e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e everybody ready good evening I call this meeting to order at 6:20 p.m. tonight we have
present directors titler defrates after Ramirez and myself meaning we have a quorum thank you to our interpreter AST would you please share the interpretation instructions with our participants and then we can turn on the interpretation function thank you the first business in
order is the approval of the agenda directors are there any proposed changes to the agenda being none do I have a motion to approve the agenda this presented to make a change do you have no okay is there a motion to approve the
agenda as presented I move to approve the agenda as presented is there a second all in favor say I I motion passes our next agenda item is our opening celebrations and updates by our superintendent Dr Anna Cole all right
good evening this is a um lots of celebrations that are centered around our families because it's a busy time for parents um we are in the middle of parent teacher conferences which is work um very much so aligned to strategic priority number three student centered
Partnerships if you don't know what I'm talking about look behind you because there's a poster of our new strategic plan um this is you know student- centered Partnerships and um working collaboratively with parents is the most important strategic partnership that we can cultivate as the Roaring Fork School
District families are their children's first and most important Educators and our collaboration alignment and shared goals are essential to Student Success parent teacher or student L parent teacher conferences are happening across the district they some started last week they're moving into this week we don't
have school Friday because of the conference schedules so many thanks to families who are leaning in showing up taking the time to sit down with um teachers and ask thoughtful questions and to align their work and support of their kids um and many many thanks to the teachers school school leaders
support staff family liaison front office teams everyone who is there to really support and make time to connect with families additionally um all of our families should have received via remind or um through their emails through their
texts our our parent and family survey this is also aligned to strategic priority number three student centered Partnerships and we are carefully monitoring metrics around parent perceptions especially around um parent perceptions of trust and respect with the Roaring Fork school district and
parent engagement with the family survey so um as you all remember on our strategic plan when we look at our outcomes for that strategic initiative around Partnerships with student or student centered Partnerships the family survey is a key key metric and so really
encourage families to take the time um to complete that survey many thanks to the Family Resource Center who's really taking the lead to make sure families have access to the survey and time and can navigate the systems um and thanks to all our parents for filling that out it's a really important measure of how
we're doing communicating with all of you um also want to celebrate this week some kind of exciting news from the Career and Technical education work that's aligned with strategic priority number two rigorous learning for all there's some key work in there around
post-secondary career Pathways um last Friday five Roaring Fork School District students completed an introductory electrician training course that's offered by The Independent Electric contractors of the Rocky Mountains IEC is the largest electrical trades Association in the the United States
this introduction course sets students up for participating in official apprenticeship programs in the electrical trades where they can earn a wage while gaining post-secondary education um so congrats to those five students the course was offered through collaboration between IEC and the
Colorado River bosis the Epic program um and it in total serves 16 students from Garfield ARA 2 and Roaring Fork School District so a lot of exciting work there and I know hard work from the students and their mentors and then finally just want to um celebrate all of our winter
athletes and welcome spring athletes this is kind of the crossover season where we are wrapping up postseason uh winter sports and the spring Sports have kicked off and we know that um Athletics are an opportunity for students to be engaged to build teamwork and Leadership skills we are carefully monitoring our
student engagement with activities and sports related to strategic priority number one students first so I want to congratulate all of our winter student athletes who wrapped up their season good luck to our spring student athletes who are getting started um we also couldn't make any of this work without
athletic directors dedicated coaches volunteers and parents who make students who are new to teams feel welcome and included so many thanks to coaches student athletes parents who are dedicating time to help students Thrive thank you the next business in
order is an equity audit current state analysis next steps presentation from Dr Cole yeah each board member will have two minutes to share comments or ask questions when we wrap it up okay um so bringing you tonight uh kind of
the final word of what we have done with the current state analysis that we um that was produced by promise 54 as part of our kind of offe equity audit um and I want to start because equity's become
a really hot word and a a a topic with a lot of tension around our country right now and I want to ground Us in the Roaring Fork School District definition of equity that is in our policy ADB and because it's really important that we're that when we use words like this we're
grounding them in a common understanding there are many definitions of equity but in the Roaring Fork schools when we refer to it when we audit our systems around this this is what we're looking at and so our definition from our policy reads that when we say Equity we are
looking for um all people are held to high expectations and have access to opportunities that reflect their individual needs identities and experiences Equity is achieved in the Roaring Fork schools when there are no
identifiable differences in outcomes and experiences for any population subgroup whether it's race gender sexual orientation socioeconomics religion ethnicity that's what we're looking for sound good okay so let's take a look so
I think the big themes in this and the board had a work session with promise 54 in December um so you've seen a lot of this before I'm going to go pretty quickly through it because I think what we're really looking for is a now what so what in terms of what we're doing with this information want to just acknowledge a couple of big big themes
here one I think we all recognized I know the board was frustrated and we were a little bit frustrated that I think the equity audit had a very limited um scope and kind of collective input and so I just want to name that there was a limited scope to the audit
we acknowledged that and yet despite that there were really critical pushes and um critical feedback that we received from promise 54 and although we could talk about not having enough focus groups I for a long time and I think we
share kind of an um sense of um disappointment about that there is still really important learning from the current state analysis we got from promise 54 and so we don't want to dismiss the pushes that we receiv received and so the intent of this is to really share with the board and the community what we're going to do with the
recommendations um I would say the other thing you're going to see is that the pushes in a lot of ways are aligned to pre-existing strategic priorities so there's a bulk a pretty significant amount of what promas 54 recommended that was already in progress are already
identified through the creation of our strategic plan so a lot of the things when when we kind of Chunk this out you'll see this um it'll show a bunch of work that's already in Pro progress that's aligned to what promise 54 said we should be working on and then there is some new pushes and I'll talk about
where those are going to go but those are our big themes um okay so we'll start with the timeline so just in terms of putting this in scope if you all remember last year we adopted policy ADB a regulation ADB that requires an organizational audit every five years
the year in advance of the development of a strategic plan so we were out of sequence um because last year we developed our strategic plan we kicked it off this year that meant actually two years ago we should have done an equity audit the board passed a resolution saying we want to do an outof cycle
audit and we ended up having kind of a limited a limited scope a lighter touch because we had just done a pretty significant um diagnostic review with the tuned education partners that led to our strategic plan so just trying to remind you of where we are in this um so
we identified areas to focus and streamline this this audit in align with the Strategic plan um and we really wanted to focus on staff diversity Recruitment and Retention efforts Equitable allocation of resources and then policy and regulations that's what we asked promise 54 to look at so they
weren't necessarily looking at student outcomes they weren't looking at quality of teaching we really ask them to look at these pieces um so we worked with promise 54 for this audit and kick the work off in August if you remember this is the current state summary that they shared
out with us in December we had a work session with the board what we heard from the board at that meeting in December sorry that reads 2:24 It should read 12 um the work session we heard concerns around the overall Community engagement with the review process um we
heard concerns around the HR team needing support through this work some of the things we identified there and then we heard concerns around capacity and Communications in that work session with the board so just reminding you of the conversations we've had already about those um so let's jump in and I'm going
to go through these kind of fast they're in the board packet but what we recognize and and this is this is taken from promise 54s current state so when it came to the Recruitment and Retention chunk of work they highlighted our housing program and had some ideas on on
kind of how we think about housing moving forward they also had some pushes for us in in the way um in terms of Recruitment and Retention on additional support that we need to see from the HR department they had some pushes for us around pay
Equity um and they also sorry I also don't want to miss this number three here strengthening culture across buildings and different classifications of staff so they also lifted up that we have some work to do in terms of culture and climate for staff um in terms of addition considerations recommendations these are
some of their kind of pushes for us again we looked at support for HR and they also um really highlighted kind of our systems integration and our employee tracking systems and needing maybe more robust tools or utilization there in terms of recruitment retention
they also identified that IBB could be a better um could be a tool that we could fur leverage more to support employees voice um and um have more more engagement with our employees around their experiences in terms of addressing
kind of Recruitment and Retention issues and then they also really pushed again on the kind of thoughts around staff culture and climate and really nudged us to consider a staff culture survey and looking at um stronger in District Communications so where we are going to
go with these recommendations and pushes in terms of Recruitment and Retention one thing I want to remind you is that we actually highlighted Recruitment and Retention as a key priority in our strategic plan so some of this should sound familiar like aren't we already doing this yes we are absolutely doing this we've highlighted that really
focusing on our thriving team on our staff as a key priority to helping us meet our outcomes for students um the initiatives that we have that we're working on within Recruitment and Retention are around staff representation staff retention um staff development um and continuing to move on
staff housing and so a couple of of things that are already working this year you can see kind of on this left-hand column there was really strong alignment and some of the pushes we heard from promise 54 we are already um in development of a 10-year housing master plan that work is happening now
you'll get that plan by the end of this year so that kind of there pushes around thinking ahead of where housing should go we had that work already moving um they felt that we could better utilize and had some pushes around the way we work with H1B visas and uh Chief Platt
has already got a working group going on the H1B visas to really identify best practices there and how we can replicate some of our best practices and recruiting and retaining um uh certified staff from outside of our country um we
in terms of trying to figure out how to get really Target supports for HR development we conducted an HR employee feedback survey this year that the board will have kind of a report back on that survey and next steps here in the coming weeks um and then there were pushes
around IBB and as all of you know we launched a formal classified and admin IBB process this year and you will hear updates from the IBB teams in the coming weeks I think we're looking at some of those presentations in April so a lot of the work that proms 54 identified in terms of recruitment retention was
already happening um and was happening kind of throughout this year a couple of new directions that you should look for in May when you see updates to the Strategic plan pushes that that weren't part of our plan thus far but are going to be moving forward the push around having a really consistent staff culture
and cl climate survey is something that we don't have and we want to bring um additionally um I believe that second bullet reads and I know that we're working on some stuff there um oh I think it has to do with sorry I'm just gonna pull this up because I
know oh there it is that there is an interest in terms of clarifying pay equity and how folks are placed when they come into the district and I know that that's been an interest that certified IBB wants to work on so I can an we're anticipating that certified IBB will be working on some of these in the
future and then pushes around IND District Communications culture inclusion are all things that classified IBB has also brought up this year and so I anticipate next year or moving into the future those are some areas where we're going to see those some of those pushes from promise 54
align so let's look at additional um scope of work they also looked at how we allocate resources to schools and then looked at some policy um POC some of our policies so some of the bright spots that they really highlighted here were
our supports for newly immigrated students our diversity Equity inclusion policy and the way it mitigates barriers for Student Success um and then they also called out some of the way we we really localize services within community and try to keep kids within their home communities
if they're receiving special education or um CDE program support additionally in terms of of pushes uh promps 54 found that we needed they that there's still a lot we can do
to help staff and our community better understand how we allocate funding to schools and continue to push on that Clarity um they also felt that there was very aspirational work in our deia policy ADB that we needed to close the
skills gap between what the policy states and then where our teams actually are in terms of being able to mitigate barriers for Student Success um and then again we're seeing additional pushes around in District communication especially highlighting the work of the equity steering committee um through
stronger communication systems within the district additionally um they felt that we should have more um employee voice around Staffing decisions Beyond building leaders as we're looking at school resource allocation Frameworks
and then um had a pushes in terms of bell schedules that schools could could look at that would better align with staffing needs think the last consideration here is around um yep focusing on stronger data
collection systems and data transparency um again this theme around communication and distributing information making sure folks know what's going on and then some pushes around um some of the equity literacy sections of our policies so let's talk about where we
are and where we're going to go with this um so some of these pieces you know and not all of it do I have on the strong alignment with existing initiatives but I can name that in terms of bell schedules our high schools are all looking very carefully at Bell schedules we're seeing some shifts show up for 2526 because of some of the
things that proms 54 noticed and some of the things we've been hearing from staff and families so a lot of our schools are having those conversations and have been with their um School accountability committees and their parents as kids have been um especally secondary level signing up for classes next year and then I would say in terms of data
collection Focus um as you all saw at our last meeting we launched our data dashboard and then we will have um a collection of data specifically aligned to policy ADB coming before the board in May as your annual Equity impact
statement that pulls some of that data together so those are coming um additionally this year some things that happened the equity steering committee did Drive quite a bit of professional Development Across The District um in terms of culturally responsive discipline our safe haven policy and
then a initial kickoff with um a PD that was around analyzing that ADB policy we have uh aligned as a board's aware that some of my goals for this year really to to end this year with an IND District Communications plan to really address some of the points proms 54 brought up
so that work is coming um in terms of school resource allocation our strategic priority number three around operation Excellence lifts this up in terms of financial excellence and transparency and Clarity a lot of the work that Chief chaoin has been driving this year um we've been developing tools for our
school accountability committees to better understand where funding comes from and where decisions are made and where um a school leader has decision-making authority over um School programming and where the district does in terms of funding and and decisions so a lot of work that's been happening
there um and then I talked a little bit about some of the scheduling changes that are already happening our high schools I think new pushes uh additional I think some work that will be that the equity steering committee is chewing on is certainly around Communications planning and additional PD moving into
2526 and I think just we we listed this too that I think considerations as we continue this work um is that promise 54 highlighted some of our support for newly immigrated students and want to just name that a lot of that was possible at least at three four of our schools this year because of funding
from the Colorado Department of Education that came through about a year ago that funding no longer exists um and then we know that there's some instability right now in terms of state and federal funding for some of the programs that were highlighted in terms of sped um and some of our title programs so we're just keeping an eye on
those I just want to name that those are part of what makes some of this work complicated so in summary um a couple of key takeaways next steps I think we acknowledge that this was a very limited scope Equity audit um it was out of cycle I think when we um look ahead to
Future Equity audits I think we'll have a stronger push in terms of process and what we're looking for I think there were good lessons learned about working with this kind of an audit process um I do think there were some key learnings I don't want to dismiss what is possible to learn from this current state
analysis just because we had some concerns about the process um lifting up the Recruitment and Retention efforts focusing on housing the the HR team capacity focus on H1B visas is all work that definitely needs we need to put our shoulder to the wheel on those pieces um
I think some key learning is around intradistrict Communications especially the work of the equity steering committee that we need to strengthen that um it was nice to underscore that our work to formalize classified admin in addition to the certified IBB really matters and that that's going to show up
in really important ways to help recruit and retain staff um and that we still need to continue to work on clarifying school funding um I think we're some of the big takeaways for us from this audit couple things coming up for the board May 12th you're going to get that deia
impact statement that's going to pull out some of the data that's Al aligned to our policy ADB see how we're doing on that work um at the end of May you'll have an update to 2429 strategic plan really looking at the work that we'll start doing in 2526 and some of some of
the directions will be shifted um because of this audit and then if you remember we're not too far away from believe it or not I mean we just got the posters up but we're four and a half years from having a new strategic plan which means we're three and a half years
from having a on cycle Equity audit which means we're two years from having to kind of put out an RFP for that so just want you to see that these things are going to come and we are going to have another audit coming up on the proper cycle in advance of our next strategic
plan that's what we've got let's take some questions excellent thank you um director after would you like to start sure too okay um thanks for this presentation and thanks for acknowledging UPF front that when we saw it the my good oh okay
um when we saw it the first time we had feedback that on the scope and the small sample size so thanks for acknowledging that um can you dig in a little bit more since we're doing this every five years and in just a few years as you just said
we'll be putting out on our P for another one can you speak a little bit more to what you've learned about working with a consultant and working and doing this audit and what we might do differently next time yeah you that's such a good question I would say and you
know there's a piece of the work that promise 54 did around Recruitment and Retention and there's an entire Recruitment and Retention plan that we will share with the board in the coming weeks that was also a big piece of this work um the the focus groups the quality
of that recruitment retention plan I think more matched our expectations and that's a that's a that's a plan that you haven't seen yet um we chose this auditor promise 54 because of their strengths in Recruitment and Retention
and I think we saw them and again part of that you still need to see we really saw them shine in that area and the focus groups that were working on staff Recruitment and Retention that we really um curated a staff team to be part of that group um were really strong and I
think that the areas where we saw we were you know I think the community engagement was less than what we had hoped I think even the audits around resource allocation and policy were less than what we had hoped and so it it does I think a key lesson to head into this
again is to get very clear on what we're looking for um and how much we're looking for and to really look at the expertise of the team um and to be honest I'm a little concerned that we will be able to find an organization that can do something comprehensive and
actually have expertise in all the areas we're going to be looking for um you know the world will change in a couple years in terms of this work and so it'll be interesting to see what is possible in an RFP when we we head in there um so
I think it's I think we're just going to be a little tougher to be honest and how we look at this and think about it and look at outcomes I mean again we really identif ified we wanted to work with promise 54 because of their strengths in Recruitment and Retention and because we
know the impact of what a representative faculty means to a diverse group of kids and their outcomes um that we really LED with that and I do think that they met expectations in that chunk of work um but if we're looking for a comprehensive
Equity comprehensive organizational Equity audit in four years I think we're going to one have to really allocate some resources to get it done fully and both financial and staff time and so I do think that we're going to have to keep that on that list for for
26 27 27 28 that we're going to really need some folks with time and bandwidth to support this work that's helpful it sounds like more is coming on the recruitment side and maybe that answers my next question which is my when I look at this and we looked at it originally a few months ago
I didn't have any real aha moments looking at this it felt to me like stuff that team is already working on or new about um is that a correct assessment or do you feel like on the recruit recruiting side you got some new fresh ideas that an external consultant can
bring I think on the recruiting side we've got some new stuff okay it feels like oh yeah we weren't doing that we haven't been doing that um but I do I do feel like generally it felt a little like old news like yeah we know that look it's on our strategic plan already we're doing stuff around that so and I
don't want to be disappointed by that I mean that's also really important data that like we're working on the right stuff do you even though because we're not seeing Oh there's these other 12 things that we should be doing to get better student outcomes like nope but the work we're doing is actually in the
right direction um and so I also don't want to dismiss that that a lot of the things that they brought up of like oh you should have more formal places for employees to have representation it's like oh my gosh we are literally moving this really massive classified IBB process it feels really good right now um and admin's more formal than it's
ever been and um so it felt like in a lot of ways in some in some ways there's some affirmation that the work we're leaning into is the right work um I think you all know as education leaders
and Advocates there's no secret bullet that we're going to find there's no Silver Bullet to have Equitable student outcomes um if there were we would have found it if it's one thing that we could do and it would you know achieve what we named as our definition of equity where
there's no discernable difference in our student outcomes we would have done it already this is this is going to be tough long work but it's nice to know that I mean I do feel for all the things that I think we had concerns about that there was some affirmation that we're
working on the right stuff okay um thank you and it it also feels like when I look at this it feels very adult
Centric and just to clarify they were not in within their scope was not the achievement Gap no it really wasn't it wasn't at all so they were not looking at teacher quality they weren't looking at student data I mean they were looking at student outcomes a and how
Recruitment and Retention is a lever to pull toward student outcomes right how policy is a lever to pull towards student outcomes they were certainly looking at our mission and vision and our goals but they were not assessing our programs they weren't assessing curriculum they weren't looking at um
you know that wasn't what we asked them to look at was we didn't ask about the student experience we didn't ask about student representation because attuned had done a lot of that um and had really pushed Us in terms of classroom quality and instruction and curriculum and lesson plans um and if you think back to
that you know the very first thing that attuned brought us in the fall of whatever that was 23 24 was an organizational diagnostic that was a report card that you know they were in 80 classrooms across the district they absolutely minded our student data um
they went through all of our curricular materials and program materials and so it really felt like this we really wanted this audit to look at other things okay um and then just one more question can you just remind me do we do anything about when it comes to recruiting teachers do we do anything
about like building a pipeline of high school students with interest and Affinity to into education to great question hang on to them we don't do anything we don't have anything concrete we don't have clear goals or paths I mean I think you know to be honest I think we celebrated this at the last
board meeting that we just started a career we're like piloting some you know career in technical education Pathways and education we have our first group of like six students now working for our ECE programs um and that's just the very beginning but you know we've explored
some programs we we kind of do some part parip work with CMC but I don't we don't have goals we don't have metrics we're not um doing education opportunities for par professionals and early childhood Educators and um guest teachers on Pathways to credentials there's a lot
that's that shows up in the Recruitment and Retention plan that has a much more dedicated focus on Career Pathways okay thanks yeah directorz um thanks um superintendent
for mentioning AAP um how much did we spend on good question um I want to say it's between 60 and 70,000 was the total cost of this but I can get you the exact number you know
how I don't know that number off the top of my head but I can get that to you um do we deal with this the alongside the tune is what I'm hearing the expectation of the resolution
you know that's a great question um maybe partially I don't know that it was as deep as we had hoped um except for on the I would say the Recruitment and Retention side I feel like we have some
more tangible next steps that are pretty tight Pathways um I think it partially did so I do agree that obviously we want staff that is um prepared and ready to
be able to help our students across the district um I I'm looking at the resolution for the equity audit I it's especially because I draft it I do feel that we did
not me expectations of wanting to have this Equity audit on op here and so I would hope I would hope that we would as a board consider that
maybe with more time and I'm just even considering this board right now might not be here in the next go around for inequity audit um and so I you know I do wonder if we as a
board need to consider pushing up the timeline on this because I've seen other school districts with very extensive Equity audits that include some of these asks that we had on our resolution in including the clear benchmarks and
metrics to track progress towards achieving Equity closing the achievement gaps and you know I I want I think it's important to share that I think some of the frustration really came that even
with this audit we had 76 responses and for a district our size as great as some of these are some of these um next steps and and I agree with you that at least the acknowledgement that we're on the right
track is important it's still really hard to understand like how we were able to get a clear picture on what our school district's needs are and I also think to
director after's Point like it wasn't really focused on students and so um you know I appreciate the work I I've seen some of other some of Promise 54s other work I've seen other Equity audits from other neighboring from other school districts and I do think that we could
have this could have been a lot more concise on what we were looking for on how to really Tru work towards it closing the achievement Gap um I appreciate that this took place so that you guys have an understanding that you guys are still working towards something
that they obviously found that was aligned with you guys but I do feel like we missed the mark on actually pushing for student achievement and for for Student Success with this dror defres um director after asked quite a
few of the questions that I had noted um just a push to move as quickly forward on the career Pathways within our within our community I think uh for a lot of reasons and especially with the supporting roles not only focused on certified teachers but
also classified staff I appreciate you identified those and I think we have a lot more opportunity than we even did five years ago as a valley with cmc's expanded programs and certifications as well but I recognize that's probably in the next round of the reports and crew
Pathways so um thanks for that um I I think I'll have to think about my other comments thank you Dr Tyler just piggy back in off director Def fredes and director after and the programs that do are currently afforded by CMC I've
really would like to see that push for us finding that pathway for our students it is a program that they already have at CMC it's not something that we need to necessarily make so anything that we can do to push towards that would be super great and then piggy back in on um
director Ramirez and the resolution for the equity audit and your statement Dr Co when you were said that we have no magic bullet for academic achievement and closing that achievement Gap and the tune did dig into a little bit but when we look at one of the parts
of the resolution it says um emerging bilingual students in the running Fork School District with limited English language proficiency have different linguistic and academic needs the board believes programming to meet these specific needs should be
explored and I'm wondering where we've moved towards that as far as being that being part of the equity audit and are we having further movement towards that or is that within policy that we're looking at now we are looking at it through the policy that'll come back
before the board um and where when we were putting out the RFP for this we you know that was one of the fourth strands of what we were looking for um and the board was looking for in this audit and we were unable to find a partner that had that level of expertise and proms 54
definitely did not and so you know our proposal at the time and I think it's been a little bit tabled until we come back to the policy was that we would actually do an audit of our um culturally and linguistically diverse educationr programming across the
district next year um in the same way we you know to have actual experts in that realm come and look at the programs look at our schools look at how look at our student outcomes um and provide recommendations in that sort of a um
framework and I think we are you know I think part of that will be in that conversation when we get Circle back to ihpa and when we talk about looking at doing this program audit next year are we talking next school year are we
talking 2026 when are you talking when you're saying that I would say it would be I mean our initial thought was that we would be having that RFP out this spring to have someone that would do the work kind of like we just did the spring would be an RFP we would do an audit through the fall and winter and have the
final reports by the next this time next year and then when you were talking about um trying to find that data and that data is missing do we have any update on where we are with that data
that had been asked not yet just just so we just don't have it yet it'll be part of that ihpa conversation okay and do we have a timeline at all on that it's on the calendar for May I
think is when we're bringing that policy back but I'm not sure I will get back to you on that okay and then I just had one other question as far as the um report back that we just got back from this audit um
it says that the HR department is inconsistently able to meet the district's hiring needs with unclear roles and non teer hiring processes and you had mentioned is that what was understood through that HR survey feedback or was there something
else beyond that so the HR survey looked was was part of the operational excellence strategic um strategic priority and it was to better understand this kind of the service level of and it's an actually a process that we're going to be using for all of our do departments over the next couple years
so we can imagine a similar survey for finance and um Administration and um and so we used it as kind of a almost like a customer satisfaction survey thinking of our staff as our customers um and so the goal of that was to get additional data
about the department about our service level um you know perceptions of services from HR department from the staff so that we could really develop a kind of a comprehensive plan to support HR um and the team in clarifying those roles understand understanding where the
strengths and growth areas were from that from that team so can I should I come back in the next five minutes ask you have another question go ahead you just have one more sort of two okay about that one is um so with that statement that unable to meet
the district hiring needs like were there specifics that went with that of like what that was you know I think that was based on some of I'm kind of guessing here but I think it was based on some of the qualitative data received that felt like
there there were that HR was able to absolutely support some of the hiring processes as there's a really strong support from HR and principal hiring processes um in director hiring processes but the team's capacity to have that level of
assistance for maybe more certified teacher recruitment retention application processes um the team just doesn't have the capacity to provide that much additional support in those hiring processes and it really is um I think some of the feedback we heard from some of the hiring managers that aren't
in really running those director type positions is that they're you know they were feeling on their own with that process and so there's obviously that's things that you're working on yeah okay and then just my last Parts I had to do with
that was has there been any talk about consideration of how paychecks are given and received was that anything had to do with that like the one once a month thing which can be difficult for people and for example with subay how that can be like two months out for somebody who
comes in subs for us and it can be like two months before receiving that yeah you know that's a great question I know that we hear those concerns and I'm not sure if they've show I'd have to look at the outcomes of the HR survey again to see if those came through I would name that the reason for
both of those um concerns in terms of sub pay and in terms of the once a month is simply the fact that we have a payroll department of two people for a thousand employees um and we just don't have the capacity to be able to push those out any quicker um and I think we
have to weigh the cost benefit and analysis of having more flexibility and payroll is going to require more Staffing and we know right now that given the financial challenges facing the district um adding
Staffing to our payroll department is going to be a hard sell thank you I don't have additional questions on this feel like other board members hit most of them um I did want to make you
know a brief comment I'm I'm great for the continued commitment to ADB and to achieving equity in our schools I think that it's really important especially now in this moment that we continue to put students first and work hard to ensure that every student can be
successful in our schools and this board is clearly committed to that our community is committed to that as evidenced by continued Board elections and so I wanted to put just uh put some weight behind that work to continue to push it Forward um I think that going
through this process too is I think it's a great example to our students of that continued growth mindset right like we recognize we have holes we recognize things need to be fixed let's figure out where they are let's start to make plans and move it forward so I'm appreciative of that and
just wanted to make that um brief comment we'll have five minutes of open discussion if anybody has anything else I just want to reiterate that I think the board should consider having a conversation on moving the RFP for the equity audit up just in light of the
fact that we might not be here when the next one takes place and I think especially with the history that we have right now and the work that's taken place in the last couple of years it would make sense um you know
I I agree with um director kenberg that like obviously there's been a great effort and I've seen it as a board member in the last five years that I've been here um I also it's it's hard not to feel
frustrated sometimes because there are um I think that as a board member I have expectations of how we can move forward and how we can do better and how we can grow and sometimes it just takes a
really long time and um and I I think the hardest part for a board member to come to terms with is a lot of the change that we push for doesn't take place during our tenure um and I feel
like this Equity audit was something that I've been asking for since I arrived I feel like it's something that I've seen other districts across the country do and have put out rfps and I am hopeful that the next one that we do the first one that we're actually
committed to like in full having a a clear picture is uh um is helpful to us and to our students more than anything so I just wanted to make sure I reiterate at that point I had one thing it's kind of a
process question since you mentioned the CDE audit um I assume we'll see that in the budget discussions coming forward as that was I mean I know we've talked about it in the past but that was the um you know something in my mind as you were talking about is how how much that
will cost and how we're going to pay for that given the circumstances we find ourselves in and a little bit of a request when we are having budget discussions if you if we can um I'm sure as a board will remember to ask where that is but I anticipate we'll be going through a lot of information and so it'd
be great if you could help us identify and not forget to talk about it at that time and I would just like to be back off of director kenberg comment that for the appreciation that I also have for the board for the district's um
continued support of um ADB and the district STS that that is something important to us as as a for our children for our community and for our district in general and so thank you
for that continued support and thanks also to um the transparent next steps and Lessons Learned From interacting with this contractor for the next time too I think that was Illuminating to me to hear from your side uh what you were and weren't getting from it and so I would
appreciate that and we'll definitely keep that in mind uh when we look ahead to the next round anything else on this just say that I really appreciate the board's clear Direction in support of this policy especially at this moment um this still feels like really important work and I know it is for our
community because you're all sitting here so thank you thank you thanks the next business in order is a CFO update from Chief Shakin each board member will have two minutes to share comments or ask questions and chief shaquin do you want
us to jump into comments and questions or would you like to present I'm still not clear on what your preferences in regards to the CFO updates yeah I'll just get the mic so that everybody if there's anybody online um I
was just going to jump in questions um it's it's fairly straightforward um so if that's okay with the board yeah um director Ramirez can you start us off um so we just had finance committee so I guess I don't have too much too many
questions I think if you could just talk obviously about um some of the conversation we had regarding um this year's calendar when it comes to finance that would be helpful the timeline the timeline um just for you mean just as far as just where we're at and and kind
of looking at at what that's going to look like yeah sure I'd be happy to and just looking at the highlights of it um and and usually we would be presenting this earlier in the year I just want to note that and one thing the finance committee pushed on is just to make sure
are we still you know really where we're supposed to be at according to this calendar and the answer to that is yes um we are um it's going to be a tight timeline given some of the other situations we've had happen this year and and we've um noted that and we we
just had to really grapple with understanding that uh the board really is supposed to be done with this budget um at the first board meeting in June and that is definitely an expectation um that hasn't been met by this Finance team for a while um but then there's
also this expectation and this really important part of the budget that number one we need to make sure that it's accurate and I'm working with these systems that we're caring in forward from the prior year and you know with new budget managers and trying to get
people trained and um we don't have our budget analyst up and running yet because we're trying to hire positions and so in grappling with those two kind of competing priorities we really felt like it was really important to make sure number number one that the board sees this enough so that you guys are
comfortable with the budget because that's the other thing I heard from the board very clearly is to make sure we have enough time for conversation number two make sure it's accurate and so we're trying to meet those goals um with this calendar first and foremost um and unfortunately we probably are
going to need those additional two weeks um but we can meet virtually because our hope is by that June 24th meeting that you guys have would have seen this enough um so that we won't have to meet in person so that you guys could still do what you need to over the summer um
so that was what we were hoping to strike that balance there um but this calendar what what it does too is it gives us uh deadlines to make sure that we're um clearly communicating also to District other District leaders when their budgets are due um keeping me on
track and keeping us on track with our conversations as a board and uh CFO superintendent so that we're all aligned during the budget process and I'm moving forward um and providing you the information in the calendar and then other plus other information as it comes
available on those timelines so that's the whole purpose of this calendar that we're hoping does that help with answering that question yeah and I think uh some of the big picture items that I want to make sure that we're mentioned during the finance committee were obviously the um April 9th the approval
of the final salary and benefits recommendation um that we also had a conversation about possibly having some extra opportunities for board members to attend a finance committee so that we could share some updates because
obviously the Board needs to be able to spend time with the budget and also make sure that it it is aligned with our priorities and I think because of the quick turnaround that we all spoke to we also wanted to make sure board members
felt confident yes in it so um you know I I say all that to say thank you because it has been a lot of work and a huge lift and we appreciate um all of the extra time that you have put into this um into making Mak sure that not only do you understand it but that your
team um is elevated to be able to first of all like be the right team but also be successful in bringing a budget to the board that you have faith in um and that the superintendent has faith in um and and I think the biggest
thing for me as a board member is that there was a commitment from all of us in our conversation superintendent you the board that we're going to try as much as possible to be on track next year yeah absolutely thank you for that yeah no
those are really um two additional highlights I appreciate you bringing up thank you thanks director Dees um yeah I was I was GNA bring this up in my updates but since it's here in your memo about March 20th um day at the
Capitol I think Dr Cole this came up in Labor Management committee and this is the same request um to participate in to try and Lobby for the state legislature to make wise long-term decisions that are non-reactive um prioritizing public
education and I was just wondering um Dr Cole or if you were part of this as well have we decided to move resources and support that action in in some way and sorry the reason it's in the cfo's update is it has direct implications to the budget next year you know we um I
think we're going to have more discussion around it with the resolution which is an action item on the agenda that on oh there we go never mind sorry okay we can yeah I apologize scroll press okay then the other question is uh and
again this might be for both of you or maybe Dr Cole as well um since I haven't been on finance committee maybe a quick summary of when you are getting this conversation going with building leaders what are you hearing and I'm interested in trends that come up questions um
shifts where they're saying hey we're we're making a choice to move move resources in a significant way as a district and as building leaders is is there anything that you're seeing rise to the surface in those conversations okay I can start and then I've got one big one that I can start
with and then maybe you might have another followup um the one thing that I see as the biggest I guess Trend that I've seen every principal ask is because last year we had these really aggressive numbers on student counts and so they
really felt all of them felt very comfortable yeah you know we're not going to be overshooting that number and so now that we're getting more tight on our numbers and using the uh demographers estimate because of now with the governor's request excluding
any averaging and things we have to be really careful with that and especially because we overshot it last year is the concern that what if we have like a grade that goes over 20 you know FTE student FTE what will happen and am I putting my teachers at risk with
additional class sizes and and so that's a real fear and it's it's this Balancing Act but I really like the way that Dr Cole had addressed it in the budget this year is trying to set aside a couple of certified teachers so that we can fulfill those needs if they arise as
we're getting closer to that albeit that we may have to hire those positions a bit later which is a challenge at least we'll be able to do that and and be a little proactive if there is a situation like a blowout grade in a particular um in a particular school but the good
thing with that um the way that Dr Cole had thought about doing that this year is that then it it just it makes sure that people still feel comfortable that we're we're a declining enrollment we don't want people to further decline our enrollment by being afraid to enroll
those kiddos so it's it's a really good balance and and we're we're working through it and I think that that was one big comment and I I think the other thing is is people really liked that we've been working with um the instructional um leaders uh Joel and
Stacy and myself have been going each one of the schools people feel really confident and that's building trust back in the message and in the budget and that's really important um so I really like the way that this has been um a collegial effort between everybody and
it's not just the CFO making some decisions not meaningful meaning to be that in that role but but just that it moves it back to instructional decisions which I've really like too thanks Chief Shak coin I I think
that you know this it's really hard like a to do a school budget is really hard and we um have interesting uh parameters and resource allocation Frameworks that we use um that give a lot of freedom to
school leaders within some boundaries um and then leaders are trying to manage those those limited resources with in incredibly high expectations which they should be from our communities from our parents um they're trying to take care
of their incredible staff who are really dedicated they know how hard it can be in our classrooms when they are really full when there aren't um enough specials to make a schedule work um it's you know we Chief chin worked really
really hard to get those School budgets to leaders and then gets this like brief moment to take a deep breath and the leaders just are getting into crunch time and so their work right now is really really hard um I would say what I'm hearing from leaders and and it's
interesting like the the timeline that Chief chaoin is developing for the board members starts you're GNA see the budget and see the budget and see the budget like you're gonna see it many many times School leaders similarly were getting forecasts we were running kind of really rough numbers of their schools and their
FTE long before they got their spreadsheet so that we really wanted to make sure one that there were no surprises um two that if we were making any decisions that would shift allocations that we were being very very clear about those decision points and leaders knew what like the decision and
we talked about this at finance committee the decision to say we were going to use the demographers enrollment projections versus our own was a that's a that's a really important decision that's never been done before and we really had to pause with leaders to make sure that they understood the why the
implications um and that we could all walk out of that room understanding where that decision came from because it was going to mean some hard adjustments as we look at FTE in certain schools and so you know as hard as this is um especially our returning School leaders
they've been thinking about this all year they've been watch since October count they've been thinking about their 25 26 budget um and so there's there's not an ounce of this that is easy um I would say the good thing is that most of the adjustments we are able to manage
through attrition and we're still finalizing those pieces but that's I mean our school leaders care always first and foremost about their kids and right on the tail of that is their staff um is the most important you know humans that and resources we have in our
buildings and in this organization and so this is this is really tough What I Hear leaders saying is that they feel clear they know their timelines they understand the spreadsheets and they feel incredibly supported um by the Admin staff Chief chaoin among them in
the way that we've set up um office hours and question moments and and times for consults that folks feel like yeah they're having to make hard decisions but they're not alone um and you know we're we're seeing some of these conversations start to trickle into school accountability committees and um
so hearing that it's hard but that people feel clear and supported and I'm also hearing from leaders that that they're saying these are the right decisions that we have to make these decisions and we have to get clear on what is most important and align our resources and staff that way I mean it
was not an easy conversation at one of the sacks this week and we had a group of invested parents talking about literacy like that is awesome that is what we should be talking about how are we resourcing our schools to drive literacy outcomes that's the right conversation so I think it feels like
we're where we should be as hard as it is and kind of on the heels of that question I appreciate thoroughness of the response there and and um are you maybe you can't answer this without kind of outing somebody but are you hearing any outliers in response you so there's Trends in this way are there schools
that are that have come back to you with a significant need or question or windfall that is not being seen elsewhere are we or is this is it feeling about the same up and down the valley I was I was actually kind of laughing because the outliers I'm hearing from are the people that are
like uh we're all good like like we're doing just fine and we got it figured out and we don't you know like we don't really we're hiring minimal positions so I would and I wouldn't say they're outliers there's a good handful of schools that are are rolling um you know
that are not it's as as stuck in puzzle pieces and schedules and and um you know cohorts that other schools are I don't know yeah I mean I would have heard the same I think they're feeling I mean there's just there's
questions that schools have that we're just answering one by one but mostly the schools have the same questions which is really good to see and that mostly I'm just seeing that people really understand their budget and they understand what they need to do and they
feel like they have the support in the time to do it I think it's just I'm interested if and you don't need to answer this again right now um the difference between the larger communities in Glenwood and the smaller communities in basal especially declining enrollment proportionately hits the smaller schools much harder so I think just going forward I'm
interested in understanding how those communities are responding and adapting and if if you it doesn't have to be tonight but we'll see this a lot more Dr tler I just have two quick um I guess thank yous um number one is for the
budget calendar to have it laid out there how it's going to be presented what's going to be coming up things to look for that's very helpful so thank you for putting that together and I also want to say that I very much applaud the idea of
having a few FTE tucked away if needs come where schools are over not overp populated but that they have a larger enrollment than expected I know that in the past has always been a
very difficult scenario for schools and it hasn't always been resolved in a good way I don't think and so I think it's a really positive Outlook to have those couple FTE available so thank you director
after thanks for this we got a good update and a robust discussion at the finance committee meeting earlier this week um I just a note that in the memo the CFO Update Memo for the board meeting here um you've got
Chief shoin you've got this note about hiring the payroll manager yeah and I think heard the other conversation we had earlier tonight um in this meeting do director Tyler mentioned the um something that a lot of us have heard about which is that staff are only paid
once a month and I just in case it's not clear to people it was helpful for me to hear you superintendent Cole say that's because we have two people doing payroll for a thousand staff and I think sometimes our stakeholders get um I would encourage our stakeholders
who are listening to to like connect the dots between the challenges and the outcomes because we do as a board hear a lot about keeping the district office staff minimal and when we do that one of the results is something like I mean I don't think it's too far a leap to say
one of the results of keeping a barebone do staff is that staff can get paid once a month and that's it um and so I just hope are the folks who um who are thinking about these things and like putting a lot of effort into giving us
feedback which we really appreciate can make those connections as well um that was one thing and then the only other thing I can ask is just how are you doing if you're yeah oh
me yeah I am um I'm doing fine thank you I you know I think it's it's just going to be um a real push this year to get that budget done and it's you know there's sometimes that I want to take my computer and just be like uh I love you I'm going to have this LoveHate
relationship with you because of all like thousand different formulas I was putting that at the finance committee thousand different formulas roughly on on you know what 15 different spreadsheets it's just a real Dawning task and making sure that it's all accurate and trying to just continue to
improve on that accuracy um but I mean yeah it's just I think it's just a matter of managing expectations making sure that you know that I communicate those and then really trying to prove on the system in the meanwhile that we have still have a budget that is going to be really serving this community and these
students well and that's what we're striving for great yeah thanks you're welcome I don't have any additional questions well I do have one is did you create this budget calendar from
scratch I um used it from what I used to work at uh garold ar2 but didn't have anything internal like this um we used to have the there was a different document that was used um in the past and this just I just like this format a
little better it's just a little it flows just people can mean I really appreciate it especially from the seat and I think from The public's from the the public perception as well like being able to look at that calendar and see when the deadlines are is incredibly helpful because as a board member we
haven't had something like this and so we could push for budget and we could push to move it forward but we didn't really know what we were pushing for right because we don't have your expertise and experience and so I think building out something like this for
rowing Fork School District that you or your successors could look at in the years to follow I think is incredibly impactful and it's something small but I think that the ripples that it creates are large and so I'm very appreciative of having that within our system now
that was my only comment that's fantastic because this um calendar one of the things that um I did achieve at re2 for the last seven years was excellence in budgetary presentation award and so that's why they use a really simplified calendar so everybody
all the stakeholders can understand it so that's why I anyone this forward yeah I very much appreciate it um so we'll move into five minutes of open discussion if anyone has anything else on our CFO update I I did have a
followup question just to um to better understand who is in charge of um ensuring that school leaders understand how to use and and understand their budgets I
guess um well I think it would start really with the instructional team like the leader Stacy and Joel they do check-ins with all the school leaders and they look they understand these spreadsheets and they try to resolve a lot of those problems because they're
meeting face to face with them on a regular basis and then um I I would step in on those bigger issues that they're seeing and then I I try to modify the spreadsheets and I'm actually doing a modification out of all 12 of them but to try to make it easier for people to
use and or you know correct little things that need to be corrected in there um so um yeah so it's it's a combination and then Plus at the uh leader Summit also we had the check-in as as Dr Co had said with leaders to
give them a good question answer section as well so that they could ask questions on their budget so they're very abundantly clear and there was also a presentation at the front of the budget and we have on top of that we have some tools which is really great um one of
the my favorite tools is what um this was even before I was here it was created and I really like it we just updated it is called the budget guidance and what that does is it gives why we do the allocations way we do it and how the spreadsheet works and so that they can
understand and what might have changed between years so they're very have a very thorough understanding of all those things I think that would be important for our team to be I don't know if that's a regulation I don't know if that's a superintendent Norm I don't
know if that's a board Norm but I think it would be very important for there to be an understanding that um because I feel like I've asked this question and time again and there was never really like you know someone who held that um
but I think in the spirit of everything we've we've come to terms with with our budget like it would be a good investment from our team to set that expectation moving forward that there will be some sort of expectation on all district leaders either meeting with the
CFO like I'm just thinking of our new leaders that were just came into their position like something has to be align to make sure that there's an understanding of their budget 100% And I would say in terms of school leaders and their budgets it's pretty tight because
we have a new leader induction process that um Dr Park runs and that process Dives deep into budgets so for example um Dr Olsen the new principal gsms is part of you know even though he's a certified administrator has been administrator for years he was in new
leader induction for us where he learned right away how to work with our budgets spreadsheets in our District budget so I actually think that for school leaders it's pretty tight and the resources are tight I think what you're naming in terms of like if we extended that do all budget managers get that training that
is a big dark Gap black hole of we got a lot of work to do there so I think in in the school leader world it's pretty tight in the department head budget manager world we have to tighten up a lot of that and I would just add a recommendation for us as a board
um I think it might be really important for us whether it's in the board handbook or orientation to include like this there's an expectation that you look at this budget calendar and that you get to know it um and and that you ask how we're
allocating FTE um or what we're using um as we start budgeting because I you know I don't think as a new board member when you come in without any training you those are questions you think to ask but we've all learned I made a note in the board
handbook for when we review it in August to consider putting that on the board Treasurer um the board Treasurer doesn't have many tasks or duties right now but the board treasure could potentially be responsible for ensuring quarterly Financial updates adherence to the
budget calendar things of that nature and be someone that sits on the the finance committee I don't know I think that that might be a an easy connection and a way to solidify that so that the board can have a concrete way to hold us more accountable in finance yeah I think that
would be a great addition so I made that note in the board handbook already thank you just one last quick thing when we're talking about the budget line of having a new payroll manager and recognizing that and from what you said Dr Cole about a
thousand people and trying to do payroll more often is not conceivable at this point I still think we need to look at the guest teacher Outlook at that because it seems like we have a problem getting guest teachers we don't have
enough guest teachers and when a guest teacher decides to do it it as often because they are in a pay deficit situation and for a guest teacher to say I might not get paid for seven weeks from when I start my guest teaching I
think that's something that needs to be addressed differently and I understand that maybe not be for all 1,000 employees but I think if that is a thing that is going to make it difficult for us to continue to get those guest teachers that we need and maybe that is one area that we can look at I would
Echo that and I would encourage us to look into the technology that we're utilizing for guest teachers to determine if that is an appropriate way to confirm that a guest teacher has completed an assignment versus having to transfer paper copies from schools back to the district office doesn't seem to
be the most efficient process that we could be using to confirm work completed okay thank you Chief chaen you're welcome thank you great at this time we would welcome members of the public who have signed up to address the the board this evening
there are zero zero speakers signed up um members of the public 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 two written comments that are linked in the agenda so the next business in order is the approval of the consent agenda which
includes routine Personnel minutes from our previous board meeting and policies gbab gbg D gbg and gcoe directors are there any items that you would like to pull off of the consent agenda for a separate discussion and
vote I have a question about one of the items on the consent agenda but I don't need to pull it off for a separate vote it's a clarifying question if you want to have a discussion on it we do need to pull it and so we'll just discuss it separately and that would limit the discussion to only that item
versus all of them okay is that all right yeah so just go ahead and make a motion to pull can I make a motion to pull the staff uh routine Personnel yes is there a second actually we don't need a second for this sorry is there a motion to approve the consent agenda as
amended I move that we approve the consent agenda as amended is there a second a second can you please call the vote director after hi director def hi director kenberg hi director Ramirez director titler hi so now the next business in order is the discussion and
vote on the routine personnel and director after since you pulled it would you like to begin sure yeah sorry this won't take long I just had a question for Dr Cole and um um maybe ponia I I was uh in looking
at the routine Personnel it looked like a um a long list I know there's a lot of Athletics on there so maybe that's why but it brought up a question for me which is that which is have you seen an increase in folks either transferring resigning retiring that you would link
to the insurance or finan other Financial um situation that we find ourselves in right now are you seeing any Trends or um are you are you do you feel like the um number of resignations number of retirements are pretty
standard for this time of year I'll I'll answer and then if you have anything to add G but I mean I would say um as long as I've been in education this time of year always catches Mee off guard because everybody everything starts moving the ground underneath you feels like every day you hear somebody new is
switching positions or like it just okay it feels like it all comes at once and it is pretty much like end of February mid-February end of February until May and it just hits hard and um and I have to like talk myself down every spring um
because it feels like a lot so you know I I know that that folks are when when especially par employees are close to retirement and are looking at trying to get those five years of their highest average salary sometimes
you weigh that convers that decision point of like is next year going to be a significantly higher average salary because maybe I'll hang in there for one more year um and so I have heard like qualitatively um from folks that they are taking that into consideration recognizing
that we're unlikely to see significant salary increases next year and so I think for people who've been on the fence and would have maybe stuck it out for another 5% increase or you know gosh last year I think it was like six or s% increase I know that people are taking that into account I don't know I can't
say that that is the only reason why anybody might be on this list as a retirement um but I know that people calculate that um and and look at that uh it's very common do you PL any to add just to mention it is common this
time of the year I attended a recruiting event on March 1st and there were a lot of not open positions and when I tell all those candidates the fact that it's not open or published today does not mean much from March 1st to spring break
exactly this week weeks and a few weeks after that is went staff will make up their mind if they do stay if they go so this n this amount of movement and the staff changes it's pretty common for this part of the year uh to answer the
very first part of your question is this directly related to Insurance changes I I do exit interviews usually at the end of the school year truly when they're really close to their departure I might be able to provide that data
then as of right now I have not received a resignation that names that as a primary motto thanks I appreciate it thanks for the time any additional comments from the board
just I just had a question um I noticed that we have some dates on here that are a couple months out I just have a suggestion for the team that when when we have these come up it would be great to have the date effective like
because it doesn't seem that it's by name it doesn't seem that it's like by school um but it would be helpful to know have it by date to have it by date sort it by date effective please do non-renewals show up on
here not yet yes they Wills need to go to in May thank you anything else on this no thanks for the time do I have a motion to approve this as presented I make a motion to
approve the routine Personnel list asit uh presented is there a second a second can you please call the vote after hi director defres hi director kber hi dor r hi director tidler hi
sorry my diligent just like locked me out for some reason M that happened to me earlier [Music] it's can I just read onet next business in order is discussion on policies gcba and the
repeal of policy gcob each board member will have two minutes to share comments and ask questions and we'll begin with director defres I assume policy committee already um looked for overlap uh in the relevant policies related to hiring with the
contract so that was my only question tror Tyler the only part I was questioned about about the part in repeal is in the second paragraph of the evaluation of
administrative staff I'm curious whether like this part particularly has an overlap with the new policy um and it's the second paragraph where it says the purpose of administr
administrator evaluation shall be to assist administrators in development and stress strengthen in their professional abilities improve student achievement through the instructional program enhance the inflamation of curricular programs and measure of professional
growth and I'm just curious if there's overlap there especially in the just as a baseline this policy is no longer needed because it's subsumed by another right but I was looking in GCO oh sorry and in GCO I don't know that I particularly saw like that
phrasing right I understand what you're saying because GCO is just about uh certified staff evaluations you know I I think where we landed and not feeling like we needed to make this distinction of administrator evaluation processes was frankly because the cde's
requirements around the Randa process that makes sense covers all of this okay so I just didn't see that in GCO but that makes sense with the Rand part that's fine it makes me okay with that director after can't get back um I
don't have any questions these look good thank you director rire I don't have any questions thanks I don't have any questions on these either um we had some good conversation in policy committee and so the board knows the other two policies that we
considered we table for our next board meeting so that's why we're a little light this meeting maybe in two board meetings a future board meeting um so we'll have five minutes of open discussion if anyone has anything else okay thank you we'll move on to the
next item the next business in order is actually on a board of education resolution honoring women's History Month do I have a motion to approve the resolution supporting the Board of Education resolution honoring women's History Month I make a motion to approve the
resolution honoring women's history month is there a second a second each board member will now have two minutes to share comments or ask questions um we'll begin with director Tyler I just appreciate that we are
doing this I I think it's sobering when you look at the resolution and you see the dates that are listed in it and that it has taken this long for us to honor women in this way and so I
think it's super important that we're doing it and just I think it's important the last part of it where it talks about the board of education's commitment to support efforts to improve opportunities for girls and women
and we're not in a society in an equal place for equal work and equal pay and I think anything that we can do to continue supporting that is welcome thank you director
after um this looks this looks fine to me I'm I support it and I like the like the um specifically updated language on the one two three fourth paragraph um but I'm circumspect about these kinds of
things because I think it requires more than resolutions to make change so in full support and also low expectations director Ramirez I appreciate that because we never passed these board member so thank
you Jonathan for bringing this forward you I um you know it's funny because I passing a resolution when I first became a board member felt really hard and to now get into the storm or even our team is
flagging them for us I think feels really great it feels like progress and it feels um it feels like we're going in the right direction even if it is just a placeholder for for a while to till
we're able to do better and and and push more um and so I just appreciate the thoughtfulness in making sure we had this as a board and as a district and I appreciate that our staff took the time to flag this for us so thank you back to De
fres uh yes I stand firmly behind this and appreciate the timing of it that we can stand for um all of these things that matter so much in our society and just reflect on even in the past generation single generation my parents generation uh women couldn't even own have credit cards weren't legally
required to B and it was just we have come a long way let's keep moving forward um glad we have the resolution on the table um even hit that scope I Sim similarly support this
resolution I'm grateful that um it was flagged for us I think as director Ramirez said this hasn't been a practice of this board and though I do have uh low expectations for the impact
that it has I think as a ceremonial gesture it's important that we as a board take a stand so I'm grateful for it um I did oh you deleted it I made one small edit so I think we should say as amended here um to delete out the word
draft in the title um so I would I I put forward that Amendment right now um and I move that we approve this resolution as an amended I'll
second all right anyone else have any other comments May five minutes open comment if anybody has anything nope okay can you please call the vote D hi director in fres hi director kenberg hi director Ramirez hi director titler hi
all right I will now read the resolution Board of Education resolution honoring women's History Month whereas women's History Month a celebr annually in March in the United States it started as women's day in February 1909 established to celebrate the achievements of women in various fields
and to advocate for women's rights including suffrage and labor rights and whereas in 1980 President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8th as National Women's history week to coincide with International women's day and whereas in subsequent years Congress
passed additional resolutions and the week-long celebration grew in popularity and recognition in 1987 after being petitioned by the national women's history project now the national women's history Alliance Congress passed a resolution designating March as women's history month and successive years since
then and whereas women's History Month provides an opportunity to celebrate achievements contributions and resilience of women throughout history and in contemporary Society such as Susan banthony who fought for women's equality Harriet Tubman who courageously LED slaves to freedom kamla Harris who
became the first woman first African-American American and first Asian-American to be sworn in as Vice President of the United States and whereas women of every race class and ethnic background have made significant and historic contributions to the growth and strength of our society in countless
recorded and unrecorded ways and whereas the leadership of women in elected office including the contributions of our own board of education directors serve as an example of community and Civic engagement for girls and women in our County counties whereas women have been leaders not only in securing their
own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity but also in the Abolitionist Movement the Emancipation movement the industrial labor movement the Civil Rights Movement which creates a more fair and just Society for all now therefore be it resolved that the Roaring Fork School Board of Directors
to hereby resolve march to be the to be women's History Month in the Roaring Fork schools and strongly encourage staff and Community to reflect on the contributions that women have made throughout history and commit to support efforts to improve opportunities for girls and women all
right the next business in order is action on a resolution in support of CA March 20th action at the capital do I have a motion to approve the resolution supporting supporting the resolution and support of CA March 20th action at the capital I move that the board approve
the resolution and support of CA March 20 action at the capital as presented is there a second second we'll now have two minutes to share comments and ask questions we'll begin with director after great thanks um to the rfca for what I understand bringing this to the
staff um and Leadership at the district and um thanks also to the district for figuring out how to how to make this work from a logistics perspective I support this from the from my seat on the board um and grateful to everyone
who is working on behind the scenes trying to make sure that we can support teachers in their right to assemble um in support of uh what I agree agree with them on this no more cuts um effort so thanks to everyone who's
involved director Ramirez yeah I Echo that sentiment um I did just I guess you know I know this is a resolution and This Is Us promoting but through our conversation when this came up in finance committee you know it
seemed like we as a district this was our show of support and so um you know I hope that in future years we're able to work alongside the rfca to have something that feels um more collaborative with from
the district from the board from the union where you know we're able to meet with our legislators um and be able to um you know really take the time and the investment to make it a thing um but I completely appreciate the time of the
teachers who um are headed to the capital who um are um intentionally going to going to be there to advocate for our students in our district and you know thank you to our team for making helping to make this possible um between
the district and the and the rfca so thank you thanks director def uh yes so as I mentioned this came up in Labor Management committee and um with a short timeline so I just want to Echo the
appreciation for I I fully support this I think our district should for many reasons um but it's really un I mean it's coming down to building level leadership to plug to build the support in and that's a it is a lot of work and it's probably going to be a heavy lift on the 20th
for um substitute teacher man sorry guest teacher management across the district and and all of those things so I just wanted to name that that effort and that investment is is what that's called an investment in that if it's a day that's difficult I think that it is worth it uh director Ramirez pointed out
collaborative relationship building with legislators is important but in this moment um there is a very tense conversation happening between the speaker of the house and the governor around these specific issues especially average enrollment among others and so
unfortunately like a direct push right in this moment may actually be a more an effective Tool uh knowing that that long-ter term organic collaboration is is more effective in most cases but this this budget discussion is right down to
the moment so I fully support this resolution director titler I also very much support this resolution and I just want to thank as it says on the memo The Originators of this
um resolution and I appreciate that it is our CA putting this together but also the Dr Cole that you were part of the process and it's nice to see the two those two sides or not sides I want to say sides but the two different groups
working together to have this common resolution and I think that's really important that it happens that way and parts of it that I especially like were um pointing out that as a state where amongst the lowest ranked States
in um per pupil funding and for to make that well understood and I also want to say good job to Our Guest teacher coordinator Kathy Al how is her last
name pronounced that of her sending out a memo a email trying to be ahead of the time trying to really get people to sign on to do that and so some Forward Thinking there I think has been very
well received so good job okay good job um I too am in support of this I think that for a number of reasons that this the timing is critical
as director de said this is going to be an tense conver ation at the capital um I also think that it's great for us as a board to support and highlight this and to highlight the efforts that I strongly believe should continue to be made by
not just this board but staff and community members to further push our legisl legislators and our legisl um for fully funding education in the State uh it is critical not just for
the kids here but for the kids throughout Colorado for a healthy democracy and for so many other reasons um so I think that this shines a light on an issue that I hope we will continue to um move on and I wanted to just make
one plug um for a comment in the memo about valleywide action uh I it would be great to keep the board apprised of that so that the board could participate if there are any efforts in the valley that are being made by rfca um I would gladly
support and participate um so we'll have five minutes of open discussion if anyone has anything else just on that um bringing awareness is there bandwidth available to do a just a
little PR push around it yes we are trying to move fast on the logistics but are hoping to get like a press release out by the end of this week or early next at the worst um but yeah looking at that look at an oped opportunity um so yes those we we're
trying to get through the logistics of that the communications come next any other comments questions on this resolution I will note that before the motion was made today I made one edit change at the very end it's just
grammatical it said let is also be resolved and changed it to let it also be resolved so the version we're approving is the correct yeah and we're going to remove the watermark as well all right can you please call the vote director after hi director defrates
hi director kenberg hi director Ramirez hi director tidler hi I will now read the resolution a school board resolution to support public school funding whereas in 2010 as a way to balance the state budget during the Great Recession the budget stabilization BS Factor borrowed
money from K12 education every year until Colorado students faced a funding gap of more than $10 billion combined with st state tax code constraints per people funding levels have failed to keep Pace with national standards consistently placing Colorado among the lowest ranked States while buying down
the BS Factor was an important step to fully funding public education in Colorado doing so last year only returned public education to 1989 levels that commitment would fund our schools to the minimum amount required by the state constitution Beyond meeting
constitutional requirements there is an inherent need to delve deeper into the intricate fabric of funding supporting our education system it necessitates identifying and implementing sustainable long-term solutions that will not only Bridge the existing gaps but also Foster an environment where schools receive
adequate and Equitable funding whereas the Roaring Fork School District Board of Education recognizes The Chronic underfunding of public school education with Educators students families suffering from the subsequent effects of these education funding Cuts daily and whereas our school district leaders
support our efforts to represent our schools during a day of action on March 20th 2025 and will lean in to ensure that schools remain open active and engaged spaces of learning for students now therefore be it resolved that the Roaring Fork School District Board of
Education is in full support of our Educators and stands ready to take any steps necessary to improve conditions for our Educators and will not retaliate or report retaliation against any educator who takes part in any days of action during the 2025 Colorado general assembly legislative session regardless
of whether they travel to their state capital in Denver or participate in activities in their local communities let it also be resolved that the Roaring Fork School District Board of Education urges the Colorado general assembly to commit meaningful and significant funding to public K12 education during
the 2025 legislative session on behalf of the children families and Educators in our state you're here all right um I don't see any future agenda topics or board tracker requests listed so I'm going to jump ahead and
we'll now move on to our final agenda item which is board updates and appreciations um we'll begin with director Ramirez are you ready or would you like me move somebody else director dees are you ready sure okay um
appreciation for the Glenn Springs High School production of Anastasia I went to that on Friday and it was incredible I cried three times um I have a very soft spot in my heart for live music and for theater having gone
through program in band and and Symphony and everything and watching what was happening in front of me it was a long play it was almost three hours of production and it was live Orchestra the leads were incredible the sets were incredible and in the background in my
head I'm doing nothing but running the numbers on how much time and effort that all takes the coordination between parents just to get kids there the funding the leadership to make sure that someone's around to make sure that those pieces for the actual set get put
together in time it's insane so an amazing amount of appreciation for the support um from the community from the building leadership and then just the time the the sweat and hopefully not too many tears and blood but like all of the
investment in this production was evident and I just I I loved it and I made my kids sit through the whole thing and they loved it so um that was incredible quick updates from the legislative resolution committee was um related to a bill which was going to
requ is requiring financial literacy graduation or as a graduation requirement so putting financial literacy on that and the casby committee um voted to oppos it it did manage to make its way out of committee um but they're still confident that it likely
won't make it past the house and the Senate um to mandate financial literacy as a graduation requirement and one of the compelling reasons is equity issues throughout small districts like ours who already partner and do these things in different ways so that was one of the biggest ones it's another unfunded
mandate so update from that thank you director tler my really only update is about attending IBB certified salary and committee and I just want to say
thank you to all the participants who have spent a lot of time who are speaking about a very emotional topic who are passionate and working for the entire
staff of the entire certified staff in that sense and so I just want to say thank you and I've seen progress and I am confident that before April 9th that there'll be some kind of agreement made
but stick with it and then as far as my appreciation I know Dr Cole already mentioned it but just jumping on the everything that surrounds conferences is a really big deal from the students who
have that extra time that they're putting into student Le conferences and the teachers preparing for those student lead conferences but really just the extra workload that it takes and I understand Friday is an off day for that and that's a reward but it still doesn't
account for so many late nights in a row that really affects the psyche affects the tiredness that then has to be matched in the day for Effective lessons and
effective classroom management and keeping on top of the planning and all those things that just become exacerbated by conferences so just a big shout out to all the extra work from so many different people that it
takes director after yeah thanks um as we mentioned a few times uh we had a finance committee meeting and on Monday and that led to a good conversation on the calendar and the updates um to that so thanks to the
team who um who was there including our um Dak participant Brian Snow who's always a great um great participant in those conversations um I just wanted to say congratulations to the new principals and assistant principles who were um
announced recently um Kendall Riley Tom penzel lauris Smith plus the new principals at ccs and I believe Ross has a new principal too so it's great to see that um especially in Carbondale with like Trifecta of the elementary schools
in Carbondale all getting new principles it's great to see elevation of homegrown Talent so congrats to all of them um and yeah that's all for me thanks director Ramirez yeah um well we had policy
committee Friday and finance committee Monday so I feel like that's I I have to just say thank you to our team because it does make a difference I think to be able to meet with you guys and have these conversations on policy and finance before coming here it makes a
difference to us as a board and I think it is a really good process like just for the district moving forward it it works we should keep St that way um I there's just a couple days at the capital that I have
on my calendar I think this board has made a considered effort to be um more not just involved in reaching out to our our legislators but also to um making sure that we're advocating on
issues that um pertain to our district and so I'm excited to go to L um Latino advocacy day this weekend um and there's a couple other Lobby days that are coming up this you know this whole month
there's three different trips um but I also um I appreciate the opportunity that we have as a board to be able to Advocate um for issues that are pressing to us and you know that includes housing and that includes School meals and that
includes um you know our teacher pay and funding education and so um I appreciate that this board has really made a considered effort to be engaged and to get that um
to get that voice that just District representation out of this Valley so um I just wanted to make sure I mentioned that and then I know that director kolenberg mentioned this last time but there are a couple conferences coming up
in the coming months and so if anybody is interested in any of the school board related conferences or you know scholarships for those or how like interest in them I would be more than happy to help I think it's important that we're also receiving professional
development as a board um especially in this role that's it great um updates I don't have many we had policy committee which I feel like we go through during our board meeting um just to tap onto that the conference
is coming up that I've been offered full scholarships for for local progress which has a school board section which is all local elected officials it's a really great way to network and um get ideas of how other communities are coming at some of the same problems
that we have um and just to really collaborate with other people both in Colorado and Nationwide and then Lee has their National Conference that's leaderships and educational Equity um so they they will provide
um I don't want to like say for sure they will but their goal is anyone who has never been to their conference who is on a board they will cover all of it um so they have their conference I think I want to say theirs is in July and local progress is is at the end of April
but both good you can get full scholarships to both that includes travel hotels everything um for my appreciation I had a couple I wanted to I know we've talked about it a lot tonight but specifically I appreciate the admin in our school who are working
through all those shifts in Personnel um and budgeting and trying to plan for the upcoming school year while also wrapping up this school year um it's a heavy lift that they are doing while also supporting teachers through conferences and all the other craziness that happens
in the next couple of months um and then also wanted to give a shout out specifically to the balt Education Foundation we just wrapped up another very successful one school one book which is a great tradition that BS does where everybody reads a book and
teachers and staff um read chapters and make videos so that the kids can read along at home and so it's definitely an extra lift for everyone and this year we wrapped it with a big event uh in the gym watching wild robot and although it was two hours of non-stop sensory input
in that gym with like every child from the elementary school I think there and not really quietly watching a movie um it was very fun and it was a great turnout and it was just an awesome like Community Based and event so did you cry I cried during wild robot not this time
because I was at the concession table taking money in the dark which was very difficult for a number of reasons but I definitely cried the first time I watched wild robot um so just yeah thanks to bef for making that possible financially all of
the staff at bees who commits the extra extra time and energy and specifically our librarian Miss Sherry who manages ordering all the books and getting all the books to all the kids in Spanish and English and coordinating all videos up on Vimeo every day and pushing VI a
remind and I mean it's just a lot of steps for something that the kids love and look forward to every year so that is all I've got so if there is no further business and no objection this meeting will be adjourned it is 8:09 p.m.