteered their time to assist with the cleanups of the downtown area, keeping Pueblo looking beautiful. Congratulations again to all of you. I would like to present you with this, a plaque that you were Awarded. Since I have the mic, I will speak. Yes. Excuse me. Thank you very much. Uh, this is on behalf of our education foundation. There's many board members and some of 'em aren't here today, but, uh, they volunteer their time in their former district 60 employees, uh, that feel a great need to serve our students just as us parents and us teachers, you as administrators wanna do. We have some great kids in District 60 and they're always willing to do their best for us. And this is one of those examples where they go over and above what they knew on a, a daily basis and help keep downtown beautiful. Some of you are about my age. Some of you're a lot younger, but I remember when downtown was the center of Pueblo. That's where you went to shop. And I just have a lot of, take a lot of pride in downtown. And so this helping keep that clean and neat for our visitors with the help of our students and our sponsors really is important to all of us, me in particular. And so thank you to our board members as well as you. Uh, Madam President who serves on our board and all the others our superintendent serves on our board. Mike May serves on our board. Uh, Dalton. Where's Dalton? He brought the idea to us way back when, and so thank you Dalton. Cindy, where's Cindy? Cindy's on our board. Why aren't you up here, Cindy? Let's see somebody. Is there anybody else on our board that should be standing here? In any case, we're taking too much of your time. This is important for Pueblo. It's important for District 60 and it's important for our kids. So thank you very much. Thank All right. That was wonderful. Thank you again. Uh, Dr. Roman and the District 60 Education Foundation for all of you who are here in attendance this evening. Thank you for all your hard work and what you do. We will now move on to 6.0 citizen statement. Dr. Kimsey, do we have any citizen statements tonight? Good evening again. President Pen Nuncio. Yes, we do. Uh, I have the honor of introducing Mr. Ken Lane from the East High School Alumni Foundation, who will present, um, a request from the foundation around the naming of the East High School, Melvin Spence Gymnasium and Sandy Herbert Conference room. Mr. Lane. Good evening, superintendent Kimsey, board President Panzi and the other board members. I could attempt to sing the Belmont Rattlers School song, but I won't embarrass myself. So it goes way back. As part of the ongoing process of continuing and preserving its traditions and history, I'm here on behalf of the East High Alumni Foundation and East High School requesting that East be authorized to transfer the names of two sites designated decades ago at the Old East to their counterpart sites at the New East. The names and sites were the Melvin Spence Gymnasium for the main gym and the Sandy Harbert conference room for the conference room. Located in the administrative section of the new school, not the community room. The main gym was named by school officials in 19 83, 40 years before the Old East was demolished in 2023 and the old teacher's lounge slash conference room by at least 2001 or at least 22 years before demolition. The Mel Spence Gym named Plaque, uh, was saved prior to demolition and is available for install. The Harbert name plaque cannot be saved, but it's a simple name plate on the conference room that is easily replaced. It's also my understanding that a third site and name the Coach Bill Quarter football field was previously authorized by the school board several years ago. And no further action is needed to carry on that designation at the replacement football field. The Coach quarter sign was saved before demolition, so it's available. I'm happy to discuss who Mel Spence and Sandy Harbor were, if that would be helpful. Uh, do you want me to give a, a brief synopsis of the two? Sure. Great. Thank you. So Mel Spence, Melvin Spence, Mr. Spence, to all of us who knew him, uh, was a legend in his own time at East High School. He was a teacher, coach, administrator at East High for 22 years from the day East opened its doors in 1959 until 1981 when he was appointed Executive director of secondary education for District 60 until he retired from District 60 in 1983. He was one of his original teachers when East Open Industrial Arts. He was East First Football and wrestling coach. He won league or conference championships in every sport he coached. He was inducted into the Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Greater Pueblo Sports Association Hall of Fame, and the East High School Hall of Fame and its Sports Hall of Fame. He was East Second principal serving for 13 years from 1968 to 1981. Sandy Harbert was an East High graduate class graduate class of 1965. She was a three year cheerleader from 1975 to 1980. She taught English at East and was the cheer sponsor as an east parent to two children who also graduated from East. She was an active member in the East High Booster Club and Team mother for the East Gymnastics team. Sandy was the first female administrator at East High serving as assistant principal from 1995 until retirement in 2004. Although she subsequently returned on occasion to serve as an interim assistant principal at East when needed. When the East High Alumni Foundation was established, she served as a board member, secretary, vice president, and its president for several years, beginning in 2009 until the cancer that ultimately took her life in 2019 for her to relinquish her duties. Sandy played a key role in the opening and furnishing of the East High Heritage Hall at the Old East and presided over and was matter of ceremonies for east formal 50th anniversary ceremony. And that's my request. Does the board have any questions for Mr. Lane? Well, Mr. Lane, oh, I'm, excuse me. Director Mays. Mr. Lane, As I understand what you're doing is asking us, I don't wanna simplify, but moving the plaques from the old facility to the new facility. Yes. Uh, we actually didn't know if there was any issue or not because they were simply renaming, renaming the old, the new sites based upon the old sites. It's not any new addition or, or anything like that. Thank you. So Director De Niro, uh, Mr. Lane, thank you for bringing those both to this board. Um, both, uh, Mr. Spence and uh, Ms. Harbor, were fantastic people and we appreciate you or I appreciate you bringing that to our attention. Thank you. Well, Mr. Lang, thank you so much for your presentation and your request, um, to, uh, to move the plaques and signs to the new facilities at the new school. It's a wonderful way to honor these individuals. We appreciate you being here tonight. Thank you so much. Thank you. We will now move on to 7.0 communication and board comments. Does Superintendent Kimsey or a board member have any communications or comments this evening? Director Tebow. Thank you. Um, I wanted to talk about two things tonight. Uh, first update the board on What the Pueblo Area Council of Governments has been up to during the months of December and January. You recall that? Uh, I've been designated as the board representative to pay cog. So periodically I try to come back with what I think are, um, important matters for us to know about. Um, as I told the, uh, peacock, um, members last meeting in January, I really try to focus on matters that, um, that relate to District 60 and, um, our students in December and January, both there were discussions had about the most dangerous areas of road travel in Pueblo, Including, um, what state and local planning goals, including safety targets were being, uh, discussed by, uh, on the state and local level. Um, and I just wanted to report to the board that there is a lot of concern about the safety of our children as they, uh, go to and from school. If you recall, we actually adopted a, a state highway, um, resolution, uh, previously several weeks ago, urging the, uh, Colorado Department of Transportation to be extra careful, careful in its planning, uh, to, to make sure that schools that are adjacent to any highways are properly marked and in many ways, uh, made safe so that that's generally, you know, what the discussion was. But there was one member of Peacock that was quite concerned about schools not using drop off zones for children, but instead, um, you know, parents dropping their children off during, in the street, having them walk across the street. Um, but there was, uh, also discussion on something that I think we have been made aware of. But a resolution, uh, was adopted assigning, uh, on a different matter, assigning youth fair free transit grant of over $62,000. That simply means that, um, students can, can use our, our, the Pueblo City of Pueblo busing system free of charge to get to and from school if, if that works and is convenient for them. Um, the other thing that I wanted to mention, uh, tonight, and I know that, um, it is a very, um, controversial item currently, but I just feel compelled to to mention it. And that is, um, the concept of, um, immigration that's occurring in in our, um, country. Um, I wanted to congratulate our superintendent for sending out a robocall regarding the potential ICE activities and our district's commitment to provide a free education to all students in a safe environment and to protect our students from discrimination. That particular robocall and message speaks for itself. Um, but for me, there is an additional question, and I think this question has been raised by our community, is what to do in the event of ICE activities at the school level. Two things come to mind. No, the first thing that comes to my mind is that at least in my opinion, the district is prohibited from giving out information to ICE officials based on the Federal Educational Privacy Act, state law and policies that this sport has adopted. And number two, I don't think we are required, at least my opinion, is that we're not required to allow ice officials to enter schools unless a warrant is authorized and issued by a federal judge. Now, we may want to, um, seek legal advice in these matters. We may want to, um, instruct our superintendent accordingly, or we may want to discuss, um, policy regarding these matters, or we may just want to see, you know, how the wind blows. Um, but I think all of this is tangled up in, in some practical problems that we're facing. Um, the birthright citizenship argument that's currently in the court system and the Department of Justice memorandum of January 20th of this year regarding prosecution of officials who failed to follow, um, the directives that were issued by, um, the executive orders. And what concerns me there mostly is that it sounds to me as though as anybody that's an official in a school district could be subject to prosecution, uh, if they do not cooperate, um, as the executive order wishes them to cooperate. There are many court cases pending in all these areas. There are, uh, orders staying or pausing the, um, the effectiveness of, of the, or of the executive orders. But I just feel as though, um, at least in my mind, there, there is some confusion. There is not clear direction for principles, for example, and how they would deal with, um, officials, ICE officials trying to either enter the school or be on or near the school property in exercising what they consider to be their official actions. Um, so I raised these two points. Um, one, the peacock matter for information and the immigration matter for us to, um, consider it for perhaps future meetings. Thank you. Thank you, director Tebow. Other comments from the board? Director De Niro. Thank you, uh, president Pen Nuncio. Um, couple weekends ago I had an opportunity to visit the middle school showcase that was held at, um, east High School where all the middle schools and any school who had middle school students, for example, uh, COR one International and, um, Netty Freed and goodnight. And I wanna thank all of the staff and principals for those in attendance who came out on a Saturday to provide information to parents of either incoming sixth graders or seventh graders or eighth graders. Uh, I'd like to thank our superintendent, uh, Dr. Kimsey for providing, uh, that opportunity for the community. It was well attended, uh, and, uh, in fact I tried to get to the tables to thank the, uh, principals and faculty, um, but I could not get to the tables because there were so many people, uh, a, a attending. So again, thank you all that, uh, worked with this middle school, uh, showcase. Thank you. Thank you Dr. Dero. Other comments from the board or Superintendent Kimsey? Alright, then we will move on to 8.0 special resolutions. Tonight we have five special resolutions to present. The first resolution is the 2025 National Career and Technical edu, national Career and Technical Education, also known as CTE month. And it will be read by Director Cisneros. Thank you. The Board of Education is asked to proclaim February, 2025 as Career and Technical Education Month, whereas February, 2025 is designated Career and Technical Education Month by the Association for Career and Technical Education and the Colorado Association for Career and Technical Education. And whereas career and Technical Education offers students the opportunity to gain the academic, technical and employable skills necessary for true career readiness. And whereas students in career and technical education programs participate in authentic, meaningful experiences that improve the quality of their education and increase their engagement and achievement. And whereas career and technical education provides students with career exploration opportunities earlier in their educational experience, which enables them to make informed and beneficial decisions about their academic coursework and pursue established programs of study and career pathways. And whereas leaders from business and industry nationwide and in Colorado report increasing challenges related to addressing the skills gap and connecting qualified professionals with available careers in critical and growing CTE related fields, including healthcare, energy, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and information technology. And whereas career and technical education prepares students for these and other fulfilling careers by offering integrated programs of study that link secondary and post-secondary education and lead to the attainment of industry recognized credentials. And whereas career and technical education programs ensure that employers have access to a qualified and thriving workforce ensuring that America and Colorado have strong and competitive economies. Therefore, the Pueblo School District Number 60 Board of Education does hereby proclaim February, 2025 as Career and Technical Education Month. Thank you. Director Cisneros. May I have a motion please? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any debate? Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen Nuncio Aye. Mr. Tebow? Aye. The next resolution to be presented is the National School Counseling Week Proclamation and it will be read by Director De Niro. Thank you. The Board of Education is asked to adopt the 2025 National School Counseling Week proclamation. The Board of Education Is asked to proclaim February 3rd through seventh, 2025 as National School Counseling Week to honor the work of counselors and focus public attention on the unique contributions of professional counselors in Pueblo School District Number 60. Whereas school counselors are employed in private and public schools to help students reach their full potential. And whereas school counselors are actively committed to helping students explore their abilities, strengths, interests, and talents as these traits relate to career wellness and development. And whereas school counselors help parents focus on ways to further the educational, personal and social growth of their children. And whereas school counselors work with teachers and other educators to help students explore their potential and set realistic goals for themselves. And whereas school counselors seek to identify and utilize community resources that can enhance and complement comprehensive school counseling programs and help students become productive members of society. And whereas comprehensive development school counseling programs are considered an integral part of the educational process that enables all students to achieve success in school. Therefore, we, the Pueblo School District Number 60 Board of Education do hereby proclaim February 3rd through seventh, 2025 as National School Counseling Week as presented in the January 28th, 2025 board materials. Is there a second? A second. Is there any debate? Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Cio Aye. Mr. Tebow? Aye. The third resolution to be presented this evening is the bla is the Black History Month Proclamation February, 2025. And it will be read by Director Mays, The Board of Education is asked to proclaim the month of February as Black History Month, whereas Harvard trained historian Carter g Woodson, noted Black Scholar and the Sum son of former enslaved parents first established Black History Week on February 12th, 1926. And whereas this celebration was expanded into Black History Month in 1976. And whereas Black History Month is a time to reflect on, celebrate, and learn about the many contributions and achievements of black Americans throughout history. And whereas Black History Month is a time for all Americans to remember the stories, teachings, suffering, struggles, strains and triumphs of black Americans who gave a voice to the daily struggles for freedom, equality, diversity, equity, and inclusion. And whereas the district is committed to celebrating or recognizing the contributions of Black Americans, black Coloradans, and Black District 60 students and staff, therefore be it resolved that the public school district number 60 Board of Education proclaims the month of February, 2025 as Black History Month in District 60 schools. And I move that motion at this time. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? All right. Thank you. Director Mays. Uh, may I have a MO or please call the vote? Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tebow? Aye. The next resolution to be presented this evening is the resolution concerning full funding of public education director Tebow presented and read this resolution into the record at our January 14th, 2025 work session. So we will not take the time this evening to reread the resolution. May I have a motion please? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? No discussion. Oh, Okay. Thank you Madam President. Oh, director Tebow. Thank you. Um, I, I I did want to make, uh, something clear on the record. Um, it was read last, uh, work session and one of the paragraphs, um, stated, um, has been changed. Um, it's the third paragraph or sentence it now reads, whereas District 60 values its school communities. Um, previously the language was a little li more limited. That was what was read into the record. Um, but this language replaces that that is, whereas District 60 values its communities, school communities, um, I just wanted to clarify that for the record and ask for an affirmative vote on the resolution. Alright. Thank you Director Tebow. Is there any more discussion or debate on the merits of this resolution? Hi, please call the vote Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. Dero Aye. Judge Mays Aye. This is Pen Nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tebo? Aye. And we have one final resolution this evening, and I would like to turn that over to Dr. Kimey. It is my distinct pleasure this evening, um, to, uh, recognize our District 60 School Board, uh, with a school board recognition month statement. It's a little different than u the usual resolution. Um, so please, uh, bear with me. Pueblo dis School District number six proudly joins the other 178 school districts in Colorado. In celebrating January as school board Appreciation month, our school board members voluntarily spend countless hours in support of providing our students with the high quality outstanding education that they deserve. Citizens may not realize that school board members are not paid, and that board directors freely give of their time and expertise in service of our community. Board of Education directors are elected to represent their fellow citizens' priorities and views as they tackle complex challenges facing governing our community's public school district. Our directors embody the philosophy of local control over public education, a prized principle in our community. Through their governor's work, our board directors set policy and help align resources with our district's strategic plan to ensure our district becomes a high performing district that inspires community confidence. On behalf of Pueblo School District Number 60, as part of School Board Recognition Month, I want to personally thank you to thank each of our board directors for your selfless service in support of our Pueblo Scholars who are the future of our proud City Happy School Board Recognition Month. And at this time, Mr. Sprouse, our Director of Communications and Public Relations, has a small Pueblo token for each of you. Thank you. Thank you Dr. Kimsey. And if we could, uh, come in front of the dice and get a nice, beautiful picture of our lovely school board, please. That's Us. That's you. Thank you so much, Dr. Kimsey. May I have a motion please? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Director Tebow? Is it true we don't get paid? Director Mays, On that note. I was so excited when I heard we got a 250% increase in pay. Alright. Please call the vote Ms. Patron. Mr. Ciro Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Peno? Aye. Mr. Tebo? Aye. Aye. Next on the agenda is 9.0 reports. Superintendent Kimsey, do we have any reports this evening? We have, uh, several reports this evening and our first, this evening. It is my distinct pleasure to introduce Ms. Lana Hans, our Chief Financial Officer to, uh, present our proposed amended budget. Good evening, president Pen Nuncio, superintendent Kimsey, members of the board, um, sorry, this document has been a problem for, for me to get completed properly. Um, and so this is like the third version that you have available for your, uh, perusal this evening. Um, first couple of changes that I needed to bring to your attention is the front page didn't say proposed amended budget. And so now it says proposed amended budget, little detail. The purpose of reviewing the rest of the document is to, um, have you approve and pass all the resolutions associated with this budget, uh, today on your, um, consent agenda. And so with any further ado, I did do a PowerPoint. Um, the first thing that we're going to look at, which is on page little, I, it's like three pages in, and that's the appropriations resolution for the proposed amended fiscal year budget, 25, 20, I mean, sorry, 24 25. Um, the only things that have changed from the original budget is some increases in appropriations in a couple of the funds, uh, naming, namely, um, the building fund, the bond fund and Capital Projects. Does anybody have any questions on these? Appropriations Capital projects went from 13 million to 21 million due to a spreadsheet error. Um, and I think that's it for the first, uh, appropriations resolution. Does anybody have any questions on that document page? Little I Any questions? Nope. Okay. Um, the resolution authorizing the use of a portion of the beginning fund balance, um, as authorized by Colorado statute for FY 24 25 for the remainder of this year. Um, the small changes was from, um, fund 10. I had a $16 million figure in there and it's actually a $15 million figure. So I also had another spreadsheet error, um, and seems that Capital Projects bond fund also was a victim, went from 11 million to 20 million. Does anybody have any questions on that? The third resolution authorizes interfund borrowing this do this, uh, resolution has not changed. Um, it's a consistent one that's present for all of our budget documents. We consistently borrow funds between and among the different, uh, fund groups throughout the year, um, with no greater increase or, um, total difference of $10 million. And we always pay them off at the end of every fiscal year anyway. Um, so this is just a formality for interfund borrowing. Um, the next one that is going to be, um, a topic is the student fees resolution for fiscal year FY 24 25. In your packet, you received the documents of the, um, unedited student fee documents showing you the changes from last year to this current fiscal year. Does anybody have any questions or concerns about those modifications? Not seeing anything. Hello? Nothing. Okay. Well maybe that's a good thing. Okay. So that's the first, the beginning documents in the, in the budget. So, um, the fees take us all the way to, um, Roman numeral XII, which is our standard, um, chart per fund 10. I did not put it up on the screen. Um, it really hasn't changed except for, um, some of the modifications within fund 10. We still have the same high ratio of salaries and benefits to the total budget. Um, right now our salary and benefits is 80% of our budget. And remember that in, in the purchase services group, there is a component there that is, uh, related to instruction and those are the positions that are hard to fill. And so sometimes we have to contract for those services. Okay. Anybody have any questions on that? Okay. We're now going to look at the summary of fund 10. That's pages one and two. They're immediately following the chart. Um, the big thing that we need to talk about is, um, the doc, the beginning fund balances for the proposed FY 24 25 amended budget are actually audited. Um, so that's good. We're making some progress, getting things more timely. Um, the next important conversation is property taxes. Um, our current assessment rate is set at 5.5% and that is due to sunset in FY 25 for FY 26 property tax assessments. Don't know what that, what that rate's going to be. Um, historically it was 6.95%. Um, there's also some other, um, changes in the laws related to property taxes that deducted the first $100,000 of assessed value and then took the, the property tax rate. Um, and that was all as a, a hedge, um, from for governor, uh, from Governor Polis, uh, against Proposition hh if y'all remember that. Um, HH and I, I, um, they would make a, a mess out of, uh, the state of Colorado. So hopefully we don't have any other issues going into the November election. But just be aware that property taxes are a, a, a sticky, um, subject in the state of Colorado and who knows what's gonna happen. And it's a major part of our total funding allocation. Okay. And it did go down $6 million. Um, that's a big hit. The next line is a specific ownership tax, and that one had a minimal change. Looks like about 108,000. That's, that could be just an estimate error on the state's part. 'cause these are state's numbers. And then the state equalization or the PPR. And currently this is the last year for averaging. Uh, that's concerning. Uh, we are benefiting by averaging this year. However, if it wasn't for a hold harmless clause in the change in the calculation of the formula, our PPR would be down to like $119 million. Um, that's a huge decrease. So something to keep in the back of your mind is, um, state share equalization could really be cut next year. And the way the formula reads for next year is they flip it around again, increase local share with the property taxes and then decrease the state share. So that's what's going on. But this year we're, we're, we're hanging tough. Okay. Uh, UPK, that was a one time change. Oh, I'm sorry. Director Tebow. Oh yeah. If you don't mind, let me kind of stop you there. Um, because I, I think it's important to look at this, um, proposed amended budget, um, in, in this way. In other words, last June, June 30th, we, we did what you could actually describe as a projected budget. We, we did the budget that we're required to do by law, and then along the way, you came in and you advised us and we adopted the, um, restated, uh, budget. And that had to do with, um, bringing everything into fund 10 from, I guess Universal preschool. Universal Preschool, Yeah. Fund, whatever number that was 19. 19. Yeah. And so now we're, we're kind of doing what I view as sort of, um, kind of truing things up. In other words, since last June, lots of things have happened, much of it out of our control, whether it has to do with enrollment or whether it has to do with property taxes at the state level or whatever. And now we're being asked to kind of look at the figures that, um, kind of evolved over this time and make sense today. Correct. Is that kind of a fair way to look at All this? Yeah, this is just truly, it's just a snapshot, right? Um, everything that's going on in the state legis legislature, you know, there could even be modifications to the current funding, um, budget up through May, right? And So, um, that we could have rescissions and other modifications that would be detrimental, Right? So that's why we passed this resolution moments ago about full funding of education, at least in that respect as well, because we're asking our legislators to kind of hold true to what they kind of promised us so that when they do their supplemental bill relative to the Colorado Education Department, that they don't mess all of us up here sort of midstream. Um, but one of the interesting things that I'm reading in this document here is that our, our local property taxes are, are not creating as much revenue as we would like. Um, at least now we don't really know what the future holds there. But when you start determining what share the state's gonna give us, we gotta start there. So if we're low there, we're hoping that we're high on state money, and if we're high locally, we're probably gonna be a little lower on state money. But none of this, as you have said, is certain. So I look at the, the proposed amended budget as sort of a, I think you said it well, sort of a point in time where we just don't know what's going to happen between now and May when the legislature adjourns and we don't know what's gonna happen, you know, to our market in terms of, um, property taxes as, as time goes on. And what other law changes there, there might or might not be. So I, I'm just saying this because I think a lot of times people don't realize what a moving target budgets are in general, and especially school district budgets. You know, in my day in the legislature, it was easy for me to say, you know, I want to have so much money going to the schools. But it's a different matter when you get the money and you try to make things work with that limited amount of money. Um, so I think, you know, people kind of need to understand that, that that change of perspective, especially our legislators. So these are, these are critical and key lines that you've just talked about and that's why I appreciate you allowing me to interrupt to sort of set the landscape, at least in my mind, if not the minds of other people. You're welcome. Anything else on, um, what's considered, considered that's a new word considered, um, total program funding? No. Okay. Um, the rest of, of the funding, as you all know, is going to be totally dependent upon, um, things that are beyond our control. Um, currently our universal preschool, our funding is going, is pretty volatile. Again, uh, we will not have the hold harmless this year, so it's going to cost fund 10 million, a million and a half to run that program. So that's something to think about. Um, I have have modified some of the transfers out of Fund 10 for reasons that we will discuss later. Um, I bumped up the athletic transfer. I kept insurance the same and I stopped the, the transfer to capital projects objects. It is not going to impact our ability to fix important, um, things should they break It is going to allow us to, um, maintain a more adequate fund balance at the end of this year. Okay. Anybody have any questions on that? Alrighty. Hmm. That looks out of order. Well, isn't that neat? I just do such a bang up job here. Okay. We'll move on to, uh, mill levees, which is page four of this document. Uh, the reason that I wanted to highlight some things is our assessed valuation about midway in the middle of the page went up $17 million. However, our average funded pupil count went down 339 students. Um, that impacts our ability to raise property taxes. And so, um, we also have a couple of laws that are also binding. Um, the assess valuation is supposed to be reset. This is supposed to be our reset year, and we don't know what the legislature's going to do as all these moving parts start, start coming to the fore for FY 25, 26 could impact our property taxes again. So just something to think about. Um, I sort of already covered this. Another illustration of state share. Um, one of the things that you need to be aware of is if we didn't have the hold harmless, um, provision in this current year, our funding would be down about $5.9 million. And so what Home Harmless, hold Harmless does is it protects you from changes in how the funds are calculated and, and distributed, but it's a one time year, one time shot. And so next year when we go to the full, um, presentation of the new funding formula, they're actually going to spread out the hold harmless over six or seven years rather than giving it to you all upfront. Okay? So next year's gonna be tough. You have any questions regarding that little deal? Um, I don't wanna bore you with all the details, uh, the expenditures, um, which my slide looks terrible anyway. If we go to pages nine through 12 of the budget document, that's the, um, beginning of fund 10, uh, looking at instructional expenditures. The first three programs, the increase totals, uh, uh, about $6 million. And it's due to the increases in salary and benefits. Some other increases are related to sped, which we all know that program is continuing to, uh, expand, uh, with no choice of our own, uh, lots of unfunded mandates going on there. Uh, we also had people move from fund 22 out of the Esser grant funding and moved into, um, fund 10 mid, I guess the end of beginning of September. Um, so about the end of the first quarter. And so that is starting to impact our budget numbers as well. So does anybody have any questions on instructional expenditures? That's page nine. And how I look at this is I usually go down the column that has budget increase, decrease, and I look to see where the big jumps are And it's pretty consistent salary and benefits. Any questions on that page? Mm-hmm. Okay. Page 10. Uh, the first two program sections are student and instructional support. And all the increases that are in these two funding groups, um, are related to salaries and benefits. We did have some decreases, um, related to some contracts that were, um, terminated. Nothing that affects the, the student. And then the remainder of the support services general admin, school admin, and business admin all have minimal changes to the budget. And it's pretty flat throughout that section. And if you go to page 11, um, maintenance and operations takes a pretty good jump. Um, we have a lot of new, new buildings that are now going to be on for a full year cycle. And so we're seeing increases in utilities and, and those sorts of expenditures. But the main increase is salary and benefits. The remainder of the budget through page 11 onto page 12, um, is there's no market market differences or anything that I wouldn't expect. I don't know if anybody has any questions in particular sections. Judge Mays, you doing all right. Okay. So if we don't have any other questions, that's really the end of fund 10. We do need to be aware that our ending reserves are going to be decreasing. Um, it's a fact. Uh, we give those kinds of raises and expand our programs. You're gonna have more expenses, therefore you're going to have to use some fund balance. I'll hurry up. Okay. Anybody have any questions about that? Yes. Director Tebo. Yes. And, and that, that really relates to next year's budget, right? More than The budget. The ending budget is next year's beginning, so that's your bank going forward. Yeah. Um, but as far as our proposed amended budget, we're, we're in balance here. Yes, we're fine. Um, my, my, my question really doesn't have anything to do with the proposed amended budget, but it's just some, some ideas I have about reserves. And I think I'll, I'll take that up, um, with the superintendent members of the board, and I'm anxious to hear some of your thoughts on some of my ideas. Um, there are ways I think to maybe, um, free up some reserves for us and have some guarantees that don't cost the state any money, but that's just sort of an idea I've had for 25 years and maybe we can put it into motion. Who knows? Uh, yeah. Thank you. Yeah, I think that's above my pay grade. But anyway, anybody have any other questions about, uh, the fund balance? Uh, Dr. Kimsey? I'd just like to remind the board we do have two by twos scheduled with Ms. Hans, uh, so that we can really have some of those conversations around next year's budget and some of those things I'm preparing for confession for sure. Yes. It'll probably be traumatic. Okay. So really, my, my slides are sad and I apologize. Um, some of the restricted funds, I mean, they are, they are there and they're restricted and we can't touch 'em, uh, $6 million for Tabor. Um, we have prepaid expenditures that run about an average of $3 million a year. Um, those are also restricted and are not to be used for any other purpose. Um, we still have a reserve from Colorado Preschool, which is to be used for facility, uh, type improvements related to preschool only. So we have a lot of, lot of funds, but they have a lot of strings attached. Okay. You have any no questions on, on that whole kit and caboodle? Okay. So rather than walk through every single fund, I thought I'd entertain questions if you have any specific questions related to any of the remainder of the, the fund groups fund 17 and 18 are the subgroups of the Fund 10 general fund. You have any questions or remarks on that? Budget Director Tebow. Thank you. Um, I, I do have a question about the school discretionary budget allocation. The last mm-hmm. Page mm-hmm. Is, is this a good time to raise those questions On page like 31 or something like that? Yeah. 29 Yeah. Or so? Sure. Um, I am trying to get a feel some of these figures, well, they, they jumped, some are higher, some are lower than previous. I'm, I'm assuming that the carryovers actually carry over. But I think what, where, let me start with this. We have students that are enrolled and counted, and then we have students that, um, you know, leave or come after that count. So are these figures based on the count in October, or are they figures that take into consideration the students and the faculty at the time? We are adopting this amended budget. No. Um, the school discretionary budget is based on your number of student FTEs on October one count, and I correlate them with the same, uh, teacher FTEs that are paid out of fund 10. Okay. Same, same timeframe. Um, because unfortunately we all know that students float in and out and back and forth and all year long. So we use October one period. Um, it can be difficult for, um, locations such as Judge Clark online and Paragon. Mm-hmm. Because as the year goes on, they seem to grow kids, you know, they attract more students because they need more credit recovery and all those sorts of things. He, he's funded pretty well. Um, the other district online school, she was funded two years in advance of actually moving into Fund 10. So she actually has a pretty big carryover. So there's a lot of different things that impact what happens. So you start out with what was originally budget budgeted for students and fund 10 FTEs, and that becomes the original allocation when you run the calculation again using, um, October one numbers. And then we take the difference, and then whatever monies they had left over from the previous fiscal year is added, or hopefully not subtracted if they overuse their allocation in the previous year. So that's what this worksheet is demonstrating. Um, if I let you see all of it, um, it would be so itty bitty that, um, I think it'd be overkill anyway, but that's the purpose of this document is to show you that in this amended budget, the total school allocation is $1.4 million, and that's at the far right hand corner. Right. And, and it's a small figure compared to the, you know, the large figure of our entire budget. Oh, absolutely. This is principals monies. They use this to run their school. Right. And it's, it's really important, and I think I probably need to learn a little bit more about what discretionary money is used for, because I know last year when I was visiting some elementary schools, there were, um, facilities on site where students could get, um, clothes, shoes. Mm-hmm. Um, food, you know, basic necessities of life mm-hmm. That some of our students don't get for some reason or another, or for a variety of reasons. And, um, some students, um, you know, unfortunately when you're in the metropolitan Denver area, it might be easier, for example, to visit the capitol or visit you some of the, the events that, that surround the metro area. Whereas for us, we have to transport our children and those kinds of things are few and far between unless we have the money to do it. So I, I, I probably need to learn more about the discretionary money because I'm really wanting to be sure that we're taking care of the kids, their basic needs, their ability to participate in, I can't think of the word that we use, field trips, things like that, where a lot of students don't get that chance. Um, but I don't know if that's really where a lot of this money goes, but in any event, I, I just need to learn about it and, and see how we develop that and, you know, if we can do better. Um, Well, um, it's all about the money and Yeah. And I was willing to give up my salary for that. Oh, that would be so helpful. Can you do that about 10 or 15 times? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So anybody have any other questions on any of those other specific individual funds or lines that you're concerned about? Director Mays? Uh, no. Not anything specific on that, but, uh, and, and I don't know if this is the appropriate time Ms. Hans or not to discuss this particular item, but, and if, if it's not, let me know. We'll move to wherever it's supposed to be. A lot of angst floating around today. Mm-hmm. There's, uh, because of this, one of the most poorly written administrative orders of any kind that I've ever seen in my entire life. Yep. Uh, and, uh, implemented quite frankly, for all the wrong reasons. But in any event, they're, and I had numerous conversations today with other agencies and stuff, some of 'em very worried that they weren't going to be able to make payroll on Friday, because again, the administration decided, uh, I think in an unconstitutional mandate that federal budgets be, uh, essentially held in, uh, without being dispersed the way they were supposed to. Contrary to budgeting laws, uh, and the separation of powers that we enjoy or thought we enjoyed in the United States, uh, those were real fears. Uh, people concerned about whether or not children were gonna be able to access services that they needed, including food health provisions, uh, that sort of thing. And again, if you read all the pundits that are out there now and all of the excuses now that the White House has given before, no, we didn't mean that. We didn't mean that. And that's clear because they didn't know what they meant. Period. You know, it had gotten an F in English, Dr. De Niro would probably know that. But, uh, my, my question is this. Now we know that because a federal judge today said, you're not gonna do that without a hearing. That everything's status quo right now. We don't need to worry about it. That's till Monday. If the judge on Monday determines one, uh, I don't think there's anything wrong with this. Whatever it is, uh, we're back to the concerns that we have today. My question is this, how does that affect the operation of D 60, if at all? Well, according to the documentation that I have in the emails, you know, they were flying all over the place, um, about, um, federal funding. Uh, apparently impact aid is not affected by this mandate. Um, however, impact aid is we get like $11,000 a year. Um, and that runs through Fund 10. So it's not that we don't appreciate that money, but we would be fine without that 11,000. Um, the big concern is federal funded grants. Um, however, everything that's a formula driven, such as all the titles, um, and IDEA are also exempt from this current, whatever you call it, thing. Um, however, um, the, there is a concern related to nutrition services. Um, currently at the house, Waynes Weighs in Means committee. Um, they're looking at rolling back this, the community eligible provisions and making us go back to all the paper forms and doing all this ridiculous stuff and ending up compensating us less. But I don't think that's an immediate response. And quite frankly, district 60 has a good hefty balance in Fund 21. I'm not concerned about that. Um, the federal grants, um, most of our stuff is for, is formula driven. Um, it's not competitive. So according to what you read right now, it's not going to be effective either, I think, I think it just depends. Um, who's gonna win when they get to the top of the pile here? I don't think anybody knows what's really gonna happen. So, um, we can pot, can, you know, pate, how do you say that word, pontificate, but it won't do us any good. 'cause I don't think anybody knows. We will be fine for a while. Now if they decide to jerk all that funding out from under us, well, that's a different story. So, But we, we also, there are outside services that provide services to the school that get federal funding. Mm-hmm. That if they're cut off, that has a direct impact for, I I'm talking for instance, mental health. If, if, if someone's getting a me a, a federal grant to, uh, help with mental health services in the schools or elsewhere, and they say that's out of the, out of the picture, now that has effect an effect on this because we don't get the benefit of that service. So, I mean, yeah, we could talk about what is in our budget and what they're giving us and all that, but I think what the public needs to understand is there are some outside sources that are directly going to affect the kind of services that we provide to our students and our families here in Pueblo. Uh, I'm assuming that on, on maybe Monday or whatever, we'll have a, a better picture of whether we're gonna sink or swim at that time. Uh, hopefully the, the federal judge will, uh, determine that this was whatever it's supposed to be. Uh, I don't wanna say it here in front of a mixed crowd, but, uh, hopefully the, the judge is, the federal judge is gonna say, this is terribly wrong and for all the wrong reasons and all you have to do is read this administrative thing to see why they're, they're trying to save money. It's because it's, uh, it's, it's become, uh, a homophobic and racist administration. And I'll probably be in trouble for saying that, but read what it's all about here and who's going to be denied the money. So we need to be aware of what's going on with this thing. It sounds like it's, oh, we're just trying to cut $9 trillion out of this thing. Yeah. On who's back, the people that can afford it less. So thank you for, for that. And I know it didn't have anything to do with this. And put me in the corner if you want. Go lay down. Go lay down. Okay. Uh, um, Dr. Kimson, oh, I'm sorry. Do you have a couple comments? I do. Um, so you are absolutely correct. Uh, judge Mays, um, this is directly immediately impacting nonprofit groups that do work with, uh, schools and other community groups. Uh, that funding is basically paused in their words. Um, as you are probably aware, and that's not just grants, it's everything. But, um, approximately, I did the numbers today, uh, with a little bit of support and approximately 18% of our budget is federal funds. Um, and so this is something of great concern. Um, all superintendents, I think everywhere have been trying to figure this out for the last two days. Uh, the state is trying to figure it out right now. Nobody truly knows right now how this is going to fall out. It is of great concern for Pueblo District 60 at this time. Thank you, Dr. Kimey. So, um, we'd appreciate you, um, passing all the resolutions and adopting the budget for the remainder of FY 24 25. Thank you. Well, thank you Ms. Hans for that report and on the adjustments you've made to the proposed amended budget. Alright, we will now, uh, I think Billy, we have another report, Dr. Kimsey? Yes, we do. It is my, uh, honor and privilege to introduce, um, Ms. Cindy Smith, director of Curriculum and Instructional Programming, and Ms. Alicia CAPAs, uh, our elementary literacy, uh, and social studies specialist. Uh, and they will take us through our elementary literacy curriculum Adoption. Ladies, Good evening, president Peno, superintendent Kimsey, and members of the board. Um, we also have three educators from the task force with us as well, and we'll be introducing them just a little bit later in the presentation. Tonight, we will be discussing the task force's recommendation to the board to adopt a new elementary literacy curriculum to start implementation in the 20 25 20 26 school year. As a district, we are committed to ensuring that our curriculum decisions align closely with the objectives outlined in our strategic plan. One of these key objectives is to adopt core and supplemental curriculum materials that meet the rigor of the Colorado Academic Standards on a five year adoption cycle. This objective emphasizes not only academic alignment, but also a thoughtful consideration of student interests and cultural relevance. This recommendation reflects our strategic commitment to excellence and equity in education. Our recommendation tonight aligns with board policy IJJ, which states that it is the board's responsibility to officially adopt textbooks and textbook programs. The policy also outlines that the review and selection of these resources is the responsibility of curriculum committees appointed by the superintendent or their designee. In adherence to this policy, we convened a curriculum adoption task force that has engaged since September In a thorough review process, this task force was comprised of 39 educators, all dedicated to ensuring a rigorous and thoughtful evaluation of potential literacy programs. Their work culminates in the recommendation we bring to you today. I just wanna take a quick moment before we get into the recommendation just to recognize the incredible group of individuals who made up our curriculum adoption task force. This task force included educators from nearly every elementary school in our district, as well as teachers who work with our special populations, such as our culturally and linguistically diverse, diverse, excuse me, exceptional and gifted students. We had instructional coaches, interventionists, school leaders, and district leadership on this task force. Their diverse perspectives and expertise were instrumental in this process, and I've been a part of many task forces in District 60 over the years, but I can say with absolute sincerity that this was one of the best that I've ever been a part of. The dedication, passion, and collaboration displayed by all of these individuals were truly outstanding. They consistently came to the table prepared, engaged, and ready to have meaningful discussions. Their collective effort and commitment to finding a high quality literacy curriculum for our students have been nothing short of inspiring. Now, I'll just take a minute to walk you through the process that we follow to select our new curriculum. As stated earlier, we began by forming a task force, and that was based on principal recommendations. We made sure that all elementary schools, grade levels, and roles were represented, ensuring a diverse and well-rounded set of perspectives. The task force then worked together to draft a comprehensive request for proposals, otherwise known as an RFP, outlining the criteria and requirements for the new curriculum resource. This step was critical in setting clear expectations for the vendors and guiding them in their submissions. Next, the task force carefully reviewed all the proposals submitted by vendors after a rubric based evaluation that helped to identify strengths and challenges of each proposal. The task force selected three finalists to move forward in the process. This included a more detailed review and a formal presentation by each of the finalists at a later date, allowing us to dive deeper into their offerings. The task force has selected Amplify core knowledge, language arts, also known as CKLA, as our curriculum resource of choice. This decision reflects our commitment to providing a rigorous, engaging, research-based curriculum resource that supports our goal of delivering high quality instruction and literacy. Amplify, CKLA stood out to the task force due to its proven success and helping students develop foundational reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Amplify CT LA. My handouts are double sided. I apologize. Amplify. CKLA is a research-based literacy curriculum resource grounded in the science of reading, ensuring a strong foundation for student success. The program is aligned with Colorado Academic Standards for reading, writing, and communication. Amplify, CKLA meets the requirements of the Colorado Redact for K three instruction. Its comprehensive design ensures our students are prepared to meet and exceed grade level expectations. This program combines explicit skills instruction with knowledge building components, preparing students to excel in literacy. It is also demonstrated success in districts across the nation, which is exciting for us as a district, knowing that with solid systems and implementing best practices, we have the potential of seeing similar results in our students' Literacy, achievement and growth. Amplify. CKLA provides a robust structure for literacy instruction in grades K through two. The program features separate skills and knowledge strands. The skills strand focuses on phonics and foundational reading skills. While the knowledge strand builds students' background knowledge and vocabulary. In grades three through five, these strands merge into an integrated approach that fosters deep comprehension and the application of skills through increasingly complex texts. Because CKLA is rooted in the science of reading, using evidence-based based mythologies like Scarborough's Reading Rope to ensure effective instruction, the program has earned all green ratings from ED reports reflecting its excellence in alignment and usability. The review is further strengthened, strengthened knowing that CKLA has been implemented in diverse districts with measurable success. Amplify CKLA offers several standout features. It provides explicit and systematic instruction in the five pillars of reading, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The curriculum includes domain based units that build students' knowledge across disciplines like science, history, and the arts. Assessments available within the program are streamlined for ongoing progress monitoring, and the program integrates digital tools to enhance engagement and simplify implementation. One of the strengths of Amplify CKLA is its commitment to meeting the needs of all learners. Lessons include embedded differentiation strategies to support struggling readers, multilingual learners, and extensions. For advanced students, teachers can access additional tools such as the intervention toolkit and scaffolding resources to tailor instruction. This ensures equitable access to literacy for every student in our district. Amplify CKLA provides many resources to support teachers and families. Teachers receive detailed guides, lesson plans, and professional development opportunities to build their expertise. The digital platform simplifies lesson planning and provides multimedia resources. Families are also supported with at home activities and guidance available in both English and Spanish, fostering a collaborative approach to literacy development. Now, I'd like to take a moment to introduce just a few of our curriculum adoption task force members who are here with us tonight. These individuals, as well as each member of the task force, played a critical role in the selection process, bringing their unique expertise, perspectives, and dedication to ensuring we chose a high quality curriculum resource for our students. Each of them will briefly share their experience on the task force, as well as what excites them most about the opportunities CKLA will provide for their students and their colleagues. Um, I would like to introduce at this time Katrina Ferguson, RTI coordinator and interventionist from Morton Elementary, Arjun Zev, fifth grade teacher from Minnequa Elementary and Dana Deso, Youngman, principal from Franklin School of Innovation. Good evening, honorable board members. As a member of the elementary literacy adoption task force, I was invited to speak regarding our selection of amplify core knowledge language arts curriculum resource, which I will address as Amplify CKLA. I was truly honored to be a part of selecting the new reading curriculum, yet I was extremely nervous too. I was nervous because I wanted to make certain that our district would adopt a curriculum resource that would truly meet all of our students' needs. It needed to be a resource that could address the needs of our district's diverse population, which includes our English language learners, our special education population, our struggling readers, and it needed to meet the needs of our gifted population. I represented the committee in multiple facets because I am the RTI coach, the reading interventionist, and the GT coordinator at my school. In addition to these positions, I have mentored teachers and have been a teacher in the general education classroom for several years. With this being said, I looked at the curriculum resources being represented in a variety of ways to verify the curriculum resources going to be teacher friendly by providing exceptional professional development to our teachers, and that the resource would differentiate the needs of our students. The entire experience as a task force member was eye-opening. During our first meeting, we learned how to discern what a good resource entailed and calibrated the scoring process. This step was vital as it increased our inner rater reliability amongst all the task force members. During this calibration, we were tasked to not just look at the proposals, but it was stress that we'd be, we would be looking at the resource materials too. Cindy Smith expressed that adopting a new resource was like choosing a new car. We wanted to ensure that we didn't just look at the vendor proposals, but we would need to look deeply into the materials. After all, we didn't want to drive the car off the law and potentially end up with a lemon. Therefore, we were tasked with diving deeply into the curriculum resources to guarantee the resource was exactly what the vendor proposal said. Throughout the entire process of choosing a new resource, I felt, I felt that although I was provided with the tools and training to make a sound decision, I wanted to hear what the professional re reviewer said about each resource. CKLA had the strongest professional, uh, professional review. The Reading League, which is a stakeholder organization whose mission is to advance the awareness, understanding, and use of evidence aligned reading instruction, have this to say about amplify. Amplify CK a's curriculum addresses all strands of the reading rope, ensuring that learners are off offered a comprehensive approach to literacy development. This multifaceted approach equips learners with the skills and tools they need to become proficient readers and writers. The curriculum provi, uh, provides learners with rich knowledge, specifically designed to peak learner interest and curiosity. Students have access to rich complex texts that features diverse content knowledge and offers learners exposure to multi genres. Amplify provides learners and, uh, with evidence-based foundational skill lessons, learners develop a solid foundation through systematic explicit instruction, building these fundamental skills from simple to more complex. The curriculum utilizes explicit instruction and weaves assessment throughout its components. It explicitly teaches writing, including the writing process, conventions, grammar and sentence structure. Students learn to write across very genres and reading comprehension and writing are directly tied as such. Amplify CKLA capitalizes on reading, writing connection, honorable board members. Based on my review and deep research, I feel CKLA is a strong curriculum resource because fellow teachers will be provided with research-based curriculum resource that will assist in closing gaps. While it develops proficient readers and writers, it offers, it offers our teachers professional development opportunities beyond the first year of implementing it. In addition, teachers are provided with engaging materials and activities that are standards based and well aligned with the Colorado Academic Standards. Personally, I absolutely love the closed reading activities they offer, and the small group activities are hands on and highly engaging. Teachers are going to love the center activities are done for them. I truly think we are getting a resource that will meet the needs of all of our district. Thank you. Good evening, superintendent Kimsey, president, pen Nuncio, and members of the board. I stand before you tonight to share my thoughts on the recent process of adapting our ELA curriculum. And I can confidently say it was an intentionally thought out, well mediated and carefully crafted process. We arrived at a clear winner before expanding on upon my experience, I would like to thank director of programming and curriculum, Cynthia Smith and ELA, curriculum specialist Alicia Capis for tirelessly working to foster a fair, diverse and scholar centered approach on this adoption process. The process itself was nothing short of meticulous. Every step was handled with professionalism and care from the outset. The committee made it a priority to ensure that this was equitable, where every voice was valued and every perspective was heard. As a second year ELA teacher and a second year elementary school teacher, I felt comfortable sharing spaces with industry veterans, which is sometimes a daunting task. Despite our differences in length of career, we were united by a fellowship of common aspiration, providing the best for our scholars, sorry. We were given ample time to process the materials and engage in meaningful discussions, which allowed us to reflect deeply on the needs of our scholars and educators. The consensus based model we used fostered collaboration and alignment, ensuring that every member contributed thoughtfully to every decision made. The team behind this a adaptation was exceptional. It was clear that everyone involved was deeply committed to ensuring that this curriculum would serve as a robust foundation for learning. No matter what part of town we hailed from what grade we taught, what school we represented, one thing was clear. We were representing all of Pueblo's children. The chosen curriculum, CKLA, amplify embodies everything we hope to achieve. It is rich with amazing themes and texts that ignite curiosity and encourage exploration. It provides scholars with invaluable opportunities to build background knowledge, which is critical for fostering deeper understanding and critical thinking. What I find particularly remarkable is how the curriculum lifts and integrates the science of reading. It equips scholars with the tools they need to become strong, confident readers, while also challenging them to think critically and engage with the content on a deeper level. Although no curriculum is perfect, CKLA Amplify offers educators a strong starting point. It allows teachers to springboard from its content, adapt and inspire scholars to become thinkers and innovators. Also, it has great professional development opportunities. I'm a firm believer that a curriculum's capacity to uplift scholars wholeheartedly rest on the educator's ability to teach it. With the professional development offered by CKLA, our educators will be prepared to teach with both rigor and fidelity. It's worth noting that in a field that faces weak retention of new teachers, we must provide our teachers both upcoming and seasoned with high quality resources like CKLA, high quality resources and engaged educators make for a destination district that serve all scholars regardless of background. Lastly, I would like to, uh, commend the adaptation committee for their outstanding work and express my sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to this process. This curriculum not only meets the needs of our scholars, but also empowers our educators to guide students to becoming lifelong learners and critical thinkers. Thank you so much for your time, your commitment, and your support for this incredible journey. We are on together. Good evening, president Peno, Dr. Kimsey and school board members. I'm here today to share some exciting news about our el our elementary ELA curriculum. On behalf of the principal team that served on the curriculum adoption committee, as many of you know, we recently completed a comprehensive adoption process to select a new program for our students. This wasn't a decision that any of us took lightly on the committee. We know how important a strong ELA foundation is for our student success, and we wanted to ensure that we chose a curriculum that would truly meet each and every child's needs. The district wide task force was formed to complete this curriculum adoption process, and this collaborative group brought together principals, amazing teachers like you have met tonight, and representing all elementary schools at every grade level, and specialists with expertise, expertise in the areas of like, in like instructional coaches, C-L-D-E-E-S-S, and gifted and talented. This diverse perspective was very invaluable in ensuring that we chose a curriculum that meets the needs of each and every child in our district. This task force put in tremendous amount of work, and it was an honor to serve on this committee. We reviewed numerous programs carefully and evaluated each one with our district's goals and our students' needs. We also gathered feedback from teachers and administrators across the district to get a well-rounded understanding of what we were all looking for in the new curriculum that we were selecting. From a principal's perspective, being on this task force was incredibly valuable. It allowed me to see firsthand the dedication and expertise of the teachers and as, and the thoughtful consideration that they put into every aspect of the curriculum. Review. Collaborating with colleagues from different schools and grade levels also broaden my understanding of the diverse needs within our district. I'm confident that the process we followed resulted in the selection of a truly outstanding ELA program for the students in our district. It, this was truly a collaborative effort, and I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who participated in this process. The task force met the task force members, the teachers who provided feedback, and the administrators who supported this work. Thank you. Your dedication to District 60 students is what makes this such a fantastic place to learn and to grow. We believe that C-K-A-C-K-L-A will provide our students with a strong foundation that they need to be confident and capable readers, writers and thinkers. We are confident that this new curriculum will provide our students with the tools and resources that they need to excel in later in literacy. We are excited to see a positive impact of CKLA and what it will have in years to come. Thank you for your time and your consideration. Thank you. The total cost of the CKLA program is approximately $1.6 million over five years. This investment includes comprehensive resources and tools to ensure successful implementation across each of our K through five classrooms. A purchase contract is forthcoming and will be presented as a consent agenda item at the February board meeting. Specifically, this cost covers a complete classroom kit for each classroom, which has all of the resources needed for the teacher to effectively implement the program. It includes individual student activity books for each student that they will receive each year for the duration of the adoption digital platform, licenses for every teacher and student that provide interactive and flexible learning opportunities, and a language studio kit for each school, specifically tailored to meet the needs of our multilingual learners. It's important to note that this cost does not include professional development pending board approval of the resource tonight. We are, we will currently, uh, we will collaborate with Amplify to thoroughly investigate their professional learning experiences. Our goal is to vet and design robust meaningful training sessions for our staff that will ensure that they feel confident and prepared to implement the curriculum effectively. We want to take the necessary time to get this right and provide the highest level of support to our educators. We do have the funds and time allocated to professional development as well. This will also be presented as a consent agenda item in a future board meeting. So tonight we are requesting the board's approval for the adoption of amplify core knowledge language arts for our K through five students. As a consent agenda item listed in tonight's agenda, this curriculum has been carefully evaluated and we believe it will provide our students with a strong foundation in literacy, critical thinking and communication skills. We also dropped off, um, a little CKLA goodie bag for you down by your seat, and those are yours to keep. That concludes our presentation this evening, and we are happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you. Director Cisneros. Thank you. Um, thank you for your presentation, first of all. Um, and thank you to the, the task force for all of your efforts and everyone that's not here, that was on that task force. I just have a couple questions. Um, maybe you can just elaborate a little bit on why we're, why we're switching the curriculum from what we're currently on to this. Absolutely. So in our, in our, uh, district strategic plan, we, one of our objectives is to make sure that we're on a five year adoption cycle for new curriculum. And so we have held, um, our current curriculum for five years. And so it's part of our process that we convene a task force to look at the resources to decide whether we wanna continue with the resource that we are currently using or move to another one. Okay. Thank you. And then just, um, another question, um, just about the task force part, um, I didn't see any parents on there, is I, I kind of thought maybe I read or heard that it was kind of common practice to have parent on task force. Maybe you can elaborate a little bit about that. We did not have parents on our task force, but as part of our process, we did have a community. We had community review sessions where we invited parents. Um, so we, uh, scheduled, we, we scheduled three, we only had two because one had to be canceled due to weather, but we scheduled, um, some all around town and we held them at the, um, at different library branches around town. And anybody from the community could come. We had parents come, we had, um, teachers, uh, community leaders. They came to those presentations, um, where we presented the three finalists. They were allowed to look through the resources and then provided us feedback through surveys, which we took that feedback to back to the task force for their consideration. All right. Thank you. Director Mays. Uh, thank you for the very hard work. I, uh, appreciate all the time you put into this, and I'm excited for, uh, what our reading curriculum's gonna look like for the next five years, hopefully. Right. Uh, Ms. Smith, you, you mentioned something, and I'm not sure I'm, I'm understanding it. The program that we're taking on now, does it, it can provide, uh, professional development services, but it's not part of the contract? Correct. We're gonna do that separately because we really wanna take the time to vet amplifies professional development, um, plan the, their presenters and making sure that we're gonna get a high quality, um, training experience for our staff. Did I understand that you, that you do have funding for that, though, when you decide to make that move? Yes, we do. Okay. Thank you, Director Tebow. Thank you. And I too congratulate everybody for their hard work and your efforts. My view of, um, education, public education is that we are really successful, um, when students don't necessarily learn answers, but they learn questions, questions about what they read, questions about, um, when they write, um, that may not be as easily answered as we would hope in our society and good communicators both, um, in their writing and their oral skills. Um, what I heard tonight is fairly exciting for me because it seems to align with, you know, my view and my philosophy about, you know, public education. But I, I'm wondering if, um, along the way any of you could just discuss how, how an instructor, a teacher might be able to, um, act out certain things that are being read or, um, that might not just encourage, but excite a student to write about. Um, in other words, our teachers hopefully aren't just sitting around the table lecturing. There's some involvement in this process, if I understood correctly. How does that work as, as teachers, you know, presenting the curriculum? Are you actors or are you, um, just lecturers. I'm gonna put Mr. Sev on the spot here since he's, he's our classroom teacher. Um, to me, neither. I think we're conduits for the students to become the actors, and if they can embrace the education and the curiosity that comes with it, then I feel, at least in my classroom, that I've been successful in doing my job of inspiring and creating a critical thinker. Director De Niro. Uh, Ms. Smith, you mentioned that you had community, um, opportunities. Do you have a number of people or parents that actually showed up, or who number of people showed up at each sec each uh, session? Yeah. Uh, yes I do. So to invite participation, what we did is we sent out an auto dialer message, um, and an email invitation to the community and encouraging them to attend. Um, across the two sessions, we had approximately 15 participants, um, a mix of parents, educators, and community leaders. Um, while we would've liked to have seen greater participation, um, this turnout actually represents a significant increase from previous adoptions. So it's a definitely a positive step forward, um, in engaging our community in that decision making process. Um, we also had the materials available, um, actually downstairs here in the administration building that was open to the public for them to, to come in and review those materials. Was that communication via district or was it individual principal reaching out to their community? No, It was from the, from the communications department. Okay. And then does your budget include consumables? Yes, it does. Okay. The consumables in, in this particular package are those individual student activity books that I mentioned. I do have a question about the, the pd, uh, as a retired teacher, and I was a literacy instructor, so this is my area. I just get really excited when we're talking about, you know, literacy. Uh, as far as the pd, I just know as a former teacher, that was always a concern is when the PD was gonna roll out because sometimes it rolls out in the summer, and, and I know so many are like me, we wanna prepare so far ahead of time to get familiar with the curriculum, get those lessons in order. So I was just curious if it's adopted. Um, at what point will the PD be rolled out to the teachers? I Think it's gonna be rolled out, um, in different ways depending on kind of the situation the individual educator, um, is in. I know that we are hoping to start the professional development in the springtime, um, and getting that for those teachers who want to take it home with them and start planning over the summer. We also have some additional ideas that we're playing around with. Our team is offering some of these things during our summer institute, um, for that. And then, uh, a way to get teachers who were hired after, like in, in, during the summer in August to make sure that they're caught up as well. So everybody has the opportunity to be trained on this 'cause it's, it's vitally important that they all feel comfortable and confident in implementing this program. Other questions for our guests? Oh, Dr. De Niro. Not a question, just a comment. Um, you know, I know you said that there was an increase of, excuse me, of 15, uh, individuals from the last time we did a, um, adoption. And possibly in the future, maybe having a, a principal reach out with a message to their community might help. Um, you know, the, the principal has a personal, um, relationship with their students and their parents, so, you know, that might help in the future. So we can get more, uh, parents involved because that's basically what we'd, we'd like to do, I think as a, as a community is get more, more parents involved in this ed education of their student. Thank you. Thank, thank You. Any other questions for our panel? Well, thank you so much for answering our questions and having been on several, um, adoption committees throughout my career, I personally know how much time and effort this takes and what a challenging task that is to look at all the curriculum, weigh out the pros and cons, ultimately adopt one. Uh, so we just wanna thank you for your leadership and your effort as a team in doing this. 'cause it, it's a lot of work. So thank you so much and thank you for being here tonight and sharing all these various perspectives and the hard work. Thank you. All right. Next on the agenda is 10.0 policy. We have several policies we will be, uh, potentially taking action on this evening. The first one is board policy. JIHI hope I get, uh, the I right interviews and searches. This is a second and final reading. May I have a motion please? I move. We dock the policy. Is there a second? I second. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Peno? Aye. Mr. Tebo? Aye. The next policy, um, to take action on this evening is board policy KDE crisis management. This is also a second and final reading. May I have a motion please? So moved. Is there a second? I second. Is there any debate? Alright, seeing none, please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen? Aye. Mr. Tebo? Aye. Our final policies basically to take action on this evening are board policy LBD relations with district charter schools board policy LBDR relations with district charter schools board policy LBDE one intend to apply to become a district charter school and board policy LBDE two charter school application. Uh, this is a second final reading. May I have a motion please? So moved. Is there a second? I second. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mayes Aye. Mrs. Benzo? Aye. Mr. Tebo Aye. We will now move on to 11.0 approval of the consent agenda. May I have a motion please? I move that we accept the consent agenda items two through 12. 1212. Is there second? Second. Okay. Is there any debate? See none. Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. Dero Aye. Judge Mayes Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tibo? Aye. Hi. We are now onto 12.0 action items and we have four items we will be taking action on this evening. The first action item we will be looking at is the fiscal year 20 24, 20 25, proposed amended budget, adoption of appropriations resolution resolution authorizing the use of a portion of beginning fund balance resolution for inter fund borrowing and resolution for student fees. May I have a motion please? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion or debate? See none. Please call the vote. Ms. Petro, Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Peno? Aye. Mr. Tepo? Aye. The next item we need to take action on this evening is the resolution concerning the application of the Chavez Huerta K 12 Preparatory Academy, renewal of its charter. May I have a motion please? I, I move, I move that, uh, we adopt the resolution that I will be reading under the record. You wish that Read the record at this time? I would, uh, director Mays as part of the motion Pvo School district number 60 resolution concerning the renewal of the charter of Chavez Huta K 12 Preparatory Academy, whereas pursuant to the Charter Schools Act, CRS 22 dash 35 dash one to one 20, the Board of Education district board of Pueblo School District Number 60 School District on April 7th, 2022, granted the renewal of the charter that the Chavez Huerta K 12 Preparatory Academy chipa, and whereas the district board of CHIPA entered into a charter school contract as of June 28th, 2022 for a three year term commencing July 1st, 2022 and ending on June 30th, 2025 charter contract. And whereas in September, 2024, CHIPA was provided with information regarding the renewal process, including the renewal application guidelines, a template for the application renewal, a copy of the evaluation rubric to be used, and a timeline for submitting materials to the district. And whereas the school district offered OP optional opportunities for CHIPA to work with the district staff in the development and review of its application prior to the submission timeline, however, CHIPA did not elect to utilize these opportunities in a timely manner. And whereas CHIPA did timely file a charter school renewal application, renewal application with the district board seeking renewal of its charter for a term to commence July 1st, 2025. Whereas a school district convened an eight person administrative review team that engaged in a comprehensive evaluation of their renewal application to provide an analysis with recommendations to the school district superintendent and ultimately to the Board of Education. And whereas is required by the act, the school district superintendent set a recommendation with supporting reasons entitled superintendent's recommendation to the district Board of Chip's, board of directors on January 7th, 2025. And whereas the superintendent's recommendation is attached as Exhibit A and incorporated by this reference, and whereas the district board has considered the rep the requirements of the act, the superintendent's recommendation the presentations by CHIP as representatives and school district staff in a public meeting. And the best interest of the school district is students and community. And whereas the district board finds and determines, Excuse me, do you have a second proposal? Excuse me for, Uh, For the Interruption Here. Whereas the district board has considered requirements of the act, the superintendent's recommendation the presentations by CHIP as representatives and school district staff in a public meeting and the best interest of the school district, its students and community. And whereas the district work finds and determines that the non-renewal of CHIP is renewal application under the provisions of this threat solution is consistent with the best interest of the school district, its students and community. Now therefore, be it resolved by the district board that the renewal application of CHIPA for renewal of its charter is denied. And the charter is non-renewed effect is as of Jan 20, June 30th, 2025. For the reason set forth below and the superintendent's recommendation one, the act at CRS 22 dash 30.5 dash 10 provides irrelevant part as follows, subparagraph three, A charter may be revoked or not renewed by the chartering local Board of Education. If it determines that the charter school did, did any of the following, subparagraph A committed a material violation of any of the conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the charter contract, Subparagraph B failed to meet or make adequate progress toward achievement of the goals, objectives, content standards, pupil performance standards targets for the measures used to determine the levels of attainment of the performance indicators, applicable federal requirements or other terms identified in the charter contract. Subparagraph C failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management or subparagraph d violate any provision of law from which a charter school was not specifically exempted. Paragraph two, the charter contract also provides in section 7.12 as follows, generally accepted standards of fiscal management and accounting. The school shall promptly address all noted district concerns relating to requirements, timelines, and remedies for delay or inaccuracies in providing required financial transparency and accounting data and reports, including proper coding consistent with the Colorado Department of Education chart of accounts, trial by balance, aligned with audited information and compliance with CDE and charter contract deadlines for completing and filing required periodic financial submittals. The audit and trial balance. Failure to address such concern shall be considered a material breach of the contract. Paragraph three, CHIPA has committed material violations of the condition standards and procedures set forth in the charter contract and failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management, justifying non-renewal as provided in CRS 22 dash 30.5 dash one three A and C above, and has not complied with Section 7.12 of the charter contract resulting in a material breach as described below. And in his superintendent's recommendation, subparagraph a chip has failed to timely file quarterly financial reports, end of your trial balances, financial statements, or its independent audit in every one of the last three years in each case resulting in substantial delays in the district's ability to file its audit and placing it at risk of noncompliance with law. The renewal application could no contain no systemic plan for making the deeded changes to rectify the lack of adherence to financial requirements in order to assure the timely filing of required reports. Paragraph B, the renewal application budget finance section was not developed and lacked any strengths. The budget materials were not completed in CDA templates or formats creating challenges in terms of comparability and obscuring potential discrepancies. Paragraph C, the three year budget protection projection was incomplete and inaccurate as it omits the context of the fund balance, which is a savings account. Paragraph, uh, subparagraph d the renewal application lacked clarity regarding needing regarding needed cuts to achieve necessary budget reductions. Revenue is decreasing due to significant reductions in enrollment, but expenditures have remained the same. Subparagraph B, there was no plan identified in the renewal application for addressing the estimated deficit of $4.3 million due in part to the balloon payments on outstanding on outstanding debt of chip building corporation coming due in fiscal year 2026. 2027 subparagraph that there was no contingency plan to ensure solvency due to low enrollment and no proven or effective methodology, formula or model to justify chip as projected enrollment. Continued operation beyond the current year with decreased enrollment creates a potential risk of mid-year school closure, which would significantly disrupt student learning. So paragraph GPA's rationale for increased growth rates relies upon new residential construction in the, in the vicinity of the school that is not underway with no projection of student deals and is based upon expected enrollment in a dual immersion and online program, neither of which currently exist as reported during the public meeting. Those programs are difficult and expensive to implement and would result in the diversion of scarce resources from efforts to improve academic achievement. So paragraph H, the plan for the 2024 budget revision indicated that 17 grade level positions could be restructured for a savings of approximately $300,000. However, the application contained no details of how that number was derived or whether this involved cuts to teaching or leadership positions. Paragraph four, although it is not relied upon as a reason for non-renewal, the district board finds that academic achievement at the elementary and middle levels remains low, uh, turnaround with no consistent achievement for several years. The combination of all three level school levels under one school code has resulted in an improvement rating due to the high school's performance, thus detecting from an elementary and middle school accountability and the opportunity for intensive assistance from CDE, uh, adopted this 28th day of January, 2025, Pueblo School District number 70 60 and, uh, president Pen Nuncio, I would offer into evidence, evidence the resolution that was read into the record. Thank you, director Mays and Director Mays, if you wouldn't mind just repeating the motion itself, not the resolution. One more time, just to be real Clear, the mo the motion is that, uh, the board, uh, not renew the, uh, charter with, uh, chipa. Thank you. Director Mays. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion or debate? Director Tebow. Thank you. Well, I seconded the motion for, um, a number of reasons, but I wanna make clear on the record that the only question before us tonight is whether or not to approve the charter school renewal contract with Chavez HTA K through 12 Preparatory Academy. For the record, I've studied several, uh, matters that go into this decision. I've studied the charter school renewal contract with nine attachments dated June 28th, two, 2022, which is effective through June 30th, 2025. I've studied the annual report and evaluation of chipa prepared by our charter school liaison Tom Weston, and dated January 30th, 2023 that was shared with the board in an open meeting. I've studied the December 21st, 2023 CHIPA governing board required recommendations by education defined shared with the board in an open meeting. I've studied CHIP'S 2024 School performance framework shared with the board. In an open meeting, I've studied chap chap's renewal application 20 25, 20 30, along with the appendices A through Z. All of this was discussed at our last work session of January 14th, 2025. I've studied our district's rubric in evaluating the renewal application as well as the Colorado Charter School Institute's charter renewal quality authorizer practices among other information in order to make a merit-based renewal decision. I've studied the memorandum to our board by our superintendent dated January 7th, 2025, explaining the review process used by our district, including analysis of the elements of the renewal application, the review team's recommendation, and the superintendent's recommendation. I've studied and taken into consideration the comments made by CHIP'S representatives at our January 14th, 2025 work session, as well as comments made by the review team and our superintendent at that work session. The June 28th, 2022 renewal contract at at section 11.0 makes clear that if the board decides to not renew the contract, it shall state the reasons in our resolution. Section 11.3 states with specificity the criteria for renewal or non-renewal. That is among other statutory grounds for denial. The district may deny renewal of the contract for any of the grounds provided by state law under section 22 dash 30.5 one ten three Colorado revised statutes. One of the four criteria for the board to consider is whether or not CHIPA has failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management. This is under paragraph three C of the statute. Clearly over the last several years, CHIPA has not properly and promptly addressed one district concerns relating to financial matters as set forth in the renewal contract of June 28th, 2022 in section 7.0. And number two, the serious financial concerns raised in Mr. Weston's academic evaluation and the education defined report at the end of 2023. Moreover, the review of the renewal application by our district team stated at least nine bullet points of concern relating to financial matters, including failure to follow Colorado Department of Education formats and incomplete and incorrect budget projections such as reduced enrollment, which drives reduced revenue and requires needed budget cuts to assure solvency. The superintendent's recommendation to non re to non-renew sets forth these and other concerns, which in my judgment, the Board is at liberty, at liberty to rely upon under Section 11.4 of the contract of, uh, June 28th, 2022. My answer to the question is the school financially healthy at this time is no, and therefore my vote will be to non-renew. Moreover, in my judgment, a conditional renewal will not promptly address the financial matters of concern, even though Chip is looking for time for a course correction as noted to some degree in appendices h and j and in its response to District 60 recommendations for non-renewal provided to me on January 24th, 2025. Thank you Madam President. Other comments from the board? Yes, sir. Oh, I'm sorry. Director and please. Yeah, I, I, I I'm going to, uh, uh, agree with the reasons that Mr. Tebow's given for his particular vote. I'm gonna go back a little bit on this thing. My first, uh, term on the school board was back in 2016. And so I had an op o opportunity work with CHIPA at that point in time. And, uh, there were always concerns raised, but, uh, nevertheless, uh, things went on as they did. I left the board after a four year term, my four year term in 2016. During that period of time, there was a great deal of unrest that was going on at chipa. Uh, the school, the board at that time, uh, consisted of five people, uh, that essentially had decided that, uh, they were going to ignore, uh, operating norms and policies and doing, uh, things the way they wanted to do. Uh, as a result of that, there were numerous community members and teachers from CHIPA that reached out and asked me along with other community members, could we please help try to get this situation straightened out. And, uh, I was supportive of chipa. I went to either all of the meetings or most of the meetings that they had. I was very outspoken at those meetings. Uh, and, and the end result was that because of the pressure that was put on and the support of the community, that the board, virtually every member of the board resigned or was termed, and that left, I believe at that time, one board member, uh, during that period of time when I would go to those meetings, uh, they like District 60 had a period of time for public comment. And I believe I provided public comment at every one of those and talked about the inadequacies of the board at the time, how they were running rough shot over thing, not following policy. But quite frankly, also, I Seemingly with the consent of the community at the time, in any event, my recollection is, is that at virtually every meeting, and these were also business meetings at virtually every meeting, two things concerning the budget came up. One of them is, is that there was a budget report. Now, many of you have had an opportunity this evening to listen to the budget report that we, we received this evening. Now I realize, uh, district 60 is not Chavez Huerta. It's a lot smaller than a whole bit. But I will tell you this, that there was never a board meeting that I went to where there was a budget report that had any substance to to it whatsoever. It was always we had a budget meeting, everything's okay. Well, everything was not okay. The second thing is, is that although I was convinced that the existing board at that time was responsible for a great deal of the unrest that was going on and the great, great deal of dis of concern and the reasons that people went out to the community, I had no dog in the fight. I kept saying, you have to believe that you have a problem and you have to address these budget concerns. You can't host hoist all the blame on that board of directors unless you're willing to accept that you have a problem with work on it. You are never ever going to get it resolved. And that was a constant, constant refrain at those meetings. During that period of time, there, there were either three or at least three or four changes in the leadership of the school. Uh, one of them being the return of one of the leadership on several occasions. But it came down to a crisis. And there was an individual hired from OUTTA state. I hope this is accurate. I think he lasted three months. It wasn't much more than that. And he was vetted, vetted by the board, hired by the board, and then there was a decision that it wasn't going to be a good mix. He helped, he helped create some of his own problems. Now I know somebody's gonna say this is self-serving, but after one of those meetings, he came up to me, he says, what can I do? I says, you can be honest with these people about the budget. You're in trouble now. What he did with that, I don't know. Next thing I knew, he was gone. Subsequently, an additional CEO was hired. I believe his name is Christiane Oliva. And there were several people from this board that were actually at the meeting when he was introduced to the community. And he, he said, I want to get this thing straightened out. Use your own judgment. Mr. Oliva wanted to dive, dive deeply into the audit, into the finances. Long story short, Mr. De Oliva left figure out, it seemed like there was a pushback if you really wanted a deep, a deep dive and make the very, very difficult decisions that had to be made at that time, and they weren't done. Then on March 27th, 2024, a Crystal Dorsey, CPA local government audit manager for the office of the State auditor, wrote a letter to treasurer Kimberly Archuleta. I'm gonna read it to you. I have a copy of it. Uh, when I heard this over the phone, it was really, really very concerning. This letter is to notify you that the Pueblo School District Number 60 has not filed an annual audit report with the state auditor as required by section 29 dash 1606 CRS for the year end at 6 30 23. In accordance with section 29 dash SI am authorizing you to hold all current and future funds in your possession generated pursuant to the taxing authority of such local government. Do not release these funds until you are notified in writing to do so by this office. Please sign the verification attached to this letter and return it to the individual. Verification was signed. And I personally had a phone call saying, do you realize that unless, uh, CHIP'S audit gets in, that, uh, we're gonna have to withhold the, uh, what it amounted to is the payroll and the money that's necessary to keep the school running. That's serious stuff. That's serious stuff. So then as we go along, we have CHIP'S application. And unfortunately, let let me step back. A few days ago, we received a response from CHIPA to District 60 recommendation for non-renewal that was provided to the school. They were providing the reasons about some of the concerns that we had on the board When we had our business meeting with them, and where they had a obligation at that time to do exactly what they did in the report we just got recently. Instead, what we got was, uh, maybe it's the way human nature is, is why didn't you help us more? Why didn't you provide us with this? Why didn't you do this? Why didn't, and did we have enough time to get the work in that you wanted us to do? Well, CHIPA had this timeline exactly how this process was gonna go. Not only did they have the timeline, but it's my understanding that they were present when they discussed this timing. It had it all in here, and yet it was the very last moment and they decided to put some forth. I wish, I don't know whether it would change anything, but I wish they would've spent as much time during that meeting before the board when we all had an opportunity to discuss these matters. Spent as much time, that time trying to make the explanation they did in the report that we just received the last few days. 'cause that ship sailed. The discussion was over with by that time. And just another indication about what do you have to know to understand this is serious stuff. How many chances do you wanna get? How many, how many times do we have to tell you when you're, when you're told you're invited to professional development and, and, and on there, it, it's, see, it's say, stated that it's optional. That doesn't mean that the district has a responsibility to get back. Hey, you guys gonna come to this or not. One of the responses was, is a lot of them were on Fridays. Well, I never said anyway. The point I'm trying to make is, those are the reasons now that I think we've come to this as far as my decision is concerned, is I don't, I, I just can't. And, and I, I've talked with members of the CHIPA staff and board and everything and about the same issues, and I just don't think, I think CHIPA wants to do things their own way, regardless of what is being requested of them. And I just think that we're just at that point in time where I have to reach the decision that I'm reaching today that I'm gonna vote for non-renew. Thank you. Is there any further discussion? Seeing none, please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Aye. Judge Mayes? Aye. Mrs. Peno? Aye. Mr. Tebo? Aye. All right. The next item we will need to take action on this evening is the executive employment contract, assistant superintendent for Human Resources. May I have a motion please? Our students, 6 million loss. We want R ppr. Okay, so that should be the end of that period. It should be, there should be no other, uh, contract. I'm gonna call for order right now. We're, we're looking for a motion right now on the table for the next action item, please. Thank you so much. I'll move the action item that you just, uh, mentioned. Is there a second? Second. Is there a discussion, director de Niro? Um, yes. This item is, let me see where we're at is for, um, executive employment contract, uh, assistant superintendent for human resources. And as in the past, I will state that I am not in support of a multi-year contract or contracts. I have said that many times. That's not anything surprising. I believe that the only multi-year contract is that of the superintendent. Um, so that, so with this, I will be exercising a vote of no other comments from the board. Director Mays, I think, uh, one of the ways, uh, that the board and the administration have of showing the deep appreciation for the hard work that these folks put in day in and day out, at the very least, is a sense of security. Having said that, if during the course of the contract, uh, the superintendent determines that someone is not up to snuff, she can make a recommendation that that person be removed and make her case for or against that thing, that's the time when we could say, okay, uh, you didn't fulfill your part of the, the contract and you have to go. But these folks deserve to know that they're not on watch every year. We have multi-year contracts, we've done 'em with our unions. We, So I just think in fairness and respect and for the dignity of the people that work here, that we need to let them know that if you perform well in this school, uh, the school's going to look after you too. You're gonna have to prove it, but if you prove it, we're gonna take care of you. And so I will be voting in favor of the recommendation. Other comments from the board? Seeing none, please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. Dene? No. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Cio? No. Mr. Tepo. Aye. Alright. The next uh, action item we have this evening is the executive employment contract Assistant superintendent for teaching and Learning. May I have a motion please? So Moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion from the board? Yes. Uh, Dr. Uh, Dr. Kimsey? So I would, I I would like to respectfully remind our board, um, I understand concerns around multi-year contracts. Um, however, I do want to remind the board that you have hired me to do a job. According to my contract, I am to organize, reorganize, and arrange the administrative and supervisory staff, including instruction and business affairs as best serves the district. I will share that both assistant superintendents could walk out right now and gain employment as either assistant sups or superintendents at higher salaries than we offer in Pueblo District 60. Secondly, I'd like to share that am concerned with the tenor of the conversation because one of my goals is to help us build our bench. My job as a leader is to help build the bench. No leaders will be here forever. And we want to establish a climate of trust among our administrators, teachers, classified staff, everyone. And in order to have that climate of trust, people need to understand that they do have job security as long as they are doing a good job. I have been here now, I'm in my seventh month almost to my eighth. My cabinet will tell you I have pushed them pretty hard. I expect a lot. And I have seen the work of both assistant superintendents, um, along with other members of cabinet. And it is my recommendation that this board approve these two year contracts so that I, they can help me move the work of the district forward so that we become that destination district. We become that high performing district that inspires community confidence. You have placed your confidence in me and I hope that you trust me to make those good decisions. Retention is real, especially now in this climate. It's not just teachers that are hard to fill positions. If you look across the nation, not just, I'm not just talking about Pueblo or Colorado, it is hard to fill assistant principals. And then once you get to the principal role becomes very difficult. 'cause it is a difficult position, district administrators and especially assistant superintendents and superintendents because there is quite a bit on their shoulders. So I, I really want to encourage the board to examine this decision, um, and help us establish that climate of trust and that climate of taking care of people who do the work of this district. Thank you. Other comments from the board? Director Cisneros? Yeah, I just have a quick question, um, regarding, oh, I guess both of the executive employment contracts were, uh, approving. I went back and looked at what their current contracts are and their salaries, um, and I noticed that there's quite an increase in salary. How is that determined? And maybe superintendent can Become Absolutely, uh, it is determined in accordance with their steps. Just like every teacher gets a step, uh, administrators get a step and it is published in our, in our, um, pay scale. So it is in accordance with our established pay scale. Any other comments from the board? Seeing none, please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. Dero? No. O Judge. Mayes. Aye. Mrs. Pen Nuncio. Respectfully. Superintendent? No. Mr. Tebow? Aye. All right. We are now on to 13.0 board discussion and recommendations for the agenda. Does a board director have anything they would like to discuss and or make recommendations for items to be included on the next board agenda? Now help me with this. Uh, Mr. Lane's been sitting here for an awful long period of time and, and I'm assuming, do we need to take action on that or have we approved? It was in The consent. It was in the agenda, right. So that's been taken care of. And I, I don't know that, that you might have, whether it was or not. Yeah, it was the testimony. Okay. Yeah, so I just, so yeah, so, uh, that's been, that's been done then. Thank you. Actually could Director Tebow, Mr. Lane, you have to stay here all night to be sure that the, that the premises are secure. Okay. So I'm Alright. Any other board comments? It was, uh, Uh, Mr. Martinez, uh, uh, talked tonight about, uh, policies concerning this mass deportation thing that's going on around the country. And, uh, Mr. Tebel I think addressed the fact that, uh, uh, superintendent Kimsey did send out, I think, pretty explicit idea of how we were going to deal with this. I don't know that we need anything more, but I would just like to leave that open in the, in the, in the, if there is a need at some point in time to have something more specific. But, uh, I, I, uh, I'm confident this administration and this school board is going to do everything you possibly can to make sure that our children and our parents rights are protected and that they know that they're in a safe environment. And, uh, if we need more than that, I guess we'll get Mr. Lane to take care of it. I don't know. Director Tebow. Thank you. I'd just be curious if any of the legal counsel Throughout the state representing school boards or the CS b legal counsel or some group of lawyers has explored, um, something that I raised, which is just a little different than our policy of sort of open enrollment to all and that will follow that. But is there something coming out as to what really is required? For example, I mentioned as a, for a principal who is faced with ICE officials at the front door, whether they can enter or not. My opinion of course, is that we can't share any information, um, that the laws have to be followed, federal, state, our policies. But that's what I'm saying. When you're on the ground and in the, in the event, um, it could get a little hairy. I was of the opinion that in order for them to enter any school building, they needed a, a warrant ordered by a federal judge. I'm not quite so sure, as I mentioned that that's clear to, to some of our, you know, um, school administrators. I could be wrong. I just haven't seen anything that gives me comfort, especially when there's this effort to say that, you know, the birthright interpretation of the 14th Amendment is different than what has historically been the case by the United States Supreme Court. I think it's kind of a mixed up bag here and I just wanna be sure that, um, you know, we're able to not put our leaders in the district in a position of being prosecuted by the Department of Justice, which is what the memorandum said of January 20th. So I'm just not clear on that. But, um, maybe someone can help me get clear. Dr. Kimsey. Yeah. So, uh, director Tebow, that's a great, great question. We did share a protocol, four steps for our principals to follow. Step one is to, um, anytime any, and this goes for any official that comes or person honestly that comes to our door. We ask for identification. We don't automatically let them in. They must show that identification to the camera. Uh, after they do that, they state their purpose, they show any paperwork to the camera, they remain outside. At that point, the principal calls their supervisor and we enlist legal counsel. So we have a direct line to Kaplan and Earnest and they help us work through whether this is a lawful warrant that we need to let someone in our building, um, or, uh, or not. So that is established, uh, I sent that out via email to principals, was that last week. I believe in writing. So principals do, do have that, and we don't expect principals to make that determination. And just to make a note, um, you know, we do have cases not just around ice. We have, you know, sometimes guardianship issues that show up in schools like this where someone tries to enter the school and have access to a child and they don't have rights, uh, to do that. And so this protocol isn't just around, um, you know, an ICE agent, but this is around anybody that tries to come to school and access our students and or our staff. Um, so, uh, you know, we, we take that very seriously. Uh, and Kaplan and Earnest has been very, very responsive. Uh, I talked through all of that with Mr. Bum as I determined that protocol. Oh, uh, the other thing they're doing is calling Mr. Bayer as well. As soon as, as someone shows up at the school, our director of safety and security, I wouldn't. Alright then. I guess we are moving on to 14.0 announcements on January 29th, 2025 at 5:00 PM there will be a town hall with super with the superintendent hosted by the Latino Chamber of Commerce at East High School, January 31st, 2025 at 6:00 PM The Greater Pueblo Chambers 114th annual Gala and Rod Schoff Citizen of the Year presentation will take place at the Pueblo Convention Center on February 1st, 2025 at 5:30 PM the annual Paco Stars and Lights Scholarship, dinner and dance will take place at CSUP on February 11th, 2025 at 2:00 PM There will be a special school board meeting here at the Administrative Services Center in the Arapaho Room on February 17th through the 20th 2025. The Southern Colorado Regional Science and Engineering Fair will take place at CSUP on February 22nd, 2025 at 6:00 PM the Latinos Chambers, the Latino Chambers 46th Annual Dinner and Dance Celebration is happening at the Pueblo Convention Center. And on February 25th, 2025 five at 5:30 PM there will be a regular school board meeting here at the Administrative Services Center in the Arapaho room. Is there any further business this evening? Seeing none, may I have a motion to adjourn? So moved. Is there a second? Sure. Second. Okay. Is it's been moved and seconded to adjourn this meeting. Is there any discussion? Please call the vote Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio Aye. Mr. Tibo Aye, Thank you for joining us this evening.