Board of Education Regular Meeting
School Library
—March 14, 2023
by Becky Olson
The regular Board of Education meeting kicked off on March 14, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. in the school library. All members were present and proceedings commenced after the call to order and Pledge of Allegiance. After changes to the agenda were unanimously approved and the introduction of guests in the gallery, the members heard from the anti-bullying committee about their recent campaign to develop a list of desired traits for students and ways they are recognizing those who display the characteristics of being kind, responsible, respectful, and caring with public praise.
The one person signed up for public comment requested their time allotment at the end of the meeting, so the board moved on to unanimously approve the minutes for the Special Meeting that took place on March 2nd. In teacher reports the board members received an update from committee members on the programs being implemented under the Colorado Multi-Tiered System of Support (COMTSS) grant to provide additional assistance to qualified students. This is a multi-year grant worth a total of $90,000 for the period of January 2021 through August 2026.
In board committee reports, member Tracy Broll gave a brief update with regard to ongoing efforts to renegotiate and amend the operating agreement with the South Central Board of Cooperative Education Services (SCBOCES). There are still details forthcoming from SCBOCES which are germane to these discussions, so this item was tabled to next month’s meeting and no decisions were made or votes taken at this time. The Kids Council next provided some brief updates and reported that grant funding is being pursued for the new pre-school / daycare class and the new infant room is expected to open in the near future as construction on that building is completed.
After some brief athletics programs updates were read by member Jordan Benson in Director Trinity Huffman’s absence, Principal Sydney Benesch gave her report: Spring testing preparation is underway, the new Snowcats club is going strong, the Scholastic book fund raiser and Family Literacy Night were successes, and 486 responses were received to the recent community survey on what skills and qualities stakeholders wish to see in the school’s graduates. In Superintendent Jackie Crabtree’s report, she highlighted the ongoing maintenance and repair efforts for aging aspects of the school building and infrastructure, many interviews for open positions have recently been held, the old playground equipment is being replaced, the Bobcat Quad teacher housing unit is getting new appliances, health insurance premiums will increase due to new laws and expanded uses for certain prescription drugs, the Stress Busters program is helping middle school students learn coping strategies, and the renewal of the grant for the School Resource Officer is still being pursued with the help of the Custer County Sheriff’s Office.
In standing action items, members unanimously approved accepting the district financial report before moving on to unanimously approve all of the recent resignations and new hires. The updated Memorandum of Understanding with the Riggs Ranch prepared by member Peggi Collins received unanimous approval, as did the 2023-2024 school calendar. As a result of last month’s meeting where a conflict of interest with Mr. Benson’s recent acceptance of the position as Chairman of the local GOP political chapter was discussed, board members made a decision to pursue modification of their bylaws to remove this conflict. Ms. Collins will present proposed updates at next month’s meeting.
Members next voted unanimously to re-apply for a grant to offset the cost of replacing certain equipment for the school building as well as voting to use money leftover from another grant to help with the cost of replacing the playground slide. Next members voted unanimously to investigate how to pay for required changes to various school policies that were flagged in a recent audit as not being up to date with all current state law. (Editor’s note: Some of these were discussed in the 2:30 meeting.) The last item before moving to public comment was a unanimous vote to bring in a company over spring break to do a deep cleaning and sanitization of the school at a cost not to exceed $10,000. (Due to the prevalence of illnesses thus far this school year.)
Ann Barthrop was up next in public comments to ask the board if they had been able to obtain answers to some questions that arose in last month’s meeting with regard to Mr. Benson’s conflict of interest. Ms. Barthrop specifically asked what the attorney’s feedback was with regard to this conflict, and member Jake Shy again curtly stated, “no conflict”. Ms. Barthrop went on to reiterate and remind the board of the necessity of this entity remaining nonpartisan, and highlighted an excerpt out of the state board of education’s ethics code speaking to this circumstance. Member Peggi Collins asked Ms. Barthrop if she could send that language to her for incorporation in the updated bylaws Ms. Collins will be presenting at next month’s meeting.
In further public comment, a resident and mother expressed her frustration with the lack of resources for students who qualify as gifted and talented. She highlighted state laws which mandate assessments for qualified students and the allocation of necessary resources within a 60 day time period that is not being adhered to (her child has been a student here for two years now), and also that a state requirement for a certified gifted and talented teacher is also not being met. She further lamented that the school doesn’t have an honor society or AP (Advanced Placement) classes, and she has had to pursue options outside of the school to meet her child’s needs. The board assured her there was now a dedicated resource pursuing these things and they would “soon” be in place. (Editor’s note: Monies paid into SCBOCES from funds collected in property taxes in Custer County and grant disbursements collected by SCBOCES are for the purpose of funding special needs and gifted and talented programs.)
With no further public comment and after a few minor discussion items, the meeting was adjourned.