BOE: Construction Update, Bullying,
More Rodriquez, FFA/AG Teacher Selected

Custer County Schools Board of Education
BOE Regular Meeting
—November 13, 2018
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.

by McKenzie Huffman,
Education Reporter

The well attended regular BOE meeting started off with two presentations from 5th Grade students Logan Nameth and Alyssa Gaide showcasing their researching and writing skills. Logan shared how he applied skills he had learned to create his slideshow on Desert Hedgehogs. Alyssa taught us about Reindeer and how to use words to engage your audience in her presentation. Great job kids! Bobcat Pride Certificates were presented to everyone involved with the new scoreboard. Those new and old to the community came together to volunteer time, labor, equipment, supplies and money to complete this project. Dr. Davis presented the certificates and gave the BOE, administration, staff and audience a few moments to walk around to express their gratitude.
The NV5 update included the notation of a few small change orders that will need to take place to fully complete Phase I of the project. Permitting has been reviewed for the new Security/Access doors, and once approved they can move forward and go “live” sometime around Thanksgiving. Other small punch list items are pending. As with the remainder of any construction project, weather may present timeline challenges. A peer review of the geothermal design calculations will be conducted for Phase II, to make sure that the most accurate calculations will be used for budgeting and establishing preliminary well field design. Phase I costs came in within budget. The search for estimates for Phase II will occur after design development is completed towards the end of November. Monte Lee expressed some ideas and questions to NV5 Representatives, such as, he would like to see a presentation of Budget vs Actual. This could allow for smarter budgeting choices down the road when they are able to see up to date expenditures including change orders. Lee also questioned some of the non-construction charges such as hotel room charges in Colorado Springs, iPad rental, pick up rental and phones. Payler stated he also questioned the hotel charge, and it pertained to special abatement training specific to this project, which was held in Colorado Springs. Payler said he would follow up regarding the other charges while also explaining that NV5 does audit the charges to make sure they are indeed applicable to the project at hand.
A proposal was heard suggesting possible use of the old main office and adjacent office spaces for Special Education, testing needs and to house one of the distance learning units. The distance learning equipment has been housed in an administration office, due to HIPPA and FERPA regulations. That unit has not been able to be used to date. The proposal would allow a multifunctional place where it could be housed and serve multiple other needs, while requiring very little construction.
Bullying was a hot topic in response to expressed concern from some community members. Principal Christensen explained the school’s definitions and explained the difference between bullying (repeated offenses or groups targeting one individual) and “being mean”. While not unique to Custer County Schools, bullying requires both a proactive and reactive approach. Both principals Christensen and Camper expressed that they cannot help a student or take appropriate action unless they are made aware of a problem. They asked parents, guardians and the community to help the students when not at school. Lead by example, especially on social media where kids can be exposed to bullying outside school hours. They also held a Parent Night, poorly attended with only six parents, to give resources and ideas to help students combat cyber bullying. They are looking into how to better advertise for such events to get attendance up. Tracking systems are in place to record who, what, when, and where any problems occur and how they were dealt with. Ms. Camper stated that this helps the administration target areas the staff needs support. They have also applied for a $50k grant to go towards anti-bullying applications that would cover a three-year period.
During the public comments Mrs. Rodrigez read a letter from her granddaughter who recently left the school district due to alleged bullying, explaining that she didn’t feel comfortable confiding in the administration about her experiences and didn’t feel that there would be any follow through. Mrs. Rodrigez went on with a personal and emotional response to the Board questioning the administration’s effectiveness.
Mr. Bradburn, who designed DI, and has been involved with the BEST project thanked Mr. Payler for being an excellent recruiter and complimented his skills in the implementation of the school’s needs in the new construction processes and that he considers him an asset to the district. Mr. Keys, a retired engineer, also expressed how impressed he was with Mr. Payler, stating that he is a great influence on the right people and was able to get wonderful volunteers for the BEST grant project.
Mr. Rodriguez was given six minutes by the BOE as discussed at the last regular meeting to “clear his name”. Rodriguez stated that the administration was only sharing one side of the story regarding the incident earlier this year that resulted with the administration suspending him from being on school grounds, or at school board meetings without following a list of stipulations. Rodriguez explained his side of things and why he felt he was unjustly targeted given that the court dropped the case based on physical evidence including video surveillance that captured the entire incident. He asked for a letter of apology as he feels he has been slandered and would like the suspension and stipulations removed. He also shared that given that the case is closed it is available at the Sheriff’s Office should anyone want to read it themselves. (Note: given minors were involved, the Sheriff’s Office will protect any names of students involved.) Mrs. Schoch wanted to thank the school and the administration for accommodating the needs of her daughter who is experiencing a difficult time with her health, and that her family feels very comfortable approaching the administration to trouble shoot her academic needs.
In FFA news, the Fruit Sale orders are expected in the 2nd or 3rd week of December, and the Creed was given on Thursday night.
The administration presented their finalist for the FFA/Ag teacher, Mr. Kyle Evans, who they feel will be a great fit. Tom Flower stated that he is very excited about him. A list for the FFA advisory committee was presented for the BOE to approve. Mr. Lee asked the administration to give the BOE more lead time when they have selected a final candidate. Given the Mr. Evans is looking for housing in the county, and likely has already made his current employers aware that he is taking another job…should the BOE not approve him, it would pose difficulties for all involved. To be proactive and courteous to any candidates, the administration agreed to give the BOE information needed as soon as they know who they are selecting regardless of the position. Dr. Davis and Principal Christensen reiterated that all finalists are told they are hired “pending approval of the board”. Lee also suggested that because the FFA bylaws state the FFA leader is to select their own advisory board, that the list presented to be approved by the BOE is a conflict. Given that Mr. Evans is new to the community, he requested that Flower and Christensen put together a committee for him, so he can hit the ground running. The Board made the minor adjustment to the title of the committee to the Ag Advisory Committee so that they could approve it. Upon his arrival, Evans can then present the list to the FFA for their approval. Principal Camper also mentioned that they had made the suggestion to have two-year rotations without everyone having the same term limits, giving Evans the ability to add other members of the community to the advisory committee once he is established.
The District Financial report included the receipt of the State Transportation Reimbursement to the account. Amy Perschbacher was happy to report that the funds not needed up front for the BEST projects, as agreed to by the BOE, have been gaining interest. Colotrust Earnings to date from March being around $53.5k of nontaxpayer monies. These funds can be spent on capital improvement projects or any areas that may go above the budgeted amounts in the BEST project. Reports from Accountability included compliments to food services who are saving money by making much from scratch instead of pre-made. Text book rotation is still being looked at, considering that much information now is presented digitally. The cross walks are still in the works with both towns. Palyer Mr. Payler mentions that he has been contacted by two volunteers to serve as crosswalk guards in the interim. The Legislative report from Mr. Lee included a few interesting items. He fears rural schools will be left behind as the post-election state Senate decides how to allocate the 1.6 billion excess of funds, given statements that they will “aim to benefit Denver schools”. State electronic recycling, recruitment and training for new teachers, and legislation addressing dyslexia were also mentioned. Newcomb shared that the Preschool Advisory/CCKC is working on a creating a centralized location for resources for parents and community members to help support them and their young children.
Resignations and new hires were approved in addition to move forward with the search process for a Superintendent. The business manager search process has been tabled until January. New and updated policies ADD, GBEB, KDBA, ADF, JFABB and JFABB-R were approved with some minor adjustments to wording.
In athletics, big congratulations to Micah Zeller who took 1st place at regionals and 2nd place in state for cross county!! Jeremiah Taylor and Kyleigh Martin also made it to state. Harrison Walter and Caleb Carven participated in the unified race at state too! Great work! Middle school volleyball B team won 1st place at the championship games, and A team took 2nd place. Winter sports schedules are out. Be sure to come and support our Bobcats.
The Superintendent reports that there is a potential for some property next to the administration buildings be donated to the district. He is also looking at calendar options for next year. Due to the scope of work needed to complete the construction projects, and the schools needing to obtain and a Calendar Option (CO) prior to starting the school year…there are three options being considered. He anticipates gaining the CO mid-August which would mean a school start date after Labor Day. Decisions are still being made. Payler also shared a rubric that has been modified to help makes the decisions regarding late starts and snow days. He expressed that those decisions are never taken lightly, and that the rubric helps those making the decisions keep to a system, while working with CDOT to assess conditions.
The meeting was adjourned following an executive session to discuss individual students and an expulsion recommendation. The next regular meeting is December 11, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. in the School Library.