Hi, good evening and welcome to the March 11th, 2025 regular meeting of the D 60 Board of Education. I would now like to call the meeting to order. The time is five 30. Ms. Patron, would you please call the role Mr. Cisneros? Here. Dr. De Niro? Here. Judge Mayes. Here. Mrs. CIO? Here. Mr. Tebo here At this time, I wanna clarify on the record that the Board of Education has issues to discuss in executive session as follows, to confer with the school district's attorney for the purpose of receiving legal advice pursuant to
Colorado revised statute section 24 dash six dash 4 0 2 4 B on the following specific legal questions, analysis of the claims against the district, defenses against those claims and options of the district with respect to the claims made by Chavez Huerta, K 12 Preparatory Academy, chipa in its appeal of the non-renewal of its charter and claims defenses and options of the district with respect
to CPA's alleged breaches of the current charter school contract by the district. May I have a motion to go into executive session for the previously stated purpose? So, move. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? See none. 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, Mr. Dick Bump of Kaplan and Earnest, the board's legal counsel
will be joining the board in executive session. We will now ad adjourn and reconvene in the conference room. Thank You. All right. If everyone would please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Allegiance to the flag, the United States of America, America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God and invisible with routine and justice. For Before we adopt the agenda, does Superintendent Kimsey or a board member have any recommendations or for corrections or modifications to the agenda at this time? I would just like to mention that Director Tebow, uh, spoke
with or, or emailed me earlier and made, um, had said he had a request to add something to the agenda. Uh, but we talked before this meeting and we both agreed that, uh, he would bring up the, uh, the item that he wanted to discuss when we get to 13.0 Board discussion and suggestions for the future agenda. So we just wanted to make note on the record of that. Is that satisfactory Director Tebow? Thank you. And it is, appreciate it. Okay. Are there any other recommendations for changes to the agenda this evening? Alright, scene none. We will move to 3.0 adoption of the agenda.
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 Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tebow? Aye. Alright. First up on the agenda this evening is a staff student presentation. I will turn it over to Dr. Kimsey, Uh, president Pen Nuncio and board directors. It is my distinct honor and pleasure to introduce Ms. Alma Vigil Banuelos, who will introduce our performers this evening
from Central High School. Good evening, president Pen Nuncio, superintendent Kimey and members of the board, I have the pleasure of introducing our performers for tonight's performing the Midnight Blues under Mr. Austin Pratt. This jazz ensemble includes some of Central's High central, high school's, top instrumental musicians. These musicians are held to very high standards regarding self-motivation and musical integrity. Their discipline and genuine passion for what they do has earned them impressive accolades and opportunities.
Some of these accolades include, but are not limited to. Back to back first place Jazz Band Awards at the Canyon City Music and Blossom Festival. 2023 and 2024. Best Soloist Runner up for 2024. Two superior ratings and one excellent rating at Still City Jazz Festival. Opening band for the Air Force Academy. Um, air Force Falcon Airs in 2024 Stage Band for the annual Pueblo Food Project Award Gala. Though the band takes a lot of pride in their performance,
they take more pride in being with each other, exploring their passion of music together. Please join them this Friday from five 30 to seven 30 at Fuel and Iron as proceeds will benefit their program. They will be playing two songs for you this evening. The first will be Pharaoh's Funk by Eric Sherburn. Their second will be Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars, arranged by Victor Lopez. At this time, I would like to invite board members and Dr. Kimsey to please come and sit down in the front here. And please welcome Central High Schools Midnight Blues
Think Record. Guys, we are little change of the, uh, program. We're gonna flop those two songs. We're gonna start with runaway B. Okay. Good to go. Well, that was fantastic. Oh my goodness. My husband and I have been talking about going to Egypt, so that just totally, you know, like that's confirmation to me that I'm supposed to go. So Mr. Pratt and the, um, the jazz band that was absolutely pH phenomenal. Thank you so, so much for being here this evening. Alright, we're on to 4.0 Gifts to school. Um, Okay, I think we have one more, Dr. Kimsey.
Yes. So we actually have one more recognition. Um, it is my extreme honor to introduce, uh, Mr. Aaron Bravo, our District Director of Athletics, uh, to introduce to you for recognition our women's or girls state champion wrestlers from Central High School. Thank you very much. Uh, again, I'm Aaron Bravo, director of Athletics here, uh, for School District 60. And it is truly an honor to recognize, uh, this group of girls, um, you know, to be a state champion is the goal
of any athlete as they enter the season each year. And, uh, very, very rarely do we get to recognize a first in Pueblo sports. And, uh, we were able to do that a couple weeks ago. Um, not only did we have a, uh, a couple of individual champions, we also had a team champion from Central and, uh, again, this must be the night of the Wildcat with that jazz band. And now the girls sitting here, uh, I, I do need to, uh, say that this is a, a collective group. They, it's a co-op, is what we call it. Uh, they're athletes from all over Pueblo, um, and Pueblo County.
So, uh, we're fortunate to have them with us, uh, be part of our team, uh, the Central Wildcat team. You know, with the sport of, of girls wrestling growing every year, it might not be too long before we have to branch out and make two teams and, and even beyond. But, um, you know, it's hard for me not to steal the thunder of those that are gonna speak after me. So I'm gonna stop now and inter introduce, uh, dusty la trick. She's the ad from Central. And again, I'm gonna hold back 'cause she has a lot of good things to say. But, um, I will say if you have not ever been to a state wrestling tournament, it is quite the spectacle.
We're talking 16, 17,000 people in the stands, um, watching, you know, the matches happen, happen on I think eight different mats. Um, I was fortunate enough to be Mats side for all our state title matches, uh, with the boys and the girls. And, uh, again, just an honor to be there and to wear pueblo on my chest, uh, with my jacket and be proud of that. When people hear Pueblo wrestling, they immediately respect, uh, what's coming at them because these girls are boys. They've done a great job representing our, our city of Pueblo. Pueblo. Tough. We say that all the time.
So, dusty, you wanna come on up. Thank you, Mr. Bravo. Good afternoon, Dr. Kimsey, president Pen Nuncio and board members. Thank you for inviting our wonderful state championship Lady Wildcats this evening. This is a special group of girls. They fought for every point and supported each other throughout the season. They're a true team, um, very disciplined, very humble, very nice girls, but yet pretty darn fierce on the mat. So we're pretty excited about them and proud of them. We expect a lot more years to come.
So, quite honestly, the testament lies with this gentleman. He is our coach of the year for the state of Colorado women's wrestling, and I'm not stealing his thunder. So at this time, I'd like to turn this over to Coach Chris Gutes. Good evening. Thank you for having us here. I just wanted to say a few brief words, uh, about the girls and then I'll introduce them to you and then we'll go from there. Um, this group of girls truly faced a lot of adversity, a lot of challenges, and worked together to overcome everything that was put in front of 'em.
Uh, they went up to Denver and they worked hard and proof was in the pudding. They came out as state champions. On that final night, we had our first state champion in girls wrestling history, followed up by the second state champion in girls wrestling history. So we had Aland Duran win a hundred pounds, and Liliana Lopez win at 145 pounds. So introduce our girls and we'll go from there. You have our board come up and you have certificate for all of our girls. As you know, the one of the things that we do as a district is, uh, we provide the state task, which is,
uh, something that I think even other districts have picked up on are very unique. Uh, and it takes, uh, a lot to wear that hat. So I, as the director of athletics, I'm very protective over that path. Uh, I want make sure that those that wear it have earned it and they have all earned it. So we have a certificate for them. They did receive their as assembly. So our individual champ currently takes Alright, at a hundred pounds. Uh, two time finalist, 20 25, 100 pound state champion, Aland Duran,
third place at 110 pounds. Sophomore Gianna Duran, fourth place at 120 pounds. Freshman, Isabella Mare, our 125 pounder couldn't be here this evening. She actually moved to a different state, but she, we were lucky enough to have her for the state tournament and, uh, help us win the state title. And that's, uh, der at 130 pounds. Junior fourth place, Santana es at 135 pounds. Our senior, who was also playing tennis, wasn't able to be here tonight because they had a meet.
And that's Kenna. Pino. She took fourth place, 145 or 140 pounds. State qualifier Abigail Bay, 145 pounds, two time State Placer, 145 pound 2025 Chasta State Champion Liliana Lopez. All right, uh, at 155 pounds sophomore, uh, fourth place, Malia Sandoval at 170 pounds. Junior State qualifier, drew Goop 190 pounds. Senior third place, Sonya Ramos, 235 pounds.
Freshman, sixth Place Faith Dera. And those are our girls. Amazing. Congratulations again. Amazing. Let's give one more round of applause. Alright, we are now on to back to 4.0 Gifts to school. Do we have any gifts to school, Dr. Kimey? We do, and I apologize for taking that out of order. The young ladies just had me very excited to recognize them. Uh, so yes, president p Nuncio. It is my honor to announce, um, four Gifts to schools, uh, this month. Uh, the first is the IB Association of Rock.
Rocky Mountain Schools donated $1,100 to East High School to purchase 45. Trevor McKenzie Inquiry Mindset Assessment Edition books. East High School Booster Club donated $3,000 to the East High School Baseball Program ever. R donated $200 to Franklin School of Innovation to support STEM education. And the Pueblo Ranger Soccer Incorporated donated $832 to Centennial High School Boys Soccer program.
And we're, we are asking that the board accept these donations, The support of our community, these businesses and individuals who support us. It's just so greatly appreciated. Um, it makes such a difference in our school district. So, yes, the board, uh, graciously accepts these gifts to schools as presented in the March 11th, 2024 board materials. We'll now move on to public comments. Uh, Mr. Sprouse, are there any recorded comments this evening from the public? Thank you, Madam President. Uh, we did not receive any recorded messages for this evening's meeting.
Thank you Mr. Sprouse. Then that leaves us with one in-person, um, public comment this evening. We have one at this time. The board would like to invite, is it Terry Perez to the microphone? Terry will be speaking on pre-K, um, and preschool. Good evening. And welcome. As a reminder, you will have three minutes to speak in front of you. There is a box with three lights. When the light turns green, you'll have three minutes. When the light turns yellow, you'll have one minute remaining. And when the light turns red, your time will be up. Thank you again for being here. And welcome.
Thank you. Good evening, superintendent Kinzie President Pen Nuncio school board members, staff and visitors. My name is Terry Perez. I am a pre-K teacher for District 60. Tonight, I am here to express how truly saddened I am by the meeting that I, as well as all other early childhood educators were blindsided with on February 24th, 2025. We were told how because of a rif, half of those sitting in the room that day will no longer be employees of District 60 for the upcoming school year. We were told all pre-K classrooms would be going
to three hour classes as opposed to the six hours we currently have. And that we would be reducing the program to one classroom per elementary school, meaning there would only be 16 preschool and pre-K classrooms as opposed to the current 32. We were also told that with, with the reduction of the classrooms would be the reduction of two ECE certified coaches, eight certified teachers, and 21 ECE teachers. That's 31 professionals that will no longer be in the classrooms of our youngest learners next year. When asked how the ECE cuts will be made,
the only response was that it by seniority and that we would be notified the week before spring break. We were not, we were now expected to wait for a district phone call to let us know our fate in our classrooms for the coming year. We are losing some very truly talented, loving, caring teachers. We are. So, there are so many that came into the classrooms. So what it is that we have to offer here at District 60 pre-K and decided that this is what they wanted to do as a career. They went to school and landed their dream dream jobs here at District 60. Now, only to be told
that District 60 no longer has a place for them. And those that are higher in seniority we're told not to worry. How do we not worry, we may still have a classroom next year, but where and in what school being told the possibility of larger class sizes, I did ask what the game, the game plan is that day and was told we would be told closer to year end what those decisions would look like. Why was the ECE program not given the same transparency and consideration as the rest of the district when it comes to change? Why were the preschool classrooms not involved
or considered to be part of the district resizing initiative? To get community input on how all this will affect not only the staff and students, but the families that will be left with the hardship of finding wraparound care when only being able to bring their little learners to school for three hours. Why was there no teacher input on how they will fit all the needed components of socialization and kindergarten readiness into a three hour class? What happens for the years to come when the changes are being made with the Resizing initiative? If we lose schools, does that mean we will lose more preschool classrooms in the year
to come keeping the one classroom per school tonight? You will be read a week of the Young Child Pro Proclamation, which ends with the administrators, teachers, school board members in school district 60 of Pueblo, Colorado, proclaiming week of the young child and encouraging all citizens to work and support and invest in our early childhood. This is what we, as the district are asking of the community. Tonight, I am asking District 60, please invest in our littlest learners and reconsider some of these changes. Thank you. Thank you Ms. Perez. We appreciate you sharing
those comments with us this evening. Thank you. We're on to 7.0 communications and communications and board comments. Does the board or Superintendent Kimsey have any communications they would like to share this evening? Director De Niro? Yes, thank you. Uh, I had an opportunity to attend the East High School Boys Wrestling Championship, um, assembly. And again, it was a great day to be an eagle during that ti uh, during that day, uh,
as they achieved their fourth state, uh, championship, uh, trophy, I also had an opportunity to attend two, uh, right size, uh, workshops or conferences at the local high schools. And I wanna thank the community, uh, for coming out and voicing their ideas and thoughts, uh, with the district administration. Uh, I've just been there as an observer and, uh, our community has come up with quite a few, um, ideas and, um, I also appreciate Dr.
Kimsey and her staff, uh, coming out and, um, facilitating those. Thank you. Thank you. Director Dero. Director Cisneros. Thank you. Yeah, I just would like to share that, um, the board was invited to the, uh, Turkey Creek Conservation District's annual meeting. Uh, I was able to attend that. Um, I learned quite a lot there. Uh, and they have some great programs for children that I think, uh, our district could take advantage of, including something they call Camp Rocky. Uh, I believe it's in Teller County.
It is a week long, uh, camp overnight for ninth through 12th graders where they, uh, learn various things about land conservation, um, soil conservation, uh, just some really good stuff. Uh, I think our district, uh, should take advantage of some of these opportunities. And currently, I believe they are fully sponsored, so none of the students from last year had to pay a penny to attend that. Um, and I'd like to see that grow. They're doing some really great things for, for young people in our community and I would just like, like to share that.
Thank you. Director Cisneros. Other board members? Well, I'd like to just, um, echo what, uh, uh, director De Niro mentioned about the assembly yesterday at East High School, um, and their state championship. It was so much fun. I'm a former high school teacher, so, um, it, it was just to be in that environment, um, with the, the celebration of what was going on. It was just unbelievable. I had so much fun being at that assembly, so I, I appreciate being invited to that. I was also, um, I attended the, um, the college fair last Friday night at CSUP.
I was there briefly, but my goodness, I'm not sure if that was, um, organized by you. Um, Mr. Burns and Ms. Shelly, um, Al Montoya, it was so well organized. It was packed. I got there at four o'clock and it was already packed. The breakout sessions were full. Uh, so many people attended and there were so many phenomenal, uh, universities and colleges represented there. So it was a lot of fun to attend. So thank you so much for doing that. It was, uh, I'm sure very beneficial to our, um, southern Colorado in general. So thank you so much. But lots of fun things, lots of things going on.
Alright, we are Anything else from the board? Alright, we're moving on to 8.0 re um, special resolutions tonight we have, uh, four resolutions to present. The first resolution is the 2025 National Paraprofessionals Appreciation Day, which is April 2nd, 2025. And it will be read by Director Cisneros National Para Paraprofessional Appreciation Day, April 2nd, 2025, a resolution honoring the efforts of public school district number 60 paraprofessionals. Whereas the paraprofessionals
of public school District number 60 provide a critical service to the children and teachers on a daily basis. And whereas they serve a student population of over 14,000 children every school day. And whereas they do so with great scale, care, compassion, humor, and sensitivity, and whereas they do so in a manner that reflects well on the district on whereas their contribution is critical in allowing for the SMU smooth daily operation of the district. And therefore, the Pueblo School District Number 60 Board
of Education recognizes National Paraprofessional Appreciation Day on April 2nd, 2025. Further, the Board of Education expresses deep and heartfelt appreciation to the efforts made by paraprofessional staff each and every school day. Well done. Thank you. Director Cisneros. May I have a motion please? I move that, uh, the Board of Education proclaims April 2nd, 2025 National Paraprofessional Appreciation Day. 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. Cio? Aye. Mr. Kibo? Aye. The second resolution to be pre presented this evening is the week of the Young Child Proclamation April 5th through the 11th 2025. And it will be read by Director Mays, The Board of Education is asked to proclaim April five through 11 20 25 as the week of the young child. Whereas the Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children Colorado, A EYC is celebrating the week
of the young child, April five through April 11th, 2025. And where we acknowledge the first years of a child's life as a period of the most rapid brain development and believe these years lay the foundation for all future learning. And, And whereas we attest that high quality early care and education can help ame the effects of poverty, detect and remediate delays, identify and help prevent child neglect and lead to positive outcomes for individual children, helping them be better prepared for school and more likely to succeed in life.
And whereas teachers and others who work with are on behalf of young children birth through age eight, who make a difference in the lives of young children in the Pueblo School, district Number 60 deserve thanks and recognition. And whereas public policies that support early learning for all young children are crucial to young children's futures and to the prosperity of our society. Now, therefore, we, the administrators, teachers and school board members of school District Number 60 in Pueblo, Colorado to hear bride proclaim April five through 11 20 25 as the weak of the young child and encourage all citizens to work to support
and invest in our early childhood. And I would ask, uh, the board adopt the resolution, uh, as presented at tonight's Board of Materials. Thank you. Director Mays. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. DeNiro Aye. Judge Mayes Aye. Mrs. Peno Aye. Mr. Tebow? Aye. All right. The next resolution is the, is the National Assistant Principal's Week Proclamation, and it will be read by Director De Niro.
Thank you. 2025 National Assistant Principal's Week Proclamation. Whereas Pueblo School District Number 60 realizes that the week of April 7th through the 11th 2025 has been designated National Assistant Principals Week. And whereas the vision, dedication, and determination of assistant principals provide the mobilizing force behind any school reform effort. And whereas assistant principals are expected to be educational visionaries, instructional leaders, assessment experts, disciplinarians community builders,
public relation experts, budget analysis, facility managers, special program administrators, and guardians of various legal, contractual and policy mandates and initiatives, as well as being entrusted with the education and development of young people, our most valuable resource. And whereas it is the district's commitment that every assistant principal is shown appreciation and thanks for all they do for our district and students. Assistant principals are instrumental in setting the academic tone for their schools and work collaboratively with teachers to develop
and maintain high curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives for schools to achieve educational excellence. And therefore, we, the Pueblo School District Number 60 Board of Education do hereby proclaim April 7th through 11 20 25 as National Assistant Principals Week. I recommend that the Board of Education proclaim April 7th through the 11th 2025 as National Assistant Principal's Week as presented in the March 11th, 2025 board materials.
Thank you. Director De Niro. Do I have a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Scene none. Please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mayes Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tebo Aye. And we have one last resolution to be presented this evening. The resolution authorizing the sale of Thera School property and it will be read by, uh, director De Niro. Thank you. Pueblo School District number 60 resolution
authorizing the sale of Thera School property and whereas the Pueblo School District Number 60 School District is the owner and real property owner of the real property, described as lots 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 block six in the town of Besser. According to amended plat of said town, filed for record in the office of the county clerk and recorder of Pueblo County on August 24th, 1887.
County of Pueblo, state of Colorado, also known by Street Address two 10 West Fairview Avenue, Pueblo, Colorado, 8 1 0 0 3 prac property. And whereas pursuant to Section 22 dash 32 dash one 10, the Board of Education Board and of the school district has previously determined that the STR property was no longer needed with the foreseeable future for any purpose authorized by law and may be marketed for sale.
And so to generate proceeds that will be used for school district capital outlay purposes. And whereas the school district has received an offer from Kaylene McKee McKee McKee to purchase RAC property, and whereas the Board of Education desires to sell and convey RAC property to McKee, subject to the terms and conditions of a contract to buy and sell real estate commercial and, and to approve as to form by the school district's legal counsel.
And whereas the Board of Education desires to delegate authority to one or more of its officers and to the superintendent or her designee to execute and deliver the required documents of sale conveyance. And closing now for be it resolved that the Board of Education of Pueblo School District Number 61, that the Board of Education hereby authorizes Thera Property to be sold to McKee for the gross amount of 150,000, subject to the foregoing terms and to customary closing costs.
Two, that the Board of Education hereby authorize authorizes its president or vice president or the superintendent or her designee, the authorized signers to execute and deliver the required contracts of sale and other documents for convenience, convenience, convenience, and other instruments or documents required in connections with the closing of the sale of the Strac property, subject to approval as to form by the school district's legal counsel And
to take all other action on behalf of the school district as may be deemed necessary to complete the sale and conveyance of the Strac property. In witness there. In witness whereof the Board of Education has adopted this resolution on March 11th, 2025. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? See none. Please call the vote Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays Aye. Mrs. Pen, nuncio. Aye. Mr. Tepo? Aye. Alright, next up on the agenda is 9.0 reports.
Superintendent Kimsey, do we have any reports this evening? Good evening. Uh, president Pen Nuncio again, it is my distinct honor and pleasure to welcome to the microphone Mr. Drew Hershaw, our Director of Magnet Schools, who will provide an update on our Project Heroes, uh, grant implementation. Okay. Sorry about that. Good evening. And thank you Dr. Kimsey, uh, president Pen Nuncio and board members. I'm really excited to provide this update to you all this evening. Oh, There we go. Okay.
So the project has been on track, thanks to our wonderful leaders at Parkview Risley and Centennial and the teachers and staff who are a part of the Magnet School leadership teams and have been willing to meet outside their contracted time to bring Project Heroes Vision to fruition. Tonight we will focus on two key components related to the grant that will truly bring Stream and PBL Vision to life, and that is the professional learning and developments of the innovation spaces at each site. Additionally, I will share other key steps related to the grant and close with the progress on the school name updates. So, starting with professional learning, Parkview Risley
and Centennial staff have all engaged in project based experiences that included the development and feedback of designs for the innovation spaces, um, which you'll see later. Uh, these experiences provided our educators with a student perspective of all phases of gold standard project based learning units. Throughout the experience, participants reflected on their current practices, seeing the connections and areas for growth, and they casted a vision of the future for implementation in their own classrooms. Uh, the learning experience received 100% agree or strongly agree rating related to teachers wanting
to learn more about project-based learning and the excitement related to implementation. This has, uh, built a culture for change and excitement around the initiative. Additionally, the PBL L 1 0 1 trainings will be the first of several learning experiences going into the 20 25 20 26 school year. Next, I would like to share the plans for the various innovation spaces. Uh, each of our Project Heroes Schools, the designs and ideas I will be sharing include teacher's ideas and input that were made during the PBL experience, as I mentioned, and they're integrated into each innovation space. So I'm gonna start with, uh, Parkview Innovation Lab.
There we go. And, um, they're gonna integrate traditional storytelling spaces with design thinking and inventing. This space will also include all materials necessary for a teacher to bring their class of students in, to bring their project ideas to life. By prototyping with 3D printers and maker materials. Uh, further the space will foster a sense of community and collaborative problem solving, which is exciting. Uh, additionally to enhance the stream offerings and prepare and expose students, um, for stream career paths, they will have a stream elective in their wheel where they will solve real problems using robotics, coding, art, and design.
Thinking. At Risley, they're redesigning an old shop space currently being used as storage to implement design and modeling, robotics and prototyping solutions. The connection to the art classroom is also gonna bring true artistic integration to life. There we go. Risley will also have a re redesign of their, uh, media center where they'll have enough space to bring in three classes for uses in VR programming, eSports expert in community presentations, printing and design, digital storytelling and design thinking
and making this space will support teachers in bringing PBL alive. And last but not least, Centennial High will restructure their current media center to have intentional spaces for PBL implementation. They'll have space for community connections, inventing design thinking and entrepreneurship, uh, through both making and prototyping. And then their design space will be outfitted with 10 3D printers and a laser engraver. Alright, so looking ahead, all teachers will be trained in PBL 1 0 1, which will have an outcome of developing a deep understanding of PBL unit design. And teachers will have at least one project to implement
for the 20 25, 20 26 school year. Additionally, leaders and leadership teams will be trained in development of PBL culture and how we can build systems to support the shift in teaching practices. This will include sustained support visits from PBL works based on learning walks led by both teachers and leaders. The data we collect will inform our decisions for appropriate interventions for instructional practices. Furthermore, to support both the implementation of PBL and the use of our innovation spaces, we'll use grant funds to hire PBL coordinators at each site that will facilitate training and intentional alignment with the use of innovation spaces
and planning of their PBL units. Lastly, we are building and deepening partnerships with our community and our college institutions to provide both teacher learning opportunities and student experiences. Okay, so next up, I would like to provide the board with an update on the Project Hero's name update. So, each school formed a committee that included teachers, staff, parents, students, and community members to identify how a name update can reflect a new stream focus. The process started after my last presentation to you all. In December, a survey was sent out to the community to get ideas for names to add to the schools
to bring the magnet theme to life. We received over 200 responses, then the committees met to look at the names and shared, uh, identifying key criteria based on the feedback. And we used protocols to brainstorm those ideas and reach consensus on the names to bring forth this evening. And before I share those names, I wanna, uh, ensure that the, I share the criteria based on the data collected from the community. And the criteria number one, was, does not change the name of the school, but adds to the current school name. Uh, aligns to the vision of stream education and project-based learning appeals to students, parents,
and the community reflects the history and aspirations of the future and is distinctive and me memorable. So here they are. So, at Parkview, they selected Parkview Stream Academy, Parkview School of Discovery, and Parkview Stream Institute. At Risley, they selected Risley Imagination Middle School, Risley Exploratory Middle School, and Risley School of Exploration. And at Centennial, they have Centennial High School, pathways Academy, Centennial Stream Academy, and Centennial High School of Design and Innovation. So, per board policy,
we will have the names posted on their websites and allow for feedback for 90 days. And then during the 90 days, the committees felt it was important to host an event each month to allow the community to give insight in person and also learn about the programming. And then, um, committees also wanted to meet each month, month after the events to discuss the feedback and make any changes. Before we present the final recommendations to the board in June, uh, we are hoping we can present the final names to you to vote on in June. Uh, so we can send the name updates to CDE as they have to be submitted by June 30th. Thank You so much, and
I'm happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Mr. Shon? Director Mays, I don't, uh, have a question, but thank you for that excellent presentation. And, uh, thank you for the schools that were involved and the community was involved in, in reaching these, uh, these goals and the future planning. And I know it's gonna be great. Uh, it's fascinating to hear this kind of work that's going on in our community, but I don't think we should be comfortable with the state of affairs and education today.
This stuff that's going on nationally with the President Administration in terms of attacking the public school education is real. It's gonna have significant impacts on what we do. Uh, it's going to affect those areas that we really want to, uh, delve a little bit more into in terms of streaming schools and stem. And, uh, what you're hearing out there is true folks, uh, every day you get a different story because they don't have their act together every day.
We're gonna cut this or we're gonna cut that. I don't think there's anybody in this world that doesn't believe that they, we can streamline, uh, efficiencies of the, uh, institutions that we have in the United States, but it should be done with care, compassion and an understanding for where it's going to deeply affect people. Public school education is the core fabric of a free democratic society. If we lose that, believe me, if people think we're far behind now, we'll never catch up again. So I would urge you
to keep vigilant about what's going on out there. It's real, it's scary, and we can't afford to let that happen. So I wanted to see these things in, uh, increase. I want 'em to get better and everything, but I'm worried about it and I think everybody else should be worried as well. Thank you. Thank you. Director Mays. Other comments? Director Tebow. Thank you, uh, Madam President and thank you Director Mays for expressing those thoughts, which I concur with 100%. Um, I would like to just, uh, maybe add a couple
of my thoughts and also a couple of questions for you. Okay. And let's go with the questions first. Um, on your Magnet School application, on page 49, uh, and other places in the application, you talk about project based learning, and I just wanted to let you know that as one board member, I'm very excited about that concept. Uh, the reason I'm excited about it is because I have been a proponent, uh, throughout my entire life of, um, what I call divergent thinking. Mm-hmm. Um, as opposed to convergent thinking.
Convergent thinking, it simply put, is asking the question why. Um, divergent thinking asks the question, why not? In other words, it seems to me that students are gonna be given, you know, complex tasks. They're gonna be challenging questions presented to them in groups. They're not gonna be asked to come up with necessarily one answer, but maybe field, um, a variety of innovative ways to approach things. So I think that is remarkable. That is what frankly I campaigned on for this seat.
Um, that is something that's been, uh, important to me throughout my education and throughout the education of my children and grandchildren and, um, I guess all children in our community. You know, I remember the days when I was in algebra and I kept one finger, the index finger at the back of the book where the odd answers were. And, um, I got those all right. But the even answers were troublesome. And so that's kind of what I'm talking about is that, um, there's probably, um, need for both to some extent,
but I also think that, um, we need to pay particular attention to the innovation that you're offering, you know, our students. Which leads me a little bit more into a question about, um, the subject that Director Mays was mentioning. Do we know anything about whether the, the grant is going to be impacted by the daily give and take of what, um, some people view and not view, um, public education? So if I might answer, uh, we do not.
That's all up in the air. This is a competitive grant. Um, and as we all know, that was on at one point on the chopping block. It is now in the courts, I believe. And so we are waiting further guidance. And so that just demonstrates what Director Mays was saying is that, you know, we're in a very chaotic, turbulent time. And I think what, um, what I would like to express to my board members and to the community, um, people in the audience who happen to be listening is that, um, you know,
Colorado is unique in its constitution that we, um, have local control of our edu public education system here in Colorado. Um, it gets a little blurred because we also have a department of Colorado Department of Education and a Colorado State School Board. And just where the supervisory roles of, say the state school board start and stop are not always clear. Um, I've always had sort of an aversion to them getting involved in what I consider
to be local issues. Um, the federal government has really, um, even in this chaotic time, really no role in our local educational decisions. You know, they send us money and, um, we are trying to use these monies and these grant monies in appropriate ways. Um, but they can't come in, in my view and change our curriculum. That's a total constitutional requirement in Colorado for our local school boards to, to deal with. And so it gets a little confusing,
but I too would just urge everyone that even though there's, um, chaotic times, hold on to this application and some of the great things that are in it and say, you know, you're not gonna take it out of our hands without a fight. You know what I'm saying? And I really believe that this is the right way we need to approach things. So keep going forward. Thank you for what you're doing. Thank you for all the schools that are involved. I know the principals, the community are very involved in this. And, um, I just wanted to give sort of a little pep talk
that, you know, it's very serious as director May said, but I think we can be just as serious about how we want our local public education system to look. So thank you for what you're doing. Thank you. Thank you. Director Tebo, director De Niro. Thank you. And thank you for your presentation. Um, the grand is very exciting for three schools. With all that, uh, you're doing, I specifically had an interest in the, the aligned CTE Pathways.
Can you tell me just a little bit more about that? Uh, is that just a high school? Is it middle school? And So, um, the, the CT E pathways that we're, that we're developing, that's aligned to the grant that are related to Stream. So at Centennial, we're building out the engineering and, um, architecture along with technical theater. Um, they already have an amazing health academy there, so, um, we're just gonna help build that up even more. So, um, so really the, the additions will be the technical theater and the, um, engineering and architecture pathway.
So nothing with, with Risley. Oh, oh, yes. Uh, Risley's gonna offer five different, um, new stream CTE courses, design and design modeling, um, medical detectives, app creation. So they'll have a whole new, um, robust CTEI don't wanna say circuit, but course offerings within their electives. How about the elementary as it moves? Yeah, so the elementary will have, um, a stream class, uh, where all students will get exposed to all of those different pathways through learning problem solving activities, using, you know,
programming, coding, robotics, um, design, all those things. Thank you. And, and I noticed, um, on the website there was a posting for a CTE coordinator at, at the high school Centennial. How does that align with the, uh, CTE programs in the district? Is that separate? Is that aligned with, I I believe, um, Mrs. IMEs is the executive director of, uh, secondary and, um, career tech. So is that aligned with the district or is it separate?
It is 100% aligned. Um, the position is put in place to support the growth and sustainability as we're saying we're gonna do within our grant, um, to ensure that after, you know, the grant is gone, that the CTE pathways that we're developing, the new ones, that centennial that will carry on and be fully funded in that position, we'll ensure that happens. So there's a lot of communication between the two. Absolutely. Great. Mm-hmm. Other questions for Mr. Shon? Well, again, thank you so much for being here. We appreciate that report and updating us on those three sites. It's great. Thank you all so much. Thank you so much.
Now we're on to 10.0 policy Superintendent Kimsey. Do we have any policies to review this evening? We do, uh, president Pen Nuncio. We have several policies, um, to review in accordance with the reversion back to, uh, the 2020 Title IX, um, regulations. So at first I will invite Mr. Burns to come forward. Uh, this is the first reading for, um, revisions to board policies AC AC R one, AC r three a CE one, um, and those are all first reads, Mr. Burns.
Thank you, superintendent Kinzie and good evening President Pen Nuncio and members of the board, the Board of Education is asked to review modifications on a first reading and to recommend, recommend any changes for second and final reading for the following board policies, AC non-discrimination equal opportune equal employment, AC CR one, harassment and Discrimination Investigation Procedures for students. ACR three, sexual Harassment Investigation Procedures and ACE one, non-discrimination Equal Opportunity. Kaplan and Earnest staff have reviewed
and made specific changes to the policies for your consideration. Each of these policies have language modifications that create consistency and alignment with the 2020 Title IX final rule that Dr. Kimsey just mentioned and Senate Bill 2 96. Uh, that concludes my summary of the recommended changes. I'm glad to answer any questions, Questions for Mr. Burns on these, these initial policies. These, uh, director Tebow. Thank you. Um, thank you for that short and sweet. Um, you know, I, I looked through these
and, um, just as a, uh, technical matter, I wanted to bring to your attention that at least in my large book of policies, um, I think, um, a CR one, I had a temporary approval date that contradicts the temporary approval date on your ACR one. I think I had, um, August 8th, and you had June 13th. Um, I, I don't know if, um, your red line has June 13th
and the one I had in my folder had August 8th. So I, I'm not sure where I got August 8th other than just, it was given to me and I stuck it in my book just so that, you know, that is brought up. Um, but I think more importantly, and I, I couldn't see any, um, real variations, um, beyond that. But I think of what, what's a, a most concern to me is, um, sort of this whole process that we, that Director Mays
and I were just talking about this chaotic situation where, um, we worked diligently to comply with the August, uh, 2024 Biden, I'll call it the Biden, um, title ix, um, changes. And, and then all of a sudden, you know, we're, we're back into, I think, really codifying what was pre prebi changes, um, before August of 2024. And, um, I, I happen to, I happen to, like,
the Biden changes far more than I like the ones that, that were previously, um, codified. And, um, you know, I know there's court cases and I've, I've read the, um, the United States District Court case that, um, that found all of Title ix, um, violative of, of, uh, implementation on a very numerous grounds. But part of me feels as though we're being whiplash here as a board, and we're being sort of, um, as I mentioned last meeting, commandeered in our duties.
Um, and I don't like that at all. Um, it, it just seems to me that at least in my mind, there is a possibility, a chance that perhaps some other courts could render different rulings. And if so, and they're conflicting with this most recent February 4th ruling that we're kind of, uh, trying to, to, uh, accommodate. Uh, I think that's the date. Um, I'll stand corrected if I'm wrong in that,
but it just seems to me that, you know, we could be once again, back dealing with all this. Now, I happen to, like the provisions that incorporate Colorado law in, into these, these policies because as I said earlier, Colorado and local, uh, entities like local school boards, we, and on the board, we, we create this policy. And, you know, I know a lot of this is related to Title ix, but I just feel that, um, again, we're just being,
you know, whiplashed here and, and it's just not, I, I don't think a good way to, you know, to set policy. Now, having said that, I know that, you know, everybody feels that that, um, that this is the end and we have to do it this way, but I don't necessarily share that view. Um, so as we proceed, um, with the other policies, I'll probably just say ditto. Um, but there was one in particular that I wanted to point out. Um, and it might not be in this set here, it might be in a different set, um, because they are no, it, it's, uh, ACR one.
And there is an instance where if, if you look at your red line, you've commented on Colorado law and how you have incorporated that into the ACR one, uh, new policy. And, um, I think that demonstrates for me that, um, you know, there could still be hope in, um, me looking favorably at that particular policy, but, um, you know, I'm just having trouble with it all and I'll not kick a, you know, a dead horse.
But I just wanted you to know that and for, uh, my fellow board members to know that and the public to know that that, um, that, um, I, I'm, I'm having trouble that we're acting in my view, maybe a little too prematurely on this. Thank you. Thank you, director Tebow. Director Mays, uh, just kind of a segue, what I was talking about earlier is, uh, we go through these policies and everything and we, we find bullying and we find harassment, and, and then we, we have the leadership of the federal government saying, if you don't do it this way,
this is what's gonna happen to you. Uh, they ought to have that up there as the poster child for what bullying looks like, in my opinion, Mr. Burns and, uh, uh, for them to use, uh, those extorted tactics, in my opinion, is just, uh, contrary to all the fundamentals of, uh, freedom, democracy. And as Mr. Eva's been talking about, talking about local control of our own school district, uh, it was wonderful and beautiful to see, uh, that our
school district, uh, had a first, the first state champs girls, you may not wanna believe this, but don't be too comfortable about that either, because who knows what's gonna happen with what's going on right now on these issues with discrimination and the whole bit, and whether or not we're even gonna be able to have sports where, uh, women and girls have, uh, rights equal to boys. So, unlike Mr. Tebow, we have work to do. This is a first reading. Uh, obviously we won't take any action on it.
My understanding is until we come to the second reading, but, uh, I, I'm not real enamored with, uh, someone from outside of my community who has absolutely no, uh, concern about this community, uh, forcing us into taking action that we don't want to take. And so, uh, I I, I, I know there may be folks that get tired of hearing what I have to say about this, but rest assured I'm gonna continue to speak about it because I don't think it's right. I don't think what's going on in this world is right.
I don't think sitting down with a leader of a another country and belittling in front of millions of people is right. There used to be a time when we had a little bit of civility and respect for everybody, but that went out the window here a few weeks ago. So I'm, I'm gonna keep talking on this issue. I'm gonna keep talking about it and I may have more to say when we get over to the second reading on these things. Thank you. Thank you. Director Mays, other comments from the board? Questions? Alright, Superintendent Kimsey, I think we're ready for the next section.
Thank you President Pen Nuncio and thank you Mr. Burns. Um, I now would like to introduce our assistant superintendent for human resources to review with you policy changes for GBAA. Mr. Dero. Thank You. Good evening, superintendent Kimey, president Pen Nuncio, members of the board. So we're looking next at GBAA for our next policy, which is sexual discrimination and harassment. Once again, there's not a lot of substantive changes. There are some specifics, as Mr. Tebow pointed out that refer back to state law, which is new. Um, most of the other changes are, um, redactions of
other policy referrals in the cross sections and a lot of the shalls are turned to will. That's a new thing that lawyers have dreamt up, even though they're synonymous with each other. We're replacing all policies from shall to will. Mr. Probably thinks that's funny, but, uh, it is true and in a couple years we'll probably switch it back. So other than that, the changes are pretty much, um, just those minor alterations and a couple places where we're more specific about some of the terms. And if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer those. Any questions for Mr. Dero? Thank you so much, superintendent Kimsey. We're on to the next few policies. So once again, it's my honor to re-invite Mr. Burns to
the microphone to, um, discuss policies J-B-B-J-I-C-D-E-J-F-B-A-J-F-B-B for first reading Mr. Burns. I dunno if Mr. Deser or Mr. Shan is a tougher act to follow, but, uh, thank you Superintendent McKinsey and good evening again. Board members. Uh, the board has asked to review modifications to the J policies on, uh, sex based harassment, bullying prevention, and then the open enrollment policies both inter and in-district, like before Kaplan and Earnest has reviewed and made specific changes
to the policies for your consideration. Each of the policies have language modifications that create the consistency, alignment and compliance that we'd mentioned earlier. And those are aligned with the title, uh, 9 20 20 Final Rule, Senate Bill 2 96, house Bill 1215, the Colorado Department of Education Model, bullying policy that's updated every three years and it was just updated last month. Those updates are on the CDE website. Uh, IDA and the Exceptional Children Exceptional, uh, educational Act, ECEA, uh, policies, uh, JFBA and JFBB also eliminate reference
to No Child Left Behind. I, All right, questions for Mr. Burns. Director Tebow. I, I, I really don't have a question. I just wanted to sort of point out that, um, in my reading of, um, this set of policies, I, I, I noted that, um, a lot of definitions were eliminated just for example, J-F-B-A-J-F-B-A on, um, I think page three note, page four
of four, just down at the bottom. I I, I can't say that those were part of a previous policy. Um, I'm not quite sure I have that previous policy with me off hand here, but all those things were eliminated, those definitions. Um, so I'm assuming that, you know, we just struck out a lot of state law definitions, um, and there was another, um, policy or two that did that as well. Um, and just kind of pointing that out to you, that's not
what I'd prefer to see. Um, but apparently that's what, um, you know, is being recommended. Um, so I, I, I don't know, I just think you need to just, just take another look at all that when you are eliminating definitions that have specific citations to Colorado law because some of these, um, may or may not apply to, um, federal intervention. I just haven't decided that either at this point. But, um, Just something for you to ponder on. Thank you.
Thank you, director Tebow. Any other comments or questions for Mr. Burns? Well, thank you so much Mr. Mr. Burns for all of that information on those policies. The updates. We will now move on to 11.0 approval of the consent agenda. May I have a motion, please? I will move that, uh, the board approve, uh, items two through nine on, uh, the consent agenda. May I have a second? I second. Is there any discussion? See none. Please call the vote. Ms. Patron.
Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mays? Aye. Mrs. Cio? Aye. Mr. Tebow? Aye. Aye, we're on to 13.0 board discussion and recommendations for the next agenda. Do we have any discussion from the board this evening? I believe we do from Director Tebow for sure. Thank you. Um, and, um, I do appreciate, uh, your, um, discussing this with me earlier and in initially I was thinking about trying to put a,
an agenda item on here, but, um, I need to, um, just ask the board, um, you and our superintendent. Um, if we could have a, what I'll call a retreat. It could be, I, I can't remember if we call 'em retreats or work sessions about our, uh, fiscal year 25, 26 budget. And I'm not just asking for us to wait until April to set a time. I'm asking that we, um, approach this with some immediacy. And the reason why is because I made statements last meeting about,
um, sort of the budget in general during the discussion of the, um, elimination of, um, you know, some of the, uh, UPK program and I, I remain, um, um, without the kind of information I need to make decisions about, um, what our budget is going to look like, um, what are our likely revenues. Um, this morning, the joint budget committee in Denver was supposed to, was supposed to, uh, meet
and talk about the school finance act, the categorical funding, um, total program funding. In other words, um, When I left the audio portion, uh, to come to this meeting, they were well behind and they hadn't discussed it, um, at, at that juncture. They may have discussed it tonight, they may discuss it tomorrow. Um, but there's a lot happening with regard to what revenue is going to be coming in to the various districts, including our own. I'm not clear about our expenditures. You know, I, I see what we have, you know,
in our general fund, um, basic, uh, document. But, you know, I can't tell for example if we're, if we're utilizing any, um, well, and the revenue side, I should back up a second. It, it's hard to tell the student count, which is, you know, part of the whole situation as well. So it's not only the revenue from the state, but you know, our local revenue and the student count. And on the expenditure side, I can't really tell do we have vacancy savings? Are some of our teachers retiring? That's important because, you know, nearly 90%
these days of our budget deals with personnel costs. And if we're thinking of carrying over those positions, that's one thing. If we're thinking of not carrying them over, in other words, if they are eliminated, um, by virtue of a retirement or someone leaving the district, that's a cost savings. It could be part of the, um, expenditure item for instructional purposes. Um, I'm looking to balance the budget. I'm trying to figure out how we get to the point where income in equals income out expenditures out zero.
Um, and I'm concerned about, um, that we might be as a district, um, taking imminent action on decision items, some that I don't even know about, but some that, you know, have been presented to us, like the cuts for UPK and preschool program. I thought I made it clear last time that, um, you know, it's an option, but it's a very undesirable option, and I don't have enough information to determine whether, um, I can support such a thing.
Uh, I, I have been trying to calculate in my head the, the amount of money we're trying to save and, uh, you know, 21 instructors at a certain level has got to be, um, $2 million or less in my mind. There could be other costs, but how are we going to come up with, um, that $2 million savings? Are we going to go ahead with the, um, with the recommendation which, which at this point I would encourage the district not to do? Um, or are we going to look at it a little closer and see what other programs need to be, uh, dealt with
and perhaps, um, either cut or enhanced? I, I don't know the answers to that. So the other question is always the reserves. Um, is it prudent to even on a one time basis, take a look at our reserves if indeed we have a shortfall? You know, we set a self-imposed reserve as board members. Um, there are other, um, restricted reserves that we can't touch. I understand all that. Um, but I just, I think it's important for us to have
this kind of discussion so we can find out what is our revenue, what are our real expenditures? Are we balancing the budget? If we're not balancing the budget, what are the decision items we have to make to balance it? And if we can't make those decision items, what do we do with the reserves that are available, um, if any at all are available at all? So that, that's where my, my, um, my decision making is at this point. And, um, I'm very, um, skeptical about taking any imminent action on any program cuts period until we as a board understand exactly
what our financial picture is. And that may be in the next week, two weeks, three weeks or whatever. Um, I've discussed this with the superintendent and some of her team. Um, so it, and then I spoke about it last meeting. I don't think it comes as a surprise to anybody of what my feelings are. Um, and so I just wanted the board to at least have a chance to, to meet soon and to talk about these things and to figure things out before we get too far down the line that we're cutting a program that shouldn't be cut, or that we're having a program that should, should be cut.
So, um, that's my request. Um, and I'll just leave it at that and we'll, we'll see, you know, how the rest of the board feels. Thank you. Thank you, director, uh, Tebow, director De Niro. Um, thank you for that opportunity, uh, president Peno. And, um, thank you for your input. Uh, Mr. Tebo, I too have some, some questions or concerns about, you know, our budget, what's happening at the state level, what's happening at the federal level. It seems like it's a moving target day to day.
And if we could all, if we could have a, from my perspective, from the board, a layout of, of a, you know, plan a, plan B, um, I am concerned about the preschool. Uh, also, uh, how can we keep it another year, another two years? Um, you know, I'm, since I've been in the district, uh, for many years, I have seen a lot of different, um, budget opportunities and cuts. Uh, in fact, way back when, when we did have a real significant, uh, budget cut
and we had to riff, um, teachers, I was a teacher that was rift, uh, because of budget concerns. And I had, I think seven years of service at that time, and that's how deep it went. Um, so I know how that feels. Uh, I'd also like to look at, um, title funds. I know that, uh, at the federal level, there has been discussion of, of, um, cutting some federal, uh, title funds. And when I spoke with our superintendent at one time, uh,
I didn't know this that, but some of our budget is 18% of title no. About 17% of our budget comes from federal sources, but that's not all title one. Okay. So title one's a little bit blip of that. Okay. Thank you for correcting me on that. Um, but I noticed that, uh, the reports in the last four to five years on our title, uh, distribution of funds have been either late May or, um, mid June. And I'd like to see that, uh, you know,
with a inside a retreat to see what exactly Title I, title ii, title II and Title iv, um, supports and what are the esser positions that have been cut. Uh, and we've been fortunate that we've had an opportunity to have esser funds. Uh, what, what esser funds were just let go and what have we absorbed into general fund? And then what is the impact on our building and central administration on, um, cuts.
And then finally, I know we haven't talked about this in some years, but is there any discussion on retirement bonuses? Because I think our salaries are 87 to 92% of our budget. Uh, and I meet maybe off on that percentage, but, um, you know, I, I hate to see that. But if, if we're looking at a lot of different things on our budget, let's, let's look at everything. Um, and I, I know that the, at the last meeting, I, um,
I asked about, uh, a discussion on what reserves or fund balance is, how much it is, how does it, how is it developed. Um, some board members may need a refresher. Some board members may not know all of that. So I just think it's, it's, would be good. And I, uh, I know you had indicated it's coming, uh, but maybe that's an opportunity with a retreat that, uh, we could have, um, as much information to make some hard decisions coming in the future.
Thank you. Thank you. Director Dero, director Mays, I, I, I don't think it's any, any secret that, uh, the entire state's in tough financial shape right now. And I realize that one of our primary responsibilities as the school board is to make sure that we're, uh, good stewards of the people's money. And I think, uh, everything that's been said tonight has a legitimacy to it. My concern is, is having a meeting where we don't have the information that we need to make the decisions anyway. I mean, it's, it's clear that we don't have
that information now. I don't even know when we're gonna have that information. And if we're going to do something different, if it's gonna be a retreat or it's gonna be a one-on-one or whatever, I would like for us to say, this is where we are. We're getting 20 bucks this year. What are we gonna do with the 20 bucks? I don't wanna sit down here and, uh, and try to wheel some money into the school district that's not there. I I, I don't know if, when, when Ms. Hans would be, uh, able to say, look, I can,
at least my best guess today is here's where we're at. Generally what we get is who knows, who knows what they're doing up there in Denver? I don't know. Mr. Tebow said they were having a JBC meeting today. They didn't get through it. Who knows. So, to the extent that we need to exercise our fiduciary responsibility to the school district, I'm all for it. But only if it's not premature. I want the information. I want us to know, this is where we are today. This is where we're at. You know, we're, we're not gonna buy lotto tickets or anything like that.
So we don't know if we're gonna get anything else in the future, but I wanna know where are we today so we can make decisions based on real numbers, not on something that's speculative. And, and maybe if, and maybe not. Uh, we have a lot of hard decisions to make, to make, and we're already in the process of making those decisions at this point in time, uh, and with the benefit of the community to help us with them. But until we have something specific, I I, I honestly don't feel like just sitting around and, and talking about hypotheticals.
Uh, if and when we're at a point in time, and I, I don't mean to beat a dead horse, uh, miss Hans or, or Dr. Kimsey, whatever, says, we can now legitimately have a discussion about the budget because we know where we are, or we have as good an idea of where we are. That's fine with me, but just to, I, I don't know when that's gonna be. I, I have no idea. Do you have any idea today, Ms. Han's, where, where we are budget wise at all? I mean, we, we know that the governor is backing off the,
the averaging plan and all of that sort of thing. I don't even know what that means yet. Um, well, And what it means tomorrow, It remains to be seen, doesn't it? Um, we have an idea of where we are, but at this point in time, until they pass that long bill, none of us really know exactly how much money we're going to receive. And, you know, there's a long time between now and then, um, where they could back all the way back down and cut the averaging altogether. I don't know that there's any set way as to how they're going to answer that question. Uh, they would prefer to cut us to the bone, um,
which is a lot of money for us right now. That's $6 million. So, um, I can't really answer that. And because revenue is the driver, um, we have to do something. If we lose that kind of money, we can't continue at this same spending rate and survive it. We don't have enough fund balance. Our estimation right now is that we're going to burn down to $19 million in fund balance, uh, where we started at 35 million. So, um, it's not Roy right now.
And Dr. Kimey, I, I, I know another thing that none of us ever like to talk about is, uh, what I think April 15th is the date that we make decisions about staff and the whole bit. And I'm assuming that that won't come until April 15th. I or I'm, maybe it's being worked on. So we don't even have a clear picture of that at this point. So that's why we're having to go ahead and make some decisions now because we are under constraints, uh, and when it comes to preschool. 'cause I know that's a concern for every board member up here, as it is a concern for me
and every other staff member I know, um, we do know how that's being funded at this time. Um, and we know that there is a definite shortfall, we're having to return money to the state this year because of how we have run preschool. So it is something that is a known quantity that we shared with the board. Um, and we are having to make those decisions now. We, we have to contractually and we owe it to our staff so that they know where they stand. Um, and so there are certain things we do have to go ahead
and move forward with. I wish we could wait, but we cannot. Thank you, superintendent Kimsey, director Tebo. Thank you. And with all due respect, superintendent, I, I just don't agree with you on that. Um, I think it's the board's responsibility to set the budget, and whether you go ahead with that or not, of course, is your prerogative, but that's not what I think is required of the board. And during the time that we do the budget, whenever we do find out the final figures, to the extent that we can find them out, I will be offering amendments
to reinstate programs because I don't think that the revenue, uh, stream that's coming from Denver is going to be as drastic as some people are saying. I had suggested the idea of doing options, best case scenario, worst case scenario, likely case scenario. You know, I don't even know as a board member exactly how much money that UPK program is supposed to save. And now I'm hearing that we owe the state money. How much is at stake here? And can we somehow figure out a way to at least,
um, provide the funds for a year? That's the board's decision in my opinion. And I think if you all, um, through your leadership, uh, superintendent actually en engage in that program, cut, I think that's usurping the board's responsibility. And I'm just saying that because that's just how I feel about it. And I will be offering amendments to reinstate that program during the budget process. So I think it behooves us all to get together and try to figure out what are these scenarios that we're facing?
Is there a way to save that program or other programs? I just don't see this as dramatic as at this point in time as everybody wants to make it be. And so, I mean, that's my position as one board member, but I want you to be clear on my position. Um, and it just doesn't have to do with, um, preschool. It has to do with everything. I just don't feel I have enough information to make decisions. And apparently you and the, and your administration are making decisions that I think the board should be making. And so I just want you to know that, and I want that to be on the record for tonight.
Um, you know, we, we hire you to follow our clear direction, and I'm not quite sure you have clear direction on this particular, um, preschool matter. I think there's board members that feel one way about it and others that feel maybe differently about it. That's why I think we need some kind of meeting to get, um, some direction. Um, and, and I don't know that we're able gonna be able to find clear numbers for, um, you know, the time periods that we have to work with.
But this is a unique year, and I think we have to have unique ways within which to approach the development of our budget. So that's why I'm asking for this meeting. Thank you. Director Tebow. Superintendent Kimsey. So I am not against a retreat. Uh, hear me clearly there. I appreciate the conversation and I am not trying to usurp my authority in any way, shape, or form. However, I do have to implement the budget. I do have to, um, make decisions when it comes to making sure that we are fiscally solvent and responsible.
Um, and that is within my purview, within policy. Um, and so, um, I welcome the opportunity for conversation. UPK is very, uh, unique and a little bit distinct from I hear what you're saying, uh, but it's, it's distinct from the rest that we have not yet developed our budget for 25, 26. Um, and so I welcome the board's input there. Um, but with UPK, we know we have met with them.
I don't even know how many times from CDEC. Um, it is a distinct issue. It's one I discussed with the board in one-to-ones, each of you. I shared with you our reality, Ms. Hans was there. Um, so I was very clear about what was happening with UPK. Um, and so, you know, we've, we've gotta make some tough decisions. I have to make some tough decisions. Um, and so I do welcome a retreat I would love for, we are working on some more practical documents so
that we can share, uh, exactly where we are, where we think we might be. Um, and we heard your feedback around the options. We're working around that, um, and having that discussion so everybody can see, okay, this is our pie. This is the amount we spend on direct instruction, this is the amount we spend on central administration, this is the amount we spend on transportation facilities. Um, all of those things so that we can all be informed and make some great decisions around that.
But we are constrained with contractual OB obligations. I have, Thank you, superintendent Kimey, director Mays, Sorry, uh, Dr. Kimsey, I am wondering if, uh, uh, you would be able to get to the board members the promises that were made when UPK came out, what was made, what was the promises, how it was gonna be, it was gonna be this fabulous program, the whole bid, and where did it end up? And that includes a funding source from it. I, I think that would be very, very important to us,
because I don't think U-P-K-A-U-P-K today is what it was supposed to be two or three or four years ago. And, you know, if we were, uh, starting out behind the eight ball to begin with, we need to know that because it hasn't gotten better, it's gotten worse. So if you would please, I would like to have some sort of synopsis about the promises, what UPK was supposed to look like, what it does look like, where there were failures, where there were successes, that sort of thing. Uh, and, and I, I like everyone else.
I don't wanna see one teacher cut, not one, but I also don't wanna see us go bankrupt either. So it, it's a responsibility we have and it's a tough one and that's why we're sitting up here. So if you could get that, I'd appreciate, thank you, Director De Niro. Thank you. Um, I think we go back to what was all, what was asked is if we could have a retreat or a work session or whatever you wanna call it, uh, soon. Uh, and I think some of the things like UPK that, uh,
director Mays suggested getting information, those are the things, um, that I would like to have. Also, I mean, items on where we're at with, um, With our budget, what does it mean? Uh, again, I think, um, the CFO indicated that we had three 39 million in reserves. 30 or 35. 35, excuse me. And now we're down to 9 million. Well, what are we, 18? Sorry, I've got my numbers. What, what are we spending that on?
And I mean, I don't want you to ask, answer it now, but those would be the things that we could have a dialogue and get information instead of, oh, now I know. Um, so I, I, I would appreciate if we could, I don't know if you need a vote or if you need a consensus on, uh, dates or where we, where we go from there. Well, I, and I think board retreats are not required of board members. So I, hopefully we could get everybody together. That would be wonderful. And if we're just trying to present as much information as we have on the table now, the things that we don't know
yet, um, you know, we just can't do that. Uh, but to meet, get as much information for all board members, but to specifically address your concern, director Tebow, that there are imminent actions coming and that we need to have as much information as we can. Um, I think that would be great if we could get something put together within the next week. I dunno if Ms. Patron, we could put out an email tomorrow, um, with some possible dates, if that's possible, and what people, if they're available as soon as possible and, um, who can attend, um, you know, that would be great. So I just think that would be the best way
to move forward is to at least have a retreat and get as much information as we can. Other thoughts on that Director? Tebow? Yes, and, you know, um, I get real emotional about this because a, a again, I really feel like a lot of these discussions revolve around the budget. And I just believe that it is the board's responsibility to deal with the budget and the final analysis. And so, you know, I'm just encouraging our superintendent and her team to kind of slow things down just a little bit.
And, um, you know, I don't know what's going on, um, beyond what, um, the, the, the little information that I have. And so I don't think it does anybody any harm to sort of say, Hey, you know, we're gonna slow things down. We're going to get into this discussion, the best information we have, and get some direction from the board as to what we would like to see as a board. We're the elected representatives of the community. We hire the superintendent to do our will.
And I know sometimes it's hard for a superintendent to do the will of five different people. Um, but I think we're maybe sometimes getting the cart before the horse here in having the, the situation where decisions are made before the board approves them. And that concerns me and that gets me very emotional. So, um, to the extent that, um, that does anything for anybody at this point in the discussion, I urge just totally urge everybody just to slow down a little bit and get the board's involvement on this thing.
I don't think we're unreasonable. I think we'll make tough decisions. That's what we can do. But I can't make a decision without the right information, or at least options of what my decisions might be given different timelines that we're up against. You know, I want our district to be the best district in this state, and that's my whole goal is to take care of the kids in this district. And, you know, frankly, there is a self-fulfilling prophecy of, um, anti-public education sentiment in this state. The resources are not there. So the test scores are, are lower than people e expect.
So everybody that's against public education says, see, public education is not working well, no, it's not working 'cause we don't have the resources that we need. You know, um, everybody complains that a third grader can't read properly. Well, third graders start reading in preschool. And to me that is a very important, uh, matter that we should be high on the list. I frankly still don't know how much we're saving if we get rid of the, uh, UPK program. I'd like to know that. I mean, I have no idea about that number. How can I then say, oh, here's an idea
how we can fill that gap. That's all I'm saying. And if we move too fast and we miss that opportunity, then I think we're going in the wrong direction. And so, you know, I'll just end it there tonight. I'm just trying to be, um, informative to the board, to our superintendent with respect to where I'm at on this, so that nobody has any question of how I feel about it. Thank you, director Tebow. So I think we, where we're, if everyone's in, um, we have some consensus on that, that Ms. Patron will put out an email tomorrow with some possible dates, uh,
hopefully within the next week. But I guess we'll just have to, I, we going on mm-hmm. All of a sudden, yeah. All of a sudden I'm asked now, just like Mr. Tevo said, I'm asking now to sit down in a week and talk about numbers that I don't have any clue about, whether they're real or they're false or they're inflated, deflated or whatever. And it, and so, uh, no, I won't be available in a week to do that. I don't think, I don't think that's, uh, being vigilant about what we're doing with the, with, with what's going on up in the, the State House.
We don't know anything yet, so I, I don't wanna meet just to meet so we can bat around some of these same things. No, I Think it would just be the things that we can talk about at this point. Not, there's a lot of things we can't, but there are a lot of things we can get some answers on. So, and maybe it's not within a week, but within a Mr. Tebow's asking for as soon as possible. So Ms. Patron, if you wanna put that out tomorrow, that would be great, and then we'll we'll go from there and just see how that goes. Any other comments on this subject or, okay. Director De Niro, just one last comment. I, I do know that it's very difficult, um,
a di very difficult year and a very difficult situation and, uh, I respect, uh, our superintendent's urgency on getting things done and um, I'd appreciate anything that she could also provide to us. Thank you. Thank you. Director De Niro. Are there any other, um, board, is there any more other board discussion or recommendations for the next agenda? Alright, then we will move on to 14.0 announcements. Resizing community discussions will continue there. Three more dates are scheduled
for these on March 12th, 2025 from five 30 to 7:00 PM at South High School. Group four will meet which includes D 60 online. Dutch Clark Digital slash Paragon Goodnight, sunset Park and Pueblo Academy of Arts on March 17th, 2025 from five 30 to 7:00 PM at East High School. Group five will be meeting which includes Risley, Bradford, Parkview, fountain, and Baca on March 18th, 2025 from five 30 to 7:00 PM at Centennial High School.
Group six will meet which includes Irving Fri and Morton on Mor March 13th, 2025 at 5:30 PM The Boys and Girls Club, champions of Youth Fundraiser and Award Ceremony. We'll be happening at the Pueblo Convention Center on March 24th through the 28th. It will be spring break. I know teachers are really looking forward to that. On March 8th, 2025 at 2:00 PM there will be a special school board meeting at the administrative services center right here in the Arapahoe room. And on April 22nd, 2025 there will be a school board meeting
in the administrative services center again here in the Braco room. If there is no further business this evening, may I have a motion to adjourn? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Is there any debate? Alright, scene none please call the vote. Ms. Patron. Mr. Cisneros? Aye. Dr. De Niro? Aye. Judge Mayes Aye. Mrs. Pen, Nuncio Aye. Mr. Kibo Aye, Thank you so much for joining us this evening. Have a good night.