all right guys Good evening I call this meeting to order at 6:15 p.m Present tonight we have director after director deities director titler and myself director Ramirez meaning we
have a quorum Thank you to our interpreter Astrid Would you please share the interpretation instructions with our participants and then we can turn on the interpretation function The first business in order is the approval of the agenda Directors are
there any proposed changes to the agenda Do I have a motion to approve the agenda as presented I make a motion to approve the agenda as presented Second All in favor say I I I Motion passes Our next agenda item is our
opening celebrations and updates by our superintendent Dr Nicole All right Good evening Um this is we're kind of in the middle of some weeks especially with students right now and families around accountability This is kind of our accountability testing uh season And so
a couple of things we want to celebrate and highlight tonight First in terms of measuring strategic priority number three which is student centered partnerships the Roaring Fork School District parent survey is open right now And so as as the board will remember
that we are carefully monitoring metrics um from this survey around parent perception of trust and respect with the district and parent engagement with the family survey are two of the metrics we're tracking on our strategic plan So many many thanks to the family resource center team that's really taking the
lead to ensure families have access to the survey and then um can help navigate the kind of frameworks and the technical components And many thanks to the family resource center team who's also stepping back throughout the process to reflect on what's working what's not working and make recommendations for continuous
improvement on the way we utilize the survey and get it out to families So want to thank all the families who have already taken a moment to fill out the survey and then encourage everyone to please do so Um we'll close that survey April 30th Additionally in terms of
strategic priorities uh priority number two rigorous learning for all as well as one of our well not one but many of our key mission measures as an organ organization This is CAMASS and PSAT SAT testing season So CAMS launched across
our schools this week for third through eighth graders Last week 11th graders took science CAMass PSAT SAT are scheduled for next week So we just want to um hold our students and families really carefully right now Want to make sure they're getting lots of rest eating good breakfast coming to school on time
ready to go Um and also want to celebrate and thank all the teachers staff testing administrators parents and students of course working hard to make sure that um students can be at their best show what they know and how they've grown Um so thanks to everybody for
working around that we are uh gearing up to celebrate the class of 2025 and so want to um begin that work You know just being recognized as a finalist for the competitive Daniels and Betcher scholarships is a celebration So we want
to celebrate Gail Mundraon who's also a pre-colgiate student from Glenwood Springs High School who was selected as a Daniels Scholar finalist and Jane Taylor from Morin Fork High School who was also selected as a finalist for the BER scholarship And of course we're delighted to celebrate our students who
were awarded these scholarships So Hornelli Vargas Navaro um also a pre-colgiate student from Glenwood Springs High School was recently awarded the Daniel Scholarship Ty Hess and Amanda Madden from Glenwood Springs High School have been awarded the Betcher Scholarships So congratulations to these seniors and we look forward to
celebrating and will bring the board more celebrations and accomplishments um from the class of 2025 in the next few weeks Uh thinking of that set of students also makes reminds us that summer is right around the corner So want to remind parents of rising first through fifth
graders that summer advantage enrollment is open now and family liaison are really the best point of contact for um support to enroll kids in the summer advantage program Many thanks to Christy Helms and the family resource center teams for doing a great job getting the
word out I think we have higher enrollment right now than we've ever seen at this time in the school year So many kudos to Christy and the team for their work there Um want to celebrate uh related to strategic priority number three operational excellence Um as part
of tonight for those those folks who weren't listening in on the work session tonight we heard from Chief Bomb Faulk and director of facilities Eric Willis who's here um about our new capital improvement plan that they have been working on with consultants and with really critical assessments for the
district And so want to lift up for the public some of the things that the board of education heard during that work session Director Willis and his team do astounding work and I think um some of the facts that we were able to pull up and I just wanted to share again is that they support over a million square feet
of of facility space and respond to over 4600 that number kind of blew me away Eric 4600 work orders per year What's really hard about anyone who works in operations is that when you're doing a really good job no one notices anything And I know I speak for many leaders
across the district that Director Willis's team is stealthy Um they are everywhere all the time We hardly notice them They just come in fix things and something works better Um so tons of thanks to their dedication teamwork responsiveness and um the board lifted
this up at the end of the work session but also want to just thank Director Willis and Chief Bombfock for really putting together a better system and it really aligns to where we're trying to go with operational excellence and I think they're they're just leading the way in terms of
operations Finally um this week is National Assistant Principal Week Um so want to celebrate our assistant principles They were true superheroes in our schools They are capable of just about anything within the scope of an hour or one day They support students
They support teachers and families directly every single day They're critical leaders in terms of instruction and quality and collaborators with principles And they are critical contributors to district leadership teams We have um there's a a stock line
on every job description in the district that reads other duties as assigned and I don't think anyone else quite serves such a range of other duties than assistant principles So this week we want to recognize and thank APS for their heart um their tenacity and their professionalism making sure our schools
are set up to support students growth and achievement well-being and academic success every day So many thanks to Scott Anderson Courtney Wrangler Carrie Hassel Amanda Balentine Gayla Row Tom Penszel Kendall Riley Heather Fox Mary Kate Adams Marie Solenriquez Jason Santo
and Jesus Rios Farah We could not do this work without them Okay The next business in order is an IBB presentation from Anna Cole and an energy management update from Chief Bombfock Charlie Hopp from New
Energy Technology and Christina Matsy from Clear Okay so we kind of have two parts to superintendent report First is a summary of um the closure of administration IBB And so we have Amy Brockman who's principal at Crystal River Elementary
School assistant superintendent Dr Park as members of admin IB So um as with all of our IBB teams we have representatives from the employee group and then representatives from admin that work together So just want to report back to the board and community on the work from
admin IB this year Um you can see our team that is made up with representatives who uh volunteer to do this work We have a large team of admin IB folks and then like we have um really rolled out with all of our IBB teams
this year We have the full group of IBB and then we have a smaller leadership team that we call the 4x4 or the 4x3 that actually meets monthly So the vast majority of these folks have met every month this year um to work on the initiatives that we're here to share
with you Um and so want to so we talked about the smaller leadership team and what that team's job is and this is new for the district Like we've had certified IBB for a long time Um but over the last year we shifted some of the structures
to have this kind of a leadership team to really monitor the implementation of the agreements established through the IBB process So these leadership teams are critical Um and then that that 4x3 leadership team works through committees on specific interests that might include
additional folks outside the IBB team The full admin IBB team uh meets twice a year to determine initial interests in the fall and then get some updates from the team as work progresses and then make final decisions And a summary of the work this
year we we really focused on three key things Um you know we we sometimes call it the evergreen team for school principles It's kind of related to what I just mentioned with assistant principles doing everything all the time and additional duties as assigned but at
some point um I think we recognize especially for school leaders that work boundaries really matter that we cannot continue to just pile more duties on top of leaders And so we we have a a an interest group a committee that is really working on defining what extra
what is really above and beyond the core duties of our leaders and our administrators Um and so that group works on guidance for leaders to consider the roles and responsibilities of what truly is outside the scope We always will have a kind of salary and
budgets team so that if and when there is is additional funding to infuse into staff salaries that the staff who are impacted by that additional infusion of money can decide where it needs to go this year there wasn't that kind of funding and instead this group and
especially the leadership team um pivoted and really spent um significant amount of time and I'm incredibly grateful for their leadership and collaboration on this really supporting the district with timely and transparent communication about any sort of impacts
any decision making related to the budgetary decisions financial um issues and challenges health insurance um decision-m that we had to make throughout the fall This team really um was willing to dedicate their time to guiding and strengthening our internal
communications So um what what would have normally been a committee that's talking about you know in situations when we can infuse and and provide raises into our salary schedules they actually took their expertise and interest and helped us work on communication and how to better communicate the financial challenges
that we were facing So lots of gratitude for that work Um and then finally another thing that we did uh achieve some agreements on was limiting um was looking at scheduling and the impact that some of our district meetings and district PD are having on the day-to-day lives of of schools And so we've we've
made some agreements because of the admin IBB work this year um around when we would when the district office would be pooling staff for um work for professional development during the school year anything I
missed Okay I know we'll come back to questions after the superintendent report and we'll be here until then So thanks Right So I'm uh excuse me really happy to have Charlie Halp of New Energy Technology and Christina Metsel of Clear
um as well as our facilities director Eric Willis with us here to um give you an update on the incredible work that we've done as a team on energy saving um this year and you're going to see some of those savings in the budget coming up as we adjust accordingly And with that I just want to hand it over to Charlie and
Christina for a quick overview and then entertain your questions Um yeah thank you for having us today Um I'm Christina Matzel and I work work up here with Clear We are really excited to share all this good news with you and Charlie Hop
is our partner in this work that we're doing Howdy I'm Charlie Hop Um this is a very exciting moment for me personally and for all of us but for me personally because it's a bit of a return home to some early days that we're going to
share with you and we'll just dive into it tell our story and then be ready to answer any questions But I do want to echo something that the superintendent said And I've had the privilege of being in this energy business for about 32
years pioneering energy accounting I've worked with hundreds of school districts Hundreds across the country And I'm here to say that what she said about Eric and Eric's
team she didn't quite really tell you how awesome they are because the results we're going to show up here are because Eric and his team took the lead did the hard heavy lifting supported the schools
went the extra mile and in essence have restarted a high perform performance energy conservation culture that existed in this district prior to CO So just preface the story This is
good Let's see if I can Oh All right Quickly Energy management has four steps Don't care who you are Intel down to 7-Eleven One is data That's the cornerstone From that you
make great decisions datadriven decisions The second is conservation Hardest thing to do Why Because it involves people and you get to got to get people to change behavior Third is are your purchasing energy and are you
getting the right rate Are you getting the right deal from the utility company And fourth is are you spending your money wisely to improve your physical equipment That's the capital that is needed to whether it's a
controls HVAC lighting The system that we have supports that with our data Oh there we go Um this shows here Glenwood Springs Middle School And I'm
starting with this because this is our only school that had an increase in energy use from when we started in July And as you can see in the graph on the far right it says a 45% increase The black line is when the new chiller came
on The red line is when we didn't need the chiller because it was cold enough outside that we wasn't calling for cooling That investment has cost the district during a several months between two and
$4,000 of increased expense I can only tell you that probably every single teacher in that building is thrilled with it It was the right use of energy It was the right investment I've been in the district for
a long time and that school needed some air conditioning You made a lot of people happy Did the right thing justified energy use Here is a very busy graph and slide that talks about energy star ratings But the bottom line on
energy star low is not so good High is very good 50 is the medium Below 50 you're in the lower half Above 75 you can earn this wonderful thing called energy star This graph just has a little
history 2010 some crazy middle school kids under Michael Logan decided to take on a challenge National Cath Challenge compete nationally and they took over their feeder school Crystal River
Elementary School They placed seventh out of the biggest loser as in mount most amount of energy that could be saved Super exciting So down the on the left bottom students were celebrating with JC C Penney who was heavily
involved in supporting the students in getting the store while it was still open at Glenwood their 100th Energy Star plaque And then over to the right bottom the students the next year celebrated in DC at the annual Energy Star Awards And
what did they do They grew up being the high schoolers And what did they do They drove getting that big giant solar array out there Amazing So bottom line is scores going down are good Scores
going up are good In October of this graph here showed the district's average at a 72 They moved it to a 78 at the end of 2016 Very impressive for the whole district
Then CO hit across the country I don't care if you public or private every energy program went out the window So we're looking at rebuilding this graph Hard to see from here but the bottom line is a year ago in
February the average energy star score for the entire district was a 53 Now remember it was a 78 That's a big drop When we started the program in July we brought that all the way up to a 61 We're heading in the right direction but
that's all the schools We have some real winners We have some that are taking a little bit longer but I chose a winner here of SOP to show you that a year ago it was at a 30 Now it's at a 61
within the next 3 4 months this school is on track to be Energy Star certified which requires 75 or above So this table shows where they were a year ago in June and whether they
could qualify This is the second column from the far right and you had two of the nine schools that could qualify for Energy Star certification Now heading into this June we're looking
at boosting that from two to six Very impressive in a short period of time Overall first eight months this is what we've accomplished from a dollars and cents standpoint We have the top five schools
that we call active energy management That means we're using sophisticated 15-minute interval profiles and we can tell you how much energy is being used at 12:15 in the morning or 1:30 in the afternoon and it pinpoints where energy
waste is taking place so Eric and his team know what to get after to fix it and correct it The next four below are passive We have been struggling to get this metering technology into the schools
It's in now So in February they're passive March they're active We're going to see some more savings because the difference between the two comparing to the previous year is 22% for the active total of 5% for the passive Having the
right data in the right hands with right people great things happen We add the natural gas savings to that and today we talking about $112,000 in a program that started in
the middle of summer from dead stop 8 months later billing data verified in the checkbook so to speak $1102,000 Where is it going Well this is a good indication
where it's going This is the spring break performance I won't get too deep into the details here but there's a bottom line that runs there That's the target that we want the building to go back to when it's at rest We call that
the base load So when everything's off that energy use should hit that base load Look at how incredibly close Looks like you got a comment up there Look at how incredibly close those five schools all five schools hitting that base load
for spring break And look how little they were using during the day when they weren't in classroom Very impressive So we added these other four schools on the left the first two days
the 23rd and 24th That's the total load of the other schools add the new ones in and that's how much new electricity we're looking at to manage We're projecting out the next four months which is really 3 months but four months because billing date is
always 30 days behind to 45 So we've got March that just ended April May and June So you close out the end of the year And what we're looking at here is basically generating an
additional 38,000 plus in energy production increasing that by 20% We add the gas to that and we're going to go from 110,000 to over 170,000 for this first
year I can't tell you how impressive that is We're not talking about investing in more capital We're not talking about investing in changing out any equipment We're talking about how Eric and his team supported by the principles
supported by the teachers are all basically saying "Hey we don't need it Why use it?" So overall going into this next year we hope to add the remaining schools and this admin building so the
administration can lead in this conservation program Those numbers up there show potentially 103,000 next year I think that's a low bar and I hope a year from now we're in a position that
we get to come back and say "Yeah it was a low bar So can't tell you how great it is to be here again and you have a great bunch of people and this conservation initiative is really coming alive because there was an infrastructure here that was here
before and people are responding So thank you questions or we okay great [Music] question Okay I'm gonna start with director
Um I going back to the first one Sorry I'm going to hand over to the superintendent um with your admin IB process would you do it again the same way Sorry I think yeah I mean I think I
think we've the leadership we need to affirm that folks still have the bandwidth to volunteer their time because it's not inconsequential the commitment for the the leadership team Um I think I would
say personally I wish we had gotten um I wish we got to do the more traditional work of you know investing in our salary schedule and working on some of those pieces I feel like the time was incredibly well spent Um I don't know Dr Parker Amy Brock if you
have anything else to add but I think the general structure felt right I think the um formalization of some of the structures feels a lot better it's um organized there's a cadence of meetings there's an agreement um and interest in folks in in the u sort of
breakout smaller teams um I agree with Dr I think we're always trying to identify what are the highest leverage things that can can move forward And I think one that's the shared sentiment What are the things that we can continue to move forward um and make it not add to the list of
things but actually make it a really meaningful list of things which I think is is a great Um you don't have to necessarily answer this but maybe later maybe now Um it's up to you Do you feel like I'm trying to think when teacher IB certified IBB goes
through and you're in the room negotiating those individuals don't directly report to you do you feel as though the administration IBB process was colored by that difference of relationship where there's a more direct hierarchy I think it's a really good
question and I don't I don't have a concrete answer other than that that tension of having your supervisor in the room for labor relations is always there It's there in certified IBB because we have admin on the team you know school
administrators that are on the team It's present in classified IBB where we have you know director Willis and some of his staff on the team Um and it's present in admin where we have Dr Park Goldberstein and high school principles Um and so I I do think that that tension is always
there which is why um I do also believe that the goals and priorities in interestbased bargaining that the board stamped in some of your H policies that really talk about shared interests and collaborative approaches that moves us
away from traditional negotiation which is really based around positional and power and digging into positions you know this board has directed us to do to kind of do labor relations through interestbased bargaining which starts from shared interests and shared goals
and keeps coming back to that to try to remove positionality So I think we're trying to address that as much as possible through our work in labor relations but I I think it's always a part of of the tension that's in that room So anything else
on Is that your question Did that answer your question Yeah that's helpful And then coming back over here what are we doing to celebrate achievements like this in the district Are we getting the word out Are we What are we doing What can I help with
Um great question I don't have a great answer yet I think we really wanted to wait and share this with the board first Um and so that's a good nudge that we need to follow up with some other things and I think in the schools as well Got a win-win people Yeah
That's director Titler Thank you Um I'll start the same way Um my first question about the IBB process is in you were talking about like salaries and budgets and being transparent for
potential staffing changes And I'm curious about from having heard from staff a little bit like well it's through attrition that we're replacing teachers where does the administrative
um executive end of it like how does that go with is it through attrition but it's not necessarily through attrition and I've just heard lots of people asking questions about like if the cuts are coming not cuts but like teachers not being filled then it's like harder
than to like take a principal and say well we're going to get away with the principal now because you need the principal How is that balance working there between administration and teachers and was that brought up in IBB Yeah I mean I would say that the in
terms of current like staffing levels that are directly related to student enrollment we have pretty set ratios in terms of teachers to students and different student groups that we we take our enrollment projections and then
staff schools with teacher FTE in those alignment kind of in that using those ratios Right now we have similar ratios per building for administrators So for example right at at most of our schools we require there to be a principal and
an AP There is some point at which think of a Bridges High School where we say that's just one principal And there's a point at which and I think the numbers are somewhere around 600 where we say we're going to add a.5 assistant principal So think of Glowman Springs High School that has a principal and two
APs So we do have similar ratios for some of those school-based admin positions They're not as tight I think one of the questions that has come up certainly this year and is is in the back of all of our heads as we project declining enrollment is how how long
will those ratios for school-based administrators hold and at what point when do you move from a principal AP staffing to not having an AP or just having one leader because we know you know yeah it makes sense it bridges but what happens when a school gets down to
200 or 250 what do we do then so I would say um we've used those similar staffing ratios for school leaders right now but are are we looking at them and questioning them and wondering where are we now Where do we go from here Absolutely And what about as far as like
the district office Is there's any kind of talk about like how that staffing ratio goes too or is there a staffing ratio at the deal You know no not to the same set clarity that we have for schoolbased staffing And to be honest admin IB is really about really supports
the administrators who are on the certified salary schedule So it's limited to principles APS and instructional facilitators So it's only that that labor relations group really only represents three employee groups
two of whom aren't at the deal Um I would like to say thank you to this group in front of us here Um our facilities and operational thank you and clear and net thank you for coming in and doing what you're doing for us It's
an amazing thing of what you were able to achieve in this last year My one question I have just looking at the data that you presented what's up with the um energy score ranking at Crystal River Elementary being that they're a newer school in in the scope of things and why
they have such a poor rating Crystal's always been a challenge Thank you We're moving on No but Uh yes and it has been a challenge from an energy perspective When we started working with the district back in 2009
it was one of the biggest problems It was a real challenge So it has to do with the original architecture It has to do with the original setup of the equipment And the big problem right now which could dramatically improve that
energy star score is its control system there is very limited control it's really hard for Eric's team to go in and actually adjust and work that school So in all fairness to the school if it had better controls we'd see that
performance get back to where it should be And as we were talking Chief Bomb about controls and you were telling us about that and Chief Willis is that something that's in that five-year plan for controls at CRE Yeah that's actually our top priority for the 2526 budget for
control So we're hoping to be able to knock out Riverview with some savings that we had from this year from some other projects that didn't go forward Um and uh get Crystal River and maybe Carbondale Middle done next year And Charlie's Charlie told us from the start Charlie and Eric had a really
interesting kind of discussion at the beginning where Charlie was saying I think we should start with these schools And Eric was saying well I can't control those schools And so that's one of the only schools in the starting kind of cohort um that we just have a lack of control So we're going to get that under control in the next year Great Thank you
for all your work and agree that this should be shared publicly the great work So thank you director after Great Thanks Um I'll start with some questions and comments on the energy side Um I've been at Rocky Mountain Institute for 17 years So I really understand and appreciate
the value of this work and also just how challenging it is Um and when it's done right what it looks like It looks like dollars and cent savings for taxpayers and it looks like occupant uh benefits comfort increased comfort in our
facilities for our staff and our students So really grateful for that And also just wanted to say out loud that this doesn't happen without vision and leadership right To take the first step So thank you for that Really appreciate it That guy right there Ben Den is uh
definitely he's the quiet leader of the parade but he's the leader Great Um my student my kids are students at Crystal River so be great to see that become more comfortable for everybody Um on the It looks like about
$278,000 in savings that you all identified this year Um is that right Well we're on track On track as far and and when I look at utility bills it's utility bills consumption per square foot adjusted for weather Okay So we can't take advantage
of okay of the weather and then we apply the current rate to that energy reduction So we are on track right now to hit north of 170,000 for this year Now that says a lot when it comes to the first year because you're changing this
behavior And as we all know when you create a new behavior it takes months before it becomes a habit Next year it's going to hit a whole another level And I think 300,000 next year is the absolute floor Great So and then you you
clarified earlier in your presentation Charlie that it wasn't we're not talking about capital investments that are creating these efficiency gains So maybe Eric could you talk a little bit about the behavior changes the specific behavior changes that you were helping lead Yeah Um excuse me Uh first it was
the scheduling Uh during COVID we were flooding the schools with fresh air Okay And that was just completely out of control There was no I mean the the mission was to give this the spaces as much fresh air as possible Now we've
dialed it back CO supposedly is over Um and we we have what we can control on a schedule and that's holidays that's weekends We do struggle a little bit with athletic events in and gyms and athletic events we don't really know
about We're really working diligently on that Um to just everybody coordinate and use uh what they call the our school calendar which is the chassis calendar and dialing it in even a little more So um it's a group effort The principles
have been absolutely v fantastic about it and the advice principles Uh it's a behavior change like Charlie said Um another thing we noticed during COVID everybody silent theirelves in classrooms They didn't go to the faculty lounge and everybody brought in all
these appliances So that's kind of our next mission is try to best we can you know not everybody's going to have their own private refrigerator their own uh steam pot you know all those kind of appliances George
Foreman grills all that kind of stuff Um and get back into the faculty lounge and uh communicate with each other and engage So that's kind of our next mission I might just add Betsy that I what's been most interesting about this work for me because I've just been you
know uh learning as we go um is that I don't think every occupant of all these buildings would say that they've changed their behavior It hasn't really depended on that It really has been mostly HVAC and lighting controls and the custodial team in particular you know when the when everybody leaves the building at 4
to 5 in the afternoon the custodians are just getting started And so that's where Charlie and Eric and our custodial director Lissa Wana um they've worked with the custodians They put it in what Charlie calls a coast mode Like we turn the the air conditioning or the heating
down to base load and then it's still warm enough or cool enough for them to get through their shift and they're turning lights on and off as they go in and out of these different rooms Whereas we used to just leave the whole thing blasting if there was one person in there working So it's we haven't actually pushed too hard on behavior
changes yet And as my understanding from Charlie and Christina is that's the next phase and the phase after that Great I'd like to add one piece here This is really important and that
is you get the building running properly and equipment breaks Energy use is invisible unless you have this kind of monitoring So as things had happened because there have been things that have happened the last
eight months where all of a sudden they had it dialed down and then it was running wild notified Eric's team Eric's team then is aware of it and they can begin to solve it So it's all about that early detection and in the industry term it's called continuous commissioning
We're continuously monitoring and when there's a problem we're commissioning it to get it solved get it out stop the waste Thanks Yeah in in uh my line of work we sometimes call that automatic Like you uh it's an Amry Levens term but you you
it's automatically happening but it's just like poof it happens It doesn't require any behavior change and that's what we want the buildings to do automatically [Music] Great Thanks I had a couple things on IBB if I have time Um just one two quick questions First is
who all is included in admin IB Is it principles assistant principles and then deans It's no it's every it's unified by folks who are on the administrative salary schedules So it's assistant principles principles and then there are
members of the ASUS team instructional facilitators who are on the assistant principal salary schedule So that's who's currently represented on that team Great And then last question here is um on the slide you all shared um there was
a comment about the work boundaries I'd be curious it sounds like you're that's that work is a little bit nent but what have you discovered or can you can you tease a little bit of how you're thinking about work boundaries for the staff I was going to say I'm going to try to remember the two to three things that we affirmed this year were outside
the scope and I believe they were having a principal serve as an athletic director which felt having a principal serve as an athletic director felt like beyond the scope and that they ought to have stipens if they're doing that kind of work
driving buses to overnight trips felt like additionally like they're should be beyond we we stipened um teachers and bus drivers get paid for that It felt beyond a reasonable ask of a school
leader Was there anything else Yes So roles and responsibilities that exist in a school that we have already assigned funding to like managing Chromebooks or being a financial specialist in the front office Um Amy's laughing because she has had to
wear that hat um for many many months when she didn't have a financial specialist And um we've agreed that when those roles already exist and are already already have dedicated funding streams and because of a an inability to hire someone we don't we just say
principal go do it Um that ought to be under consideration for additional um compensation Does that make sense Totally So those are the kinds of and what we were looking for there's all kinds of things that school leaders do We were looking for frankly like lowhanging fruit that
we would say yeah that's outside the scope And so we continue to work on that And some frankly some of the work is also about just facilitating conversations across building leaders to say who's doing this in your building and is that appropriate and can we do that here And so a lot of the conversations are just around delegation
delegating all the things that need to happen Um but we have reached some agreements of certain roles and responsibilities that feel far outside um what we expect And again the the commitment here is that we know if we're going to move student achievement I want
to bring it back to kids because if we want to move student achievement we know the number one driver of that is the K is our kids' families The next most important lever that we can pull in a school district are the humans that are in front of students the teachers The
next most important lever um is the school leader And so we you know that school leader in terms of school quality um school student outcomes teach you know who's going to support and make sure we're doing teacher quality right it's the school leader And so in terms
of really recruiting and retaining excellent school leaders is really at the heart in order you know in order to make sure our kids achieve is really at the heart of these conversations Thanks Thank you So um first of all thank you guys Thank you
for your work Thank you for your dedication Um thank you for saving us money We appreciate it I think this is great And um I echo all the gratitude my colleague shared with you guys and to our team Thank you guys for being so intentional with your work and making
sure that we have good systems Thank you for all of that dedication to our schools and to our students and to our staff making sure that they're comfortable in our schools and that they're happy and you know excited to come back And thank you also for like being excited about this work because I
think that matters So thank you all Um I just want to echo um gratitude for admin IB I think it's really important I'm really glad we have it I think it's been really crucial just in
this year that has been kind of crazy Um but I also think it's necessary and so I want to commend all of the um leaders who have participated in admin IB Um thank you for staff memos I absolutely love them and I don't think I say that
enough but um I appreciate so much that you guys um have given your time and that you guys volunteer to help make our schools better So um I appreciate so much um that you guys have jumped right in and that you guys have participated in other
conversations and um you know we've I think we're really moving forward in the right direction of like really hearing from the all of the voices that need to be heard so that we have the greatest impact So thank you for that Does anyone have further questions
I did have them Um one other question for Charlie and Christina You talked about all of the savings that you were able to give us without any capital outlay My question is like how do you come to our district then Are you through grants and you come Are we
paying you How is it that we're getting your work Take that or you I mean we So when Charlie said no capital outlay he's talking about we didn't install any new equipment We did enter into a contract with clear um we had an existing budget line item for that It wasn't adequate
for the work that we decided to do this year but we saw the offset in utilities and that's that's actually panned out So we're actually looking at our contract for next year um right now And so you'll see that in the budget So we are paying clear as our consultant and then they consult with Charlie's organization as a
subcontractor Okay Thank you Can I add to that Sure Um generally the way it works is it's a diversion of utility funds You're going to pay the utilities Um
this program to build an infrastructure takes a lot of effort No different than building a building and then the cost of maintaining it So first year out of the gate savings generally cover 50 to 60% of the cost it took Excuse me
savings cover If you get a 100 let me step back If you're saving 100 grand the program cost you 50 to 60 to start So the district or the company keeps 40 to 50 cents of the dollar We hit our
170,000 That's pretty much how this relationship worked About 50 Second year because you have an infrastructure the cost goes down but you have to exercise the infrastructure Generally you're looking at about a 30% where it costs 30% for the program and
the district keeps 70 cents on the dollar By the time you get into the third and fourth year it ends up that the whole dollar that the district gets it's costing somewhere between 15 and 20 cents to maintain it And it's it has the
potential as it does in many of our clients just to be perpetual makes it through every budget cut but you rather spend 20 cents than a dollar to So the program is that type of self- sustaining Great Thank you for that explanation Thank you Great Thank you all Thanks
Appreciate it The next business in order is the CFO update Nice to see you J I'm gonna pretend to be my best Chrissy Sha Coin and answer questions So ready for them when you are Oh that's right We have another staff
member Um each board member will have two minutes to share comments or questions We will begin with Director Taylor So Christie I guess my question is not I was just going to ask what she needed Like so if you can pass that along like
how can we support her Oh I can answer that She just needs she needs time She needs time and she needs all of us to get our budgets done Okay Yeah Yeah Get your budgets done That's it Thank you Correct
Yeah The uh Thank you The memo was thorough So I don't I don't have a lot to ask I I am curious about the legislative discussion on the per pupil revenue um because her she noted heard this over the weekend and she noted that um there was a committee meeting this this past Monday I was curious if you
have an update beyond that I hadn't I hadn't been tracking Yes Um the the the school uh finance proposal that came before the committee on Monday the 7th passed uh unanimously and moved through committee Um and so it's it's tracking
and kind of holding its course right now I think there are still some details to be worked out We are anticipating that at the April 23rd meeting Christie will do a pretty robust um we're hoping to have a more robust and refined uh revenue projection for you So we'll be
able to summarize kind of all of all of that with a little bit more um specificity hopefully by the next board meeting Okay But I would say that the headlines of all her bullet points in that memo are that her estimates are kind of still holding Like if you
remember those first projected slides we saw at the January meetings of revenues a little bit up a little bit down with averaging you know kind of bringing in a four-year averaging um with some of the other concerns and question you know kind of changes It's we're kind of
holding it where where Chief Shcoin projected we would be So when she says in the bottom of page two utilize for student counts utilize four-year averaging but and then in parentheses and it attacks it says RFSD
no averaging currently estimated that means that for 2526 she's taking a super conservative approach to assume that no averaging will be included right basic yes those those italics are basically comparing the last revenue projection that to are comparing what is currently
drafted in the school finance formula against the projections that she brought us in January Does that make and just kind of naming the difference Okay Um I would love to like continue to have updates without I don't want to add
additional work for her at all but I think like if there's any if there's newsworthy updates if you could throw them in the um weekly update for us so that we can keep staying on top of this in between board meetings that'd be great Absolutely Thanks Director
Jeffreeze Um yeah great memo once again Always appreciate the time that goes into that Um saves us a lot of discussion time here for sure and the participation in the finance committee for other board members I appreciate that as well Um I also just I don't have a lot of questions but I just wanted to
say out loud um the district support for sending teachers to go rally in the capital I know that was a tremendous lift logistically both at the building administration level and then also at the superintendent administration level um pushed to that by
RFCA It made a difference The chatter in the halls was like the teachers are here especially rural communities for House Speaker Dylan Roberts like they noticed And so it did I don't know how much it moved the needle I haven't you ever
measure that but um I do think it was worth it I think it will not be the last time that we have an opportunity to find those small levers to pull Uh so I just I really appreciate the flexibility and the energy that went into doing that
Thank you Um I uh know we didn't have finance committee this Monday but we will be having it next Monday So that is helpful I um I guess I just really want to ask are we still on schedule with the timeline that was presented to us We are
And you know remember it's it's an extended deadline than what we had hoped for and still looking for that second June um second June special meeting just to approve the budget a virtual meeting And um but we're still we're still on track
Um yeah we're still on track with that calendar Okay Um and then I did just want to know obviously you guys put that all um budget spreadsheets must be finalized and return no later than April 15th Is that end of work day Is that like I think it's I was going to say
it's I think it's 3 p.m They're getting Yeah they are getting locked Yep The operational budgets have a different deadline but for school leaders it's 3 p.m on the 15th Okay Well thank you I echo the sentiment on a good memo I appreciate um so much um I mean
Christiey's really good at at um sharing information I think um we really appreciate that as a board So thank you Are there any further questions I do have one other So when we go to those last bullets on the page and talking about the 4-year
average whereas our PP or PPR I guess um looks like it's maybe staying level to what she predicted that does not take into account what the 4-year average will do for our pupil count though Is that
correct Because like we were talking about 2425 and then 25 26 each of them having somewhere in the neighborhood of a loss of 80 students I don't remember the exact number but if we're talking a difference in 80 students
for 25 26 and understanding the four-year average might not cover all 80 of those but it might cover 60 of those maybe or something like that could be an extra three4ers of a million dollars maybe Absolutely and it will um so that
four-year averaging does help us So it works you know when when we first saw those projections from Christy in January she had completely eliminated averaging and as you remember we're working you know we're we're taking kind of 2year hit of right sizing our
projections um because we overestimated this year and dropped and we're anticipating a drop next year So when when when Christiey's kind of recalculating for projections that definitely helps to take in a four-year averaging than a current year it um it
helps but it doesn't totally transform what we're seeing as an overall increase So unfortunately like her yes we get we have some gains there but we have some losses elsewhere And so we're still actually tracking pretty close to what her projections were in January even
counting that in even counting that in Okay I actually did have one more thing I wanted to know and I forgot for a second but I just wanted to thank Christy for the goals for improvement section I really appreciate it I mean it's one thing to say like I found some
things that weren't working well for the school district or for the budget or for how we do things or our practices and to be able to list those out for us I think is important for us as a board to be able to see that But then to be able to see the goals for improvement and what she's going to be working on in the next
budget cycle I think was really important So I really appreciated her commitment and how she's so thorough and making sure that she's like detailed to the tea So thank you Thank you Um just one final thought I
think we still have work to do to continue to grow teacher and community understanding around the implications of declining enrollment and what that actually means I mean that's a long process and you know we don't have the exact numbers yet but I think just keeping it I think working with RFCA and
working with building leadership and I I don't know I don't quite know how to solve that problem but I just don't I what I see is is a community that is tentatively interested in rebuilding trust with us and that means no more
surprises around finances and so overexplaining I mean how many times who are the teachers in the room how many times you to say something for people to retain it It's the same if you're trying to get a community to understand what we're facing So I don't know how we can help Please shuffle that off as as boards and advocates for the school So I
think a town hall might be a good investment of time this summer on declining enrollment because I definitely echo that of like I think there's confusion of what that means for us especially with the healthc care issue we just had I don't think there's quite the understanding of how we
transition from one thing into the next Um and so I do think an investment of staff time to make sure that we're providing some space for staff and community to hear what this means for the Royan Fork School District and our schools will be really important just as
we start really digging into that conversation of what that means for for us in the future And just piggybacking on that I think it's easy from probably your position and probably your staff's position too to think like you beat that
to death like you've explained it and explained it and explained it in a way that like it's so ingrained in your understanding and like you've explained it once or twice and so you think you've put that out there but it seems like the need to continue to do that is was
evident at least from the IBB sessions that we have where it seems like it needed to come up again and again in that sense and so I think that's an important reminder just to continue to do that more than
you might think is necessary The most fun town hall ever I think it'll be really interesting You know I think we are I would say generally as educators we are hopeful people and we always hope it's going to
get better and I think there's a piece certainly of me and I know most of our team thinking like really are those projections right really let's wait till October you know and so I I do think there's going to be some important timing next October when those counts
come in to stack them up against the projections to be you know to be able to either complicate the story or to really affirm the story And I think to to all of the the points you're making which I'm really grateful for those pushes yes this is our reality We are going to have a lot of hard decisions in the next
couple years Yeah you're right It's going to be an ongoing conversation Okay Thank you Thanks At this time we welcome members of the public who have signed up to address the board There are zero speakers signed up tonight The board allows 45 minutes for
public comment To respect the time of all who are present speakers are to limit their remarks to three minutes or less U members who wish to share their views with the board may always do so in writing at any time For this evening's public comment we received one written comment
Okay The next business in orders the approval of the consent agenda which includes routine personnel minutes from our previous board meeting approval of policy GCBA and repeal of policy GCO B Directors are there any items that you would like to pull off the consent
agenda for separate discussion and vote Hearing none do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda I move that the board approve the consent agenda as presented Do I have a second Second call to a vote Director After Hi
Director Deprades Hi Director Ramirez Hi Director Tidler Hi Okay The next business in order is policy review Oh the next business in order is discussion on policies AC GBA GBA AAA
GCE GCF GDE GDF regulations ILBC- R AC- R1 and AC-R3 and exhibits A-1 and AC-E-2 Each board member will have two
minutes to share comments or ask questions We will begin with director after Okay this was a lot when I opened my computer on a Sunday Um so thanks to the team for what I'm sure was a tremendous
amount of work putting this together on could could someone please voice over why we have a number of emergency approval or as soon as possible required policies on the list here and the the significance of them or insignificance of them Um whatever the case may be Just
kind of high level here because it's a lot and we don't normally have emergency approvals Yep Uh with a change in administration and some federal requirements the Title 9 um processes have reverted back to 2020
and the main change was from sexbased harassment to sexual harassment And so um that term is one of the most common updates And so CASBY was was um possible update recommending that we
make these updates Yes And that's that's the the language change is as simple as that Um okay And that covers like 70% of these that we're talking about today Um on ACR AC-R3 I put this in a comment
that Jonathan hopefully responded to but um I did just want to I wonder if you could again voice over the changes here because this one was tricky for me as a board member to review without having since the suggestion from legal counsel
was to wholesale replace I didn't and because this is not an area I know very much about it was really hard for me to understand what actually you're suggesting that we um like what the meaningful changes are from the previous policy which we just approved in
September to this new one So and I guess that's a little bit of feedback too It's just like it's hard I feel like I need a little bit more than just like eh let's just replace it with what CASBY suggests because I it's hard for me to understand the difference I would say that and that's that's
helpful feedback and we can do more in the policy map to explain the why and I I would generally say that the the as you can see it's a very complex protocol and there's a lot to it and where we landed was feeling frankly that the CASBY protocol was clearer I would say
contentwise you're not seeing anything different except the staff recommendations on supportive measures those sort of things that I feel like are a little bit more Roaring Fork School Districtish that have been added But I think structurally we felt that the CASBY language on the regulation was
clearer easier to follow and didn't have any real key substantive changes in the content beyond what we recommended Does that So why didn't we just take the Casby language in September I don't know Maybe it wasn't that tight Um
it was from February in the update Was it minor updates last time Yeah I see Okay It just felt a little strange Uh I'm almost out of time I um
on the most substantive policy I think we probably discussed tonight which is IC ILBCR Um so this is our second read of this So we've already discussed it once and I I I don't have questions
substantively about the um language I think the question for me was just I had a hard time understanding the commentary surrounding it between Director Titler and staff Um so I'll just say I think I think I'm okay with the language as is but I felt like I was missing some of
the context So you don't have to respond to that again kind of feedback on like this many policies and it might be help We try to combine the core questions in the director tracker request and make it into more of
a narrative in case that's easier Okay Which is in the tracker Yeah I took a look at it It wasn't it wasn't totally clicking for me but since this is the second read and we've already talked about it and I was okay with it then you're good And we do have a third read on it because it's new Yeah Thanks
director Um I don't have a lot to offer on those I'm appreciative of the difficult position that you all are in choosing language at time like this Um and just want to echo my support for creating a safe
environment for students um first and foremost and I can understand how these changes uh reflect that priority So I appreciate that Director Taylor I would echo that that I think that language is difficult
I understand through um I forget which one that they say it's still covered within the the rights are still covered through one of those I think it's just we need to be careful how slippery that slope is
So my onbcr I want to say thank you for some of the different um changes that went into that policy resolution I still though did have a few questions from the
feedback from the tracker information Um specifically I had a question about um the question when it was asked um the response was the reason that the regulation does not go into as much detail is because on occasion we have
students whose primary language is not Spanish and not English the fact that over 99% of the cases are Spanish or English in our district I feel like we could
change the language there to still show what that is and to be able to go into detail with it with being able to still have some kind of um language that says for students whose
primary language is not Spanish and not English we need to provide reading it What the wording that you used Dr park in your response to that I think that's great wording but it seems like I would like to see if we can still go into detail about what
those regulations would be and what um the detail would be on how that instruction would look for people whose language is Spanish And I was wondering if it would be possible for us to bring that back to policy committee to talk
about what those um details could be To be clear are you talking about the bottom of page one and the top of page two of the regulation Um
I'm talking about in too many tabs open Sorry that in the response in the director tracker request and that you said um in the first page of it of the director
request tracker request questions it says the question that I had asked in accordance with this phrase and can this policy spell out what primary language literacy would look like And I think that was what the struct paragraph was trying to get at And then the response
where your cursor is now Got it Thank you Dr Park is saying that did not go into detail because we have students whose primary language isn't But the fact that we are over 99% either Spanish or English Would it not be possible to have that same
language still and still be able to go into detail for students who are working in Spanish Yeah I appreciate the feedback Um I think we can see where in the regulation and try to find a a balance of level of
detail to go in there Um that would still allow flexibility for different student populations that come in that wouldn't require a revision to the regulation And is that something that can then be brought back to policy committee to discuss
I don't know if they have a policy for the 23 So there's there's some Yeah let us um we will we'll take that and see if we can pull something off before it would need to go before policy committed
substantive first Um if we don't get to it we always have the option of pulling and providing more time Okay you know pulling the policy if we want to keep I would like to see that if possible that we could do that and if that could go through policy committee
but if not I'd be happy to maybe next time see if we can pull that and look for more time with that and then I'll come back in the five minutes for an extra question Um I guess I would just you know I think my preference would be that it go to policy committee and we put it there If we're
able to get to it great If not let's just notify the board on the weekly update that we got to it or didn't get to it And then that way everyone's aware of if there were any changes Um I think there were just a couple questions that
were still left over Um I think the biggest one for ILBC I know before we jumped off I just mentioned to um that I would appreciate if the team goes back through the document to make sure everything was okay Great Um and then
thank you um Chief Park for your um update on changing or updating that sentence that we discussed Um I appreciate just the clarity that that provides And [Music]
um feel like there was one more policy that maybe we discussed but I'm not seeing it now [Music] So I don't see any other places where I had notes So um let's see
So we'll now open it We will now have five minutes for open discussion if anyone wants to add any further questions I had one more that I would like to ask about also from the response from the feedback on the um request that I had
asked about and that one is on the components of the read plan where it says at the minimum the student read plan will include and it has the five or six or seven where some of them were stried out and on number three where the goals and benchmark for the students
growth in attaining reading competency part in the um response that you gave Dr Park you had mentioned about how that creating language development goals for the read plans and you linked
the creating language development goals for the plan and you have that link Is that something that can be included in the regulation there that link because when you're looking at for the like NEP and LEAP and when we're looking or
especially NEP level one and level two of that plan and it really hits very nicely I think on all of the strategies that teachers should be looking but in the same response about how you mentioned that most intervention time is
done as a one-time intervention with a wide ranging group of needs within that intervention time and so it seems like having this language as a go-to place to isolate
what those skills are that are needed for NEP students would be a important part to have as part of that link to the policy I don't know if I'm making myself clear I wonder here if there's an opportunity
to you know step back and reflect on what role of granularity or how how deep we should go on on this I don't know Um I think driving the conversation forward is important and I appreciate Director Tyler your persistence in making sure that it moves forward but I I think
maybe um policy committee is maybe we should shy away from prescribing um actual like uh teaching practices in policy I know regulation is is one thing I don't quite know where
where we stop as far as that goes but I I think there's um I don't I don't want to control professionals decision-m day-to-day to the point in policy that we're overstepping on the board but I'm open to feedback on that
I would I would name I would concur that taking the regulation and actually citing this you know tool that we're using feels like it's going too far into the operations Mhm I do think that in moments like this it matters that the
board can say "What does that look like What show us what you're using?" And that we can bring these kinds of tools as reference as saying like "Can you show me an example?" I feel like that's very appropriate in the accountability that what do you use Like you know it it powerful right to ask that question and
go "Oh wow Okay that's really helpful I'm glad teachers are using that." Um and so I do think that that accountability feels right in these moments but I would concur with with director toes that it in this moment to codify that in the regul even though it's regulation feels like too far into
the granular tools would be my head on that I hear that Um I guess the question I would ask in addition then is have we as a district been able
to like define these are best practices like where where is our definition of like the is our best practice for our second language learners as a district like programming or because I know at least in the past when I've seen
it it's been more at some schools we do this at some schools we do this and that's understandable depending on programming but like are we not having a decision like we find that this is the most effective um researchbased method for teaching NEP
students and have we defined that as a district I don't know that we've defined that as a discipline more than a district And that I think that in the same way that we look at every kid and try to figure out you know a read plan is all about
meeting a child where they are and looking at their particular strengths and skills and family uh histories and needs and then developing a plan targeted to that child I think we similarly look at programs We we do have
a common components of high quality CLLD programming that is our kind of cornerstone of how we evaluate those programs and a lot more as when we get back to policy IHBEA which is coming up in May There's a lot more um resources
and tools that we'll have for the board in terms of showing you how we use that to evaluate our programs um against a set of best p best practices But I would say that there's not and and this has also been my part of my own learning
There is not a silver bullet um or one program that is also right So when we think about the components of an effective program I think similarly with um we wouldn't say that this one hour in
the day is it and we do this one thing and that is a thing that will magically change everything It's actually systemically built in and has to be I'm not sure if that answers your question I'm not sure exactly Um is there something on our website
that says we are War schools and we do this one thing No there isn't because there's population of the kids So thank you Thank you Okay The next business in order is a
review on the proposed 2627 academic calendar update So I guess we're doing two minutes right Yeah Each board member will have two minutes to share comments or questions
We will begin with We started last time Director Dice you great memo No questions Director Titler Um I agree it was a good memo was understanding why we're ch
making the change But I do have one question on the calendar proposal It says that on February 26 is the end of the third quarter and the second trimester I'm curious about how this can be both of them sort of like that makes
like one quarter two months and one quarter 3 months Is there a reason why that matters or is it more just as a progress report anyways and so it doesn't matter that the days are not balanced in that quarter for third and
fourth quarter We yeah I mean in terms of the counting and then the fact that the fourth quarter is typically shorter sorry longer instructional days because of the end of year testing and things like that that we're not going to have an exact number of days and so that's um I think for
this particular one that was the only one that was so close um but I think in our committee when we counted out the days not actually for this change because that date didn't change that was part of all the committee work So um I think we agreed that it was it felt off to have those off by a week I think it
was because of the impact of workday the conference day that happened in March We're trying to balance that But does is there any matter if quarters aren't the same Like is there any impact on quarter lengths really Like does that have any impact I mean I think in terms of
there's some adjustment the teachers would do there if they're um you know think about their assessments but typically the minimum length of time especially for high school because it is just high schools that are on quarter semesters um the shortest length of a class is a semester most of them are year long so so really
the quarter not really a thing I mean a thing but but it doesn't have like impact versus like trying to get curriculum done or in that quarter or anything like that No I think it's the um I think it's really more the semester length than the overall length of the year and the
timing of you know AP assessments or things like that that have a bigger thank you and just to reiterate the change that we're proposing here tonight is just a one day shift at the beginning and end and we didn't change any internal dates to the academic year and we're not opening up for additional
changes just director after Um thanks for uh whoever realized that this would be a problem for us if we didn't make this change Um really appreciate the foresight on that Just one process or protocol question Um as a
member of the calendar committee did this have I don't think this had to go before the calendar committee for any kind of um agreement right This one change No but we did bring it to labor management relations and then certify maybe classified all of our leaders Um
great Okay Um and then I will just say because I have a microphone I think students should be in school more days every year So and I'll say that every time we talk about calendars Thank you Um thank you guys for the
staff memo I did want to see if you guys could explain a little bit and I know the answer but I feel like this is a really good opportunity for you guys to talk about how this calendar item like came to be
about and found out through facilities basically Uh yeah it was actually through food service Food service Thank you Um so yeah within the operations department So we had a process this year where we had um
exactly 30 days instead of um 29 between the first day of school and October count And therefore um we had to do a scramble to get some students who hadn't turned in their forms for this year for free and reduced
lunch um to turn them in It's been challenging the past couple years anyway because lunch is free for everybody So it's hard to kind of make the case and it's still called the free and reduced lunch application from the federal government Um and so we we realized that
we didn't do a great job with trying to scramble and get and that it was sort of impossible to do a great job of it to to get everybody who had qualified the year before but not filled out their form in that 30 days to catch them all And there's a lot of challenges with the privacy regulations around data sharing
Like food service can't just give every school a list and say "Hey these kids were eligible last year They haven't filled out the form Go ask them." We can't share names or anything It's it's a really challenging environment to work in And so as we went through our budget challenges that we've all been working on all year together um this was
highlighted as one of those And so um we we undercounted and and then we had to do some work to try to get the count back up as close as we could um to truly represent our students who qualify for income based benefits And so we started meeting as a team with our food service
director Octavio um with our student data um coordinator Nancy Dver and others from um family resource center Christy Helms and Kelly Medina And we started talking about this and we sort of had this aha moment where we looked ahead at the next two years and said are we going to have to do this every year
We realized that in the coming school year 2526 we're okay and the next year we're not And that's when we decided as a group the best thing to do would be this this minimal adjustment um that would really you know I think another thing that we've been working on a lot as a leadership team is kind of risk
mitigation and identifying where we have financial risk and what can we do to mitigate it and this was in line with that that approach Thank you I appreciate that work and that diligence to like find the little things the little details where we could really have an impact You know this program um
or what we have right now in the state um school meals for all and just I mean all school meal funding Obviously there's a lot of concerns around what this will look like for all of us in the coming years um in the coming months Um
but I really just appreciated um that there was intentionality here to really make sure that we were being as proactive as possible and um making sure that we gave ourselves time to do it right So thank you team for that Thanks
The only thing I would add is in our calendar committee sort of like guidance and things to remember This is a thing that will go back and highlight for future calendar creation that the first day needs to be within 30 days of October 6 Perfect Thank you so
much Any further questions Thank you Okay Okay The next business in order is action on the proposed staff housing guidelines and 2526 tiered rent amounts Do I have a motion to approve the staff
housing guidelines and 2526 tiered rent amounts I make a motion to approve the staff housing guidelines and 2526 tiered rent amounts as presented As presented Do I have a second I second
Um each board member will now have two minutes to share comments or ask questions We will begin with Director Titler I had the opportunity to sit in the housing committee and hear this discussion So I feel like my questions
have been answered I would just like to add that I appreciate a couple different things of how this has come about Number one I like the fact that we are looking at um evening out what different
um how rent is being paid on an equitable way in such that people who might live next to each other who have the same apartment under the previous way we were doing it were paying different rent amounts And I think that
this is important that we get it so it's on par so that people are comparing in a way that is the same And so I like the fact that we are looking at income on an every two-year basis And I think that is important for
us to continue to do that And so and I also like the way that we have come up with stepping that into it and not doing full year increases but making half steps to make that more accessible and
able to happen and not such a big jump for people who hadn't had their rent changed in many years So thank you for your work and foresight and leadership on this Chief Bonpac thanks Director after I don't have any questions I agree with what Director Titler said I think
it's a um it's a kind and equitable way to do some necessary um increases Um and I appreciate all the work that's gone into this and we had a presentation on it uh at our last our previous work session So I feel up to speed and got
all my questions answered there So thanks director DFred Um I echo the appreciation for the thoroughess of handling a very difficult topic Um and one that's sort of been
deferred and is now sort of landed on our plates And um I do have to name my discomfort with the timing of this decision I still while I recognize the outcome of a more equitable rate structure for these housing units I feel
as though this year has put teachers bargaining and everything in a difficult spot We are not looking at the same opportunities for growth as we have in the past and I do struggle that this is happening at the same time
Um I appreciate the staggered nature and the half um the half rates increase to kind of bring things up to speed and I will vote for it But I I do I do want to say I think housing should be as
much of a benefit as possible and and pushing this to where as you explained in the memo it is self- sustaining but if we ever move into the black in the situation I understand we want to invest in other housing and stuff but I feel as though for the foreseeable future my
inclination is to make housing as much of a perk as possible even median income even above median income in this valley doesn't really mean that much to a lot of people And so as we increase rates um reflective of two partner households and
increase earners um I just want to say like it it doesn't I don't know I appreciate the thoroughess and I I do agree that it's necessary I would ask potentially and I know this is veering into operations and I apologize uh you listed all the ways
you've communicated with these individuals very thoroughly If I could potentially ask maybe to consider one more personal outreach to all affected tenants whether it's an email or a phone call um of your discretion but that would be my nudge and request
Can I just respond please Um yeah I'll definitely ask our our property manager does all the direct communication with tenants um and and uh has has done that quite a bit and and we'll make sure she does one more time Um in respect to the timing I had the exact same um concerns
like okay salaries are are pretty flat People will move up to their steps and things like that but um that seems like a hard time to recategorize But then I thought well the alternative is a year like last year where everybody's rent was going up 7% And that felt really big even when people were staying in their
own category and then if you were moving up a category it was another bump So I think it's one of those times that one of those things that it never feels like the right time but I I share your concern Um share your your view of you know we we essentially want to keep rents as low as possible to sustain the
program and be equitable to those who are in it Um and I think it is something that once we kind of normalize this it's it's part of pretty much every um employee housing program or or um affordable housing program out there is that every other year you you resubmit your income And so hopefully it'll just
become a normal part of doing business But I agree the timing is is challenging Thank you Um my comments are I agree it's never going to be the right time Um I also just wanted to mention and I did um speak to the post independent about
this earlier today but um there was an article published about our our work session and I wanted to clarify that I agree with you wholeheartedly that um housing should serve as a stepping stone rather than a long-term solution So I
see it as what we said is a benefit Um and you know I appreciate that we have intentionally tried um to remedy a situation that we have sort of kicked off into the future for a
couple years Um but the fact is that we have multiple tenants in very different um categories of um payment and I think that we should do everything to make sure that it is fair for every
um in our units and that nobody feels like they're getting a bigger benefit than anyone else So I appreciate um this commitment and the work I wanted to see if you could just share a little bit about the tiered U process that we're working on Um you know like remembering
this conversation at the end of our work session of just how um we discussed that every year basically we would move um um families or teachers up on the category and I think that's important for us to
know um during this conversation So uh director Mary are you referring to sort of the half-step concept Okay So the the gist is that um if somebody entered staff housing maybe five or or seven years ago uh at the beginning of their career they would have been in category
1 which is uh less than 60% u or really less than 80% but it's calculated off 60% So at the lower tiers of our median um certified salary Um what we've done so far is even though the the median has moved up every year and that category
has sort of moved up accordingly um that person might have moved up quite a bit Maybe they've gotten their master's degree they've gotten quite a few years of experience and maybe they're at say um category three now with their current income um if they're right around the median certified income So if their neighbor moves in and is at that
category as director Titler mentioned they'd be paying their rate based on their current income but this person's based paying based on their income from many years ago Um the the plan put in place last year actually with the guidelines that was contemplated for a whole year before that was to then move
that person to the correct category upon recategorization That would be from category one And if I say a onebedroom category 1's $977 a month up to category three which is $1,754 a month So almost a doubling of
their um rent We as we started to analyze this discovered like that's that's unfeasible Nobody can handle that kind of rent increase Um and that's kind of things that happens in the free market but that's kind of thing we can prevent in our system So what we developed is a way to just step them up
yearbyear So um if they're determined to have say category 3 income but are living in a category 1 unit then next year they'd move just a half step from category 1 to category 1.5 And that's half the difference between category 1 and category 2 The next year they'd move
another half step into category 2 Um then they'd have their income looked at again If they're still in category 3 then they'd move to category 2.5 And then the following year they'd move to category 3 So it' actually take them four years to get into sort of the the right category based on their current
income Um but we wanted to do that to to smooth the the jump And that leads to about a $200 a month um increase instead of a an $800 a month increase um going from where their income used to be to where their income is now And the
prediction for all of everyone being in the right category is I mean I would say about that I think in two years you'll have um more people in the right category than we have now as far as their based on their current income When I say the right category um but probably more like four years
because it'll be next year we'll we'll review the um current income for tenants who moved in in an even year This year it'll just be people who moved in an odd year and then we'll be on that cadence Okay Um thank you again for this work
Okay Thank you We will now have five minutes for open discussion Anybody have further questions Okay Call for a vote
Director After I Director Defres Hi Director Ramunez Hi Director Titler Hi Thank you so much Okay I think I'm up next also So am I just keep All right The next business in order is
action on a Glowman Springs Middle School gymnasium renaming recommendation Do I have a motion to approve the Glowman Springs Middle School gymnasium renaming recommendation I make a motion to I move that the board approve the GSMS gymnasium renaming recommended as
presented Do I have a second A second Each board member will have two minutes to share comments or ask questions We will begin with me because it's one of my schools So intro Um thank you for taking the time to do this This is a
first for me in five years I've been a forward member and I really appreciate your um staff memo and um just the the diligence of the team and getting your leadership together to really have this conversation
um and to consider um Mr Risner's history in the district and with the Glenwood community So thank you for um your letter and for just the commitment to honor staff and their work and their commitment to our students and
community So thank you for that Director After Yeah Um this was fun to see on the agenda Um and thanks for proposing it Uh someone whose family is part of the valley running community I'm delighted to see this proposal and
wholeheartedly agree with it And thanks to coach Risner for all he's done for students athletes and runners in the Roaring Fork Valley um and GSMS in particular Congratulations to him Director DeFredes Um yeah Dr Olsson do you want to just talk a little bit on
the record about why just a quick statement Sure Well first of all thank you all for having me here tonight for entertaining this uh request I be I also want to express my gratitude for the work that you all do Uh having coming to
the end of my first year Uh I feel very grateful to work here I know it's not been a necessarily easy year for you all Um and so I'm also very appreciative for the leadership of Dr Cole and Dr Park Um helping to guide the district through some troublesome times So I feel happy
to bring uh this more lighthearted and uh very positive piece of agenda to you all and to honor somebody that has truly uh dedicated their life uh to uh Glennwood Springs Middle School and to the Royan Fork School District Uh it's
not often that you find somebody that sticks with a job for 32 years Um and and by extrapolation it means 32 years with middle schoolers um which which anybody knows can age you a little bit more than your average here So uh he has
done an amazing job and is truly I feel like one of the few institutions that we find these days in our uh school system He's going out on top Um I knew that we had something special uh when like my first couple weeks I was asking my dean
um about having an assembly and I was like "Okay well we'll have it in the gym and we'll get all this." And he's like "Well we we have to ask Coach Riser if we can use the gym." And and I had never needed to do that as a principal before Um but I I quickly found out that it was
truly his gym and uh for 32 years he's been a very uh careful and diligent steward of that space uh using it to educate the hearts and minds of our students And so I think this is a very uh simple but meaningful act that I
think uh our entire school community can celebrate and uh truly let him go out on a positive note that recognizes his lifetime of service Thank you Director Taylor I would just echo the sentiments of
thanks to coach Risner and just the part of the letter that talks about the being the leader in PEG youth sports league I got to coach in that league 30 years ago and at that point it was pretty much just like a free-for-all and you got very little information back and it was
very much not organized So to see where it's come to and the commitment and the different regions that are now participating that's really great progress to see and so kudos to him Thank you And I'll just add that um
Coach Risner had two generations of my family so it's really amazing to see him be honored in this way Um are there any further questions or comments I'd just like to also thank uh Chief
Bombfa for helping me in this effort and for making bringing this to the agenda Yeah thank you Chief Bonf Okay let's call for a vote please Hi Director hi Director Ramirez director
Titler Hi Motion passes Uh you knowing this you now we have tentatively planned a naming ceremony for him on May 23rd the last Friday of the school year at 2 p.m You are all
invited and will be receiving more formal invitations now that it is official Thank you very much Thank you Okay The next business in order is action on the health insurance benefits advisory committee recommendations Can we name another gem instead
Do I have a motion to approve the health insurance benefits advisory committee recommendation I move that the board approve the health insurance benefits advisory committee recommendations as presented Do I have a second I second Okay Each board member will now have two
minutes to share comments or ask questions We will begin with Director DeFreeze Thank you Um there's been a tremendous amount of work hours um effort emotional
intelligence invested in coming to this point which I just want to recognize from both for the staff and the administration and Dr Cole's leadership Um I recognize that these decisions are really difficult especially in light of
what this year has been Um and I appreciate that it's noted in the memo that there is still work to be done and I just wondered um if you had any thoughts on that article or offering more Sure Yes What is what is not clear
is that this committee would love given a couple of conditions that are highlighted from admin and classified IBB if our budget would enable us to pay the the full employee cost of a PO9 plan And as you know the picture on our
budget is shifting in over especially over the next couple weeks So we're hoping to be able to get clear on that before we head into open enrollment Um and so look for that Um you know we'll certainly share with you updates on where we think we're going to land Uh
final approval for that and where we land on the employer employee contribution will actually potentially only show up when you approve the budget like you have ultimate say on those contributions through what you agree to allocate to health insurance through the
budgeting process So just know that that final word on that even if we make some initial decisions and start moving in a general direction as we head towards open enrollment will be yours in June Does that make sense Um so I would say that's the that's the first next task I
would say the second next task on this work is um frankly how we do this moving forward I think this year given that this was the first year we had a collaborative bargaining agreement for certified IBB This was the first year that we had a formal health insurance
advisory committee that's that was bound by the CBC to work together on a recommendation to the board Um has created some tensions with historical precedent of the way decisions were made around salaries and benefits and that's
not completely resolved Um and so we are still very much so in a um moment where historical processes around IBB salary and benefit negotiations um labor relations is is kind of um
unsettled and is going to need to be resettled So really grateful for everybody's um willingness to sit with some uncertainty on how this work um lies but still be able to make some forward progress as we are approaching open enrollment and we need to start
making some decisions So I understand that many of our members are feeling unresolved on this work and I think that's okay Um but there's a lot of work still to come on how we do this right now and how we do it moving forward And
then just for some higher level context um the obviously this memo is publicly available for anyone who's interested in understanding what's there but it's only CEBT that's listed Can you just I know this has been covered a lot but can you just share in the public meeting um why
how we are limited as a school district by what health insurance providers are even covering districts like ours For sure We you know we made in the 23 24 school year and half of this school year we were self-insured and recognized this
fall with the support of Chief Shakcoin um that that was a very risky decision and was having significant impacts on our finances from 2223 23 24 and into this year and potentially next year Um and so we made a decision in November the board remembers to switch back to
CEBT which is a nonprofit community trust that um provides health insurance for all the Aspen and Parachute school districts Many of our public um partners some of our cities and towns and um public service organizations are
supported by CEBT So we made the decision to go back to CEBT which then does absolutely you know offer a wide range of health plans and our task as a committee was to pick three of those that then you would offer you would um approve that we offer employees So we
are limited within what um the kind of uh portfolio that CBT offers um to choose plans within that And I I would name that CBT has been a remarkable partner for us during a really difficult year in terms of um really being present
and engaged and active they are helping to facilitate some collaborative efforts between the Aspen of Parachute for school districts with our local um healthc care providers to talk about other options that we could look at and creative ways we can try to lower costs
And so they've been um I think a very reassuring and collaborative partner as we've gone through this transition And I'm I'm optimistic that we might um be able to find some some solutions within CEBT to help um moving forward I hope
that answered the question a little bit Yeah And just there's besides CBT when you look around it's a very sparse oh option for sure You know we did some initial um comps this fall and it was just astounding with what I mean they were absolutely above and beyond the the
most reasonable cost effective health insurance plan And I know that um there is frustration that what feels like the kinds of plans we're able to afford aren't necessarily um the quality or caliber that ideally we'd like to provide to employees and their families
Um but compared to what else is out there on the open market it's a pretty pretty reasonable It's a pretty good deal for us right now We're limited Thank you Director Taylor I have one question on the health
insurance It says um that the admin and classified IBB agreed to the terms as long as the following conditions are met there And it talked about the recommendation Where is the certified in that Like that just seems missing there Like so it's
saying admin and classified IDB agree but did certify and you talked about that there's some unresolved still is so do we have a take on where certified is on that You know what's what's really
hard and what this team is weighing is what's more you know what's more important if we have so much money to invest in salaries and benefits what matters the most Um and admin and classified at this time were willing to say that you know given those
conditions they're comfortable with an HDHP5 being the base plan that we cover Certified wanted um I think Certified is currently more willing in engaging in conversations to say "Let's look at further staffing reductions let's look
at perhaps not committing to cola steps and lanes and using that funding instead to get a better quality health plan They were interested in exploring other um kind of kind of options within these choices before committing to to those
conditions So what we for example what we were hearing very very clearly from classified staff was the most important priority is job security That wasn't coming out as clearly from certified Does that make sense I I hear that and I
understand that and thank you for that I guess my question is it says the health insurance advisory committee recommendation So does the recommendation not include certified I mean I that's what I'm not really understanding I gotcha Yeah I mean that's a I would say that
recommendation for one two and three Um you know that that's a helpful push for clarity I would say that admin and classified are comfortable with the district paying 100% of HDHP5 and moving on Certified would like us to push
harder right in terms of budgeting to get to PO9 and pay for that And so that that would I think be the distinction is that admin and classified are like this is fine We're we're good Let's just keep rolling and preserve cola steps Well for
classified let's prefer let's um preserve a a cost of living adjustment which for classified is a 1.8 salary raise year-over-year So um those two teams were ready to say this recommendation is done at HDHP5 plus um
Ola certified was still feeling like there might be other ways to to parse this out that would work and they wanted more time to do that So is this like a step towards the recommendation that will be put in front of us the 23rd and this is just more like a process of
where we are now or is this like the recommendation that you're given but doesn't include certified I don't know I'm still confused by that Okay The win here is that CBT offers like 20 30 different plans And the win here and I think the the clarity is that the health
insurance advisory committee said these three HDHP5 PO9 PO8 that's that's and that committee is all three groups everybody Yep The entire committee agrees that those are the three we should offer Um everybody understands that right now what is budgeted what
we're building into the 2526 budget is HDHP5 being covered Uhhuh Um and everybody understands that we are going to keep looking at ways to pay for one of the PO plans Admin and classified are kind of feeling like we're done That's good That's fine Certified was feeling
like yep we agree to those things but we want you to push a little harder on the employee employer contributions Okay Thank you And I'll just add because I was at this meeting and I think really what was clear here was that admin and classified IBB agreed to all of these pushes as
long as it didn't mean that there was um additional reductions of positions or cola step lanes were preserved Yeah Okay Director after so I'm confused about what we're
approving You're approving that we are choosing those three plans HDHP5 PO8 PO9 to offer employees next year And you're approving that it at base we will cover 100% of HDHP5 which is the least
expensive plan 100% for all employees That's important tonight because we have to get this to Ced to move open enrollment they can wait for us a little longer on what's your employee employer contribution but those three plans mattered that we could get those um
locked in Thank you Um do you know what is the if we cover HGHP5 what is the cost for the employee plus spouse Is it this 152 or is it some other number that's less than that Okay
So if we cover HDHP5 which is currently what we're budgeting for an employee that would like their spouse to be included you're correct It's the employee is responsible for paying an additional $1,52 per month Okay So that in the table we would zero
out the employee only You got it But the other numbers don't change Correct Okay And what you're seeing is that basically what we're paying as a district for that employee is the same as the employee plus spouse Does that make sense So like
our cost that's what our cost is for the plan Okay Um thanks thanks for bringing me up to speed I know I um haven't been on the committee uh or the employee committees that or sat on any of the committees
dealing with this So um I appreciate all the work that's gone into it Like really truly I know it's been a huge lift for many many people and a huge concern and I just wanted to say like our health insurance in this country is so broken and that is not the school district's
fault Like these costs are astronomical and that is not anyone in this room's fault This and I also want to say it's not going to get better over the next four years Yeah it's unfortunate we're in this situation but thanks for all the
work from so many people Thank you So I had a follow-up question to director Freedes uh Defr's question um regarding just the process Um you mentioned that there was like some resettling needed and so my question is
will this include a change to the process right now You know I I think I think that our CBC requires that um a health insurance advisory committee is formed
with membership of classified certified and admin IB and that that team works to try to find agreement on a recommendation to the board on benefits Um what's tricky about that is historically when we've had additional
funding for salaries and benefits that amount of money lump sum has been given to certified IBB to make decisions with benefits for everyone include and then also to make investments into the certified salary
schedule What is challenging is that if we were to continue doing that it's complicated by having classified and admin by the tensions in that who who
gets that funding who gets to make those decisions about which benefits And already we're seeing that different employee groups approach the benefits question very differently and frankly have different priorities Um and so I I think that the the process of the health
insurance committee being expected to be made up of these three groups and come to you with a recommendation that's codified in the contract And so that's going to be there until the contract is adjusted I think what what is going to be interesting to see how we untangle
is how does that conversation around salaries and benefits that and that historically certified IBB has been able to kind of weigh those together and say let's put more into benefits less into salaries Nope let's put more into salaries less into benefits They've made
the decision and everybody falls in line classified admin just kind of gets those benefits and then it um salary adjustments are kind of made an attempt to be similar Um I think it's that process that I'm not sure how we do that
and frankly the way we in the past identified what monies were available to infuse was a process that's that just doesn't work in a declining enrollment right like the math doesn't math with declining enrollment and it also doesn't
quite math with new school finance formulas So I do think that um the minute we kind of close this year on salaries and benefits we will the next morning start conversations about how we
do this work Like it's we we're gonna have to get that um sorted out And it's it's good conflict It's pushing us on clarity transparency It's raising all the right questions about where is the money who what is fair um who makes
decisions Like these are important things that we should be held accountable for It's just going to be hard It's just going to be hard So just looking into the future do you think that all um IBB groups will continue to have hoist Yeah I mean that's what the
contract says and that was important to the board in the contract that you know and that language is very clear certified classified admin and IBB work together on this committee to come to try to come to consensus Um you know this group worked really hard and I know director Ramirez you got to hear it I
mean the language of those three things and those two conditions was two hours in the making of 10 people's time Um so that team worked really hard to get to this level of consensus Um I I bet that we'll get better as we
get years of practice and get more comfortable with each other but I know that having equity of voice really matters to this board and it matters to the players I mean there's not a meeting where certified IBB doesn't say we are really glad that classified and admin
are here Yes it complicates the processes Yes it does But the everybody sees the work I mean the the intentions behind every single person that's showing up at these meetings are right where they should be Um it doesn't mean it's without conflict
because this is representative labor relations Um but it is the right group of people having the right hard conversations about this stuff And the benefits to having diverse voice in this group have what have what has that been You know I
think it's been really powerful to hear directly from classified I think um you know I'm really grateful for the leaders on that team who worked hard to get clarity on what mattered the most to classified employees because it was different and and frankly and I'm glad Amy Brockman was here tonight The
priorities of admin IBB were different than everybody else and it changed the conversation it ch it I think it was an aha for I mean I was on certified IBB last year and it was super interesting and new information to hear those
priorities emerge from those groups Um frankly it made me have just so much respect for the people that we work with and what their priorities were Um and I think everybody's been really grateful that we have more robust voices at the table
Thank you Um I just wanted to ask so at the beginning you mentioned that um this would be coming back to the board and the future of within the budget Um I appreciate that you named that I do feel though that we should be notified should
any changes happen or decisions be made that are different from this Um I know you guys are meeting again um Tuesday the 22nd Director Coenberg will be there she is our um representative from the board Um and so I just wanted to make
sure to name that obviously we know there's further discussion We welcome it We look forward to the followup that you'll be giving us on April 23rd And then if there were any changes made or decisions that are
um you know even pushing it out into the future if you could please make sure that we are kept up to date You bet You know one of the the tricky things that we've already seen from that meeting happening on the 22nd the board on the 23rd that there's no way if a decision or like if we're clear and something
clear happens by the end of that meeting at 6:30 we can get it in the board packet for the next day So I think at that end of the meeting that we're about to hit that moment where you all provide your updates we should expect to ask Director Kenberg how to go where we at I will say the minute that Chief Shaquin
and I feel comfortable enough in the budget to feel like we can make the reach to PO9 we will let you know Um I think if you think back to Chief Scoin's bullet points as we worked through the math on each of those like oh there's
going to be averaging Awesome Maybe we can get to PO9 And then we'd go oh no but this number this calculation was a little off So it was like this moving target dancing around our projected revenues And when we got done with the math our takeaway was like "Nope we're
not there yet We just we're not comfortable enough in seeing revenues exceeding expenditures to say we've got it." Um and I'm hopeful that in the next couple weeks we might be there and we'll let you know And of course all of that will come out in June for your final
approval Um and actually you just reminded me of something We are meeting in finance committee before then We haven't decided on dates but we probably should just so that we are taking advantage of the time beforehand because it's you're right
it's April right Um okay We will now have five minutes for open discussion Are there any further questions or comments Um it's fantastic to work in a district where best intentions are brought into the room and assumed of everybody who participates
and that takes a lot of effort uh especially after tensions are high and then they come down and come back up again in these rooms Um and I just appreciate that we the board members who participate show up to participate in the way they do and that the leadership
continues to recognize the value in that and make time and space So that's we are exceptional as a district that we're even trying this So let's keep trying And I would just like to add I appreciate all the effort by all the different constituents put into this
IBVB process but I would just like to also add that I think it would be incredible if we could as a district find a way to get to PO9 I think that would be very important to the staff I think having the um ability to have the
free Marathon Health Clinic as a district provided without having to pay extra would be a great thing I recognize that it's $250,000 extra to get there but I would like us to make that a priority as much
as we can Yes Okay You could call for a vote Director After Hi Director Defrdies Hi Director Ramos Hi Director Tidler Hi
Thank you All right Someone's going to have to read this Um the next business in order is action on a resolution to recognize April as autism awareness month Do I have a motion to approve the resolution to recognize April as autism awareness
month I move that the board approved the resolution to recognize April as autism awareness month as presented Do I have a second Second Each board member will now have two minutes to share comments or ask questions We will begin
with you direct Sure I forgot Yeah Thank you Um thank you for uh putting this forward I um wasn't aware that April was autism awareness month So I appreciate the um opportunity to learn about that
and to um to vote on this tonight It's important Thank you Thank you Director Dries I echo that Thanks for taking the time on the agenda and recognizing it I appreciate diversity in our schools and I want to continue to elevate that value
So thank you Thank you Director Titler Similar to Director Freddy's I especially like the last paragraph after the whole resolution talks about autism and the awareness for how that is
a part of the diversity of our district I appreciated the part that says how it helps reflect our collective commitment to the principles of diversity inclusion and acceptance And that's something I stand behind
Thank you Um I've been a board member for feels like forever guys But um I realized recently when um Jonathan or um Jonathan brought up the women's history month that I there were a lot of things
that I wish I had brought forward and this is one of them I am a proud autism mom and um you know it was just one of those things that I think having a high schooler um on the spectrum and like
always making life really amazing Um it just reminds me how as a district and as parents and as board members um we've always been so committed to student success in our
schools and I wanted to make sure that there was a resolution to recognize April as autism awareness month I know that my kiddo is one of many Um and I think for me even like doing research for this you know to know that
the prevalence rate um is one in 58 children And just thinking of how many kids we have in our school district um you know I I just think it's so important to like it's changed so much since my kid first got diagnosed So to
have it really be clear that there's varying degrees of impact that it it um impacts all families um in some way you know in different families and all of the different needs that our children need And so I really appreciate this
board's commitment to um honoring diversity to honoring students to honoring families and staff and to um really working towards creating a school district that cares um and is committed
to the principles of diversity inclusion and acceptance So thank you Director After I'm going ask you for a huge favor if you could read this because I cannot read Oh we need to vote Yeah Okay Um we Does
anyone have further questions or comments No Okay Um can we please call for a vote Director Hi Director Hi Director Ramirez I Director Tidler I
Thank you Schoolboard resolution honoring autism awareness month Whereas April is designated as autism awareness month across the nation a time to promote understanding acceptance and inclusion of individuals with autism recognizing
their unique contributions to our school and communities And whereas the estimated autism prevalence rate in the state of Colorado is approximately 1 in 58 children Whereas autism spectrum disorder affects individuals of all
backgrounds with varying degrees of impact and is an integral part of the diversity within our district and society And whereas the district is committed to fostering a safe supportive and inclusive environment for students with autism and other developmental
disabilities ensuring they have access to the resources services and opportunities they need to thrive academically socially and emotionally And whereas our district acknowledges and celebrates the strength talents and contributions of our students with autism recognizing the importance of
empowering each individual to achieve their highest potential And whereas we commit to ongoing professional development for our educators staff and administrators to ensure the best best practices are in place for teaching and supporting all students as we work
toward creating an inclusive empathetic and nurturing school environment And whereas it is essential to engage families community organizations and other stakeholders to raise awareness educate and provide support for students with autism in our district to promote
an atmosphere of inclusion acceptance and respect Now therefore be it resolved that the Roy School District Board hereby declares April as Autism Awareness Month and encourages all staff students and community members to participate in activities and educational initiatives
designed to increase awareness and foster a more inclusive and understanding environment And be it further resolved that the school board acknowledges and celebrates the diversity of all students within our district emphasizing the importance of unity respect and acceptance in creating
a supportive and welcoming educational environment for all Be it finally resolved that this resolution be distributed to all schools within the district shared with local media and displayed in school offices to raise awareness and reflect our collective commitment to the principles of
diversity inclusion and acceptance Thank you You're here Okay The next business in order is future agenda topics or board tracker requests We have none So we will now move on to our final
agenda item board updates and appreciations Director Dere Sure Quick update from the labor management committee Um I'll send around some notes It was last Monday so a
little outdated on the emailing Sorry I forgot we'd made that a new a new norm I'll try to keep up on that a little better Um they looked at the calendar There was a focus discussion on a lack of communication misaligned expectations around MetLife benefits Teachers had
received some confusing information about whether they had registered for a program and if it was available to them And so that was I believe straightened out with maybe one or two more steps to go there
But um I just I appreci I just wanted to say my takeaway from that was I'm glad that the committee is meeting and making sure that door m is open for things that come up like that So that it was you know is veering squarely into the contract territory obviously and so
having teachers having a platform to bring to Dr cola and to the board their concerns Um that was good I'm glad it didn't didn't sit any longer So I'm glad that that committee's doing its job and HR survey results which um we're going
to see that more on the board or there was kind of done with that one Yeah And then there was also a robust discussion on um teachers joining the district from either other districts or private schools or even uh different countries and where they are placed on
the salary schedule and having equitable justification for how those skills are assessed because you know lots of reasons So that was those were the discussions there Uh my appreciation is for our music teachers Again I bring
them up a lot but they do a lot and are inspiring my children both at Soapers Elementary and Glenn Springs Middle School And Dr Olsson just left I was going to brag on his band teacher for him but um he does a fantastic job of connecting with a large group of
students making a lot of noise every day and has just really um given my sixth grader kind of a place to feel like is a landing zone for him and the school and I really appreciate that So Director Taylor
um as far as updates go I was able last week to sit in on interviews for the new Yampa principal There were two great candidates and so I think when the hiring committee announces and chooses I
think it will be a great outcome as there were two really positive candidates there Um this morning I got to go to the community school and sit in on their lottery and watch the process there and how that goes And so that was
just good information to see how their steps are for filling their roles and their spaces And for my shout out I would like to or for my appreciation I would like to give a shout out to Michael Logan
um haven't gotten to interact with him so much through my career teaching but from the presentation today and with um Charlie Hopped and the role that Michael played in all of that happening and
coming to he was the one who was the teacher lays on the one who got the energy club rolling for the first time ever as an afterchool opportunity both my girls got to participate in it It was fun seeing their pictures up there in the slides
today and just watching the role and the impact he has had on the Carbondale community over years from that role but as a teacher and being like a favorite teacher of math for his ability to be able to get the
students to look at math in a deep way and go beyond the algorithm and beyond the calculation of how it works and to be able to understand And that was always his target and his way of communicating through math to his role as
instructional facilitator for math for the schools to now principal And when he talks about Carbondale Middle School he really just glows and he is so excited and so proud of his staff and how he's always talking about how he has the best
staff in the world and he can't believe how fortunate and lucky he is to be in that position And so just as somebody who has for years and years contributed to our community shout out to you Michael Thank you director Great Thanks
Um I think we haven't had finance committee in a minute because of spring break and whatnot So I think we have one coming up Monday and then we will be we're going Sorry I can't remember We're going to add one or
or notice one so that folks can come and get questions both Okay Um could you say the dates of the of the Sorry Am I allowed to We're going to set them on Monday Monday The finance committee is going to pick a couple additional meetings that'll be open to all board
members Just there's more time to work on budget Okay cool Thanks Sorry about that Um yeah so I don't have much to contribute um to updates today but will coming up soon Um but thanks to all the um all the teachers and the staff who
are supporting this the students who are taking CASS now Um really appreciate the pushes to get folks to school get kids to school um with a hearty breakfast and plenty of sleep um as we round out the
year here And um just a note that I have noticed spring sports have like picked up very seriously since um after spring break Just the other day I was driving home and there was um
baseball soccer lacrosse flag football golf happening in Carbondale I'm sure in all our other towns too You still have kids skiing You've got kids at the skate park playing pickle ball It's everyone's out and about and I'm really grateful to all of the um youth sports leaders in
our community and especially the many many many parent volunteers who dedicate so many hours to coach coordinate and show up as mentors for students with absolutely no compensation Um a fair amount of heartache and um hopefully
some joy in the process but I know it's a lot of work to them So thank you to all of them Thanks Um I wanted to mention um that I got to be at L about two weeks ago Latino
Advocacy Day at the Capitol um was I think a really great opportunity to I always love when teachers from our school district go and take students because it's a really nice opportunity to like engage with students that typically um we don't get to engage with
um on a like speaking level of them being curious about what we do as board members and um and sharing their experiences with us So I really appreciated um some BALT teachers who took students I appreciated the
opportunity to go talk about some um issues that obvious obviously as a Latino school district um will be impacting us um just in the coming years Um and so thank you to um our staff that take students
on trips like that that um really like impact lives and give them an opportunity to experience conversations outside of the valley Um I also thought it was really cool to get an email yesterday uh from
the Department of Education um highlighting one of our teachers And you know I think all of us on the board appreciate so much um every single one of our teachers at every single one of our schools Um but it's really really
special when our teachers get recognized outside of the school district And so to have the Department of Education highlight Miss Katie Hchin who was a teacher for my my older kiddo Um but I wanted to read it because I thought it was such a
cool way to honor her and who she is beyond teaching Um so for teacher Tuesday we want you to meet Running Fork School District teacher Katie Houchin who teaches STEM at Basau Elementary School She has been a teacher for 16 years 15 in Spanish and is all about
heart energy and creativity in the classroom Katie lives for those aha moments when her students feel proud and accomplished She's a mentor leader and advocate always lifting kids up and showing them they matter Beyond teaching Katie enjoys skiing mountain biking
cooking traveling volunteering with Aspen Eagles Club and spending quality time with her partner Mike their dog and a close circle of friends and families often around a good meal So thank you Department of Ed for highlighting one of our own and just so glad Miss Hchin is
part of our team And I just love this because often when we think of our teachers in our district it's like they're teachers but there's so much more Um and they you know do so many other things in the community and um have different identities and ways they
give to students and and community And I just really appreciated sort of the gentle reminder to to like just thank a teacher I think this is something we should consider implementing at the school district Um all
right back to the agenda Let's see Does anyone have any further questions comments No we're good All right If there is no further business and there is no objection the meeting will be adjourned It is 8:38