November School Board Meeting

Goodbyes Given by Three Directors,
New Directors to Have Busy December

by Laura Vass

The Custer County School Board held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.

Because the election of new directors had one close race, the swearing- in of new board members was moved to November 30th at 4:30 p.m., to allow time for the official ballot voter numbers to be tabulated.  Jordan Benson won by nine votes.

Selecting a temporary representative for Southern Colorado Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) was necessary to cover one month. Newell Woodbury was nominated to cover that meeting. That was added to the consent agenda at the beginning of the meeting.

During Public Comments, Jordan Benson wondered if the decision to go to remote learning for the week before Thanksgiving was necessary and if the substitute teacher pool could have covered teachers that were out ill. (The board listens but doesn’t respond during regular meetings as they discuss matters during the workshop held just prior to each monthly meeting. Given last month’s report that the school is in dire need of substitute teachers, it seemed like a rhetorical question to this reporter.)

Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting on 10/12/21 were approved.

Under Reports, student Kaya Huffman gave an update on the fundraising and fun via the Halloween party and said the next activity planned by the student body will be Winterfest in January.

Reports and Discussion

Caroline Henderson’s high school language class students Ben and Brooke gave a presentation on students sharing Spanish with younger grades. To test and help with word retention they also made their own crossword puzzle and fun quizzes. A parent interjected that her second grader, who has retained some Spanish, insisted that the Spanish teacher is a man and he’s on the football team (Ben Stafford). There were a few chuckles.

Board Committee Reports:

Terre Davis read a final report/history of her time on SCBOCES which the Sentinel printed last week (Here)

FFA – Ben Stafford said the Oyster Fry was still on.

The Legislative report was submitted by Doreen Newcomb, but the four-page report was not read aloud.

Preschool Advisory – Stacy Terrill stated that the preschool daycare numbers are looking good. The entire amount of funding needed for a preschool modular has been secured via a grant, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds and a large citizen donor amount, so this building will be completely funded. They are planning a new playground, which means that they’ll have one separate from the grade school.

Custer County Kids Council is working on  a strategic planning meeting for December with the community. It will focus on supporting families with newborn to eight- year-olds in the county.

Policies to be voted on:

Some policy approvals were moved to the next meeting so that the new board members are able work on/approve. Those held over for the December meeting are listed below.

First Read: Sick Leave GBGG, Family Leave GBGH, and First Read of Policies: GBEB Staff Conduct, GBA Open Hiring/Equal Employment Opportunity, GCE/GCF & GCE/GCF-R Professional Staff Recruiting/Hiring, DJE Option 2 Bidding Procedures, AC & AC-E-1 Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity, GCQC/GCQD Resignation of Instructional Staff/Administrative Staff, GCQC/GCQD-R Option 1 Resignation of Instructional Staff/Administrative Staff, GDE/GDF Support Staff Recruiting/Hiring, GDE/GDF-R Support Staff Recruiting/Hiring, GCQF Discipline… Professional Staff, GCQF-R Option 1 Discipline, Professional Staff GDQD Option 1 Discipline…Support Staff, GDQB Resignation of Support Staff Option 1,
JFBA Intra-District Choice/Open Enrollment, JFBA-R Intra-District Choice/Open Enrollment, JFBB Intra-District Choice/Open Enrollment, JFBB-R Intra-District Choice/Open Enrollment, IKF Graduation Requirements,  JII Student Concerns …, JICDE Bullying Prevention and Education, JB Equal Educational Opportunities, JF Admission and Denial of Admission, JICDD Violent and Aggressive
Behavior, LBD Relations with Charter Schools.  Whew!

The Board voted yes on the additional language to New-to-the-District Teacher pay compensation for years of teaching. Half-steps will be rounded to the next highest number.

Also, the High School Honors history class trip to Washington, DC, was approved.

The Daycare Parent Handbook & Contract with order of Preference and Fees was approved, with Superintendent McFalls noting that these documents still need some work.

Resignations and New Hires approved; Resignation with regrets for Dave Bennett, Bus Driver, New hire of Shelley Meaney as Paraprofessional, SpEd, and Dave Downing as HS Girls Basketball Coach.

Approval of Policies:

The current board approved the First Read of BID/BIE School Board Member Compensation/Insurance/Liability.

Tax/Mill Levy Certification remains incomplete.  McFalls noted as he has in past meetings, that the tax levy increase is a state decision.

The Bus Driver Pay, Retention and Signing Bonus was approved during this meeting.

Jr. Firefighters Student Organization and Sponsor Stipend, in cooperation with Wet Mountain Fire, was approved. Student Ben Stafford interjected that it’s a great program.

Administration Reports:

(AD) Athletic Director Caden Parker gave a summary of the Volleyball, Cross Country and the Football teams’ successes and said that winter sports practices are underway for  MS and Varsity Basketball.

Mike McFalls said the Mill Levy (Certification) has not happened yet. He gave a list of the unfilled positions in the district (which are
currently listed in the Sentinel classifieds.)

District Audit – a report will be given to the board and a summary shared at a future meeting and will be available online as well.

Budget Revision – will occur in January and February, and will also fall to the new board, as will finalizing the BOE Bylaws which must be completed by January.

Parting Comments from the three outgoing BOE directors commenced.

Patricia Vasquez expressed her gratitude and observations. She is grateful for the other board members as colleagues and mentors who, although they did not always agree, worked together for what was best for the students and “not our personal agendas.” She told future board members in attendance to 1) be prepared for a plethora of acronyms and 2) The new email address for correspondence as a board member has provided new marketing opportunities. Daily, she received email for employment offers and ads to “enhance my husband’s physical attributes.” The crowd roared. She plans to continue to volunteer at the school by reading with the Third graders.

Doreen Newcomb began by addressing board members in attendance; “Never forget why you were elected and who you work for.” She said, “It’s been an honor to be a part of a very effective and accomplished school board and to work with two strong superintendents.” Doreen thanked the teachers and staff.

Her advice, “Share and defend your views and listen to other views. Visit the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) website often.  Your main concern is the health and education, welfare of the students.”

Newcomb is closing a career of some 40- years in education. She left off with a charming Charlie Brown quote in appreciation of teachers which this reporter was unable to hear in full.

Terre Davis gave a review of her career and her eight- years as a school board member. Due to length, it is excerpted here but the full-length document which includes details of the board and the school district’s success. It is available on the Sentinel website here

Terre Davis read, “As Doreen, Pat, and I conclude our board positions, we are proud to leave the new board with a clean slate.  We are not aware of any critical issues which must be dealt with other than the lack of qualified candidates to fill certain positions.”

“Many people have asked me what I am going to do with all my spare time. Rest assured that I am not going to leave the field of education. I recently turned my company, TD and Associates, over to a retired superintendent in the State of Michigan who has already employed other superintendents to continue superintendent searches and serve as consultants to boards of education and administrators.  I will be working with them as a consultant.  I also have two books in the beginning stages—one entitled “Don’t Turn Back—Take the Detour” which is the story of my career, and the other is “Bully in the Boardroom” which includes the experiences I have had in working with boards as a superintendent, observing board actions as a citizen, working with boards as a consultant, and that of being a board member, myself.”

“I would like to thank this great community for the honor of serving on your Board of Education for the past eight- years.”

A special meeting will be held November 30th for the swearing- in of the new board members. The next regular BOE meeting will be held on December 14th, Workshop 2:30 p.m. in the Admin. Conference Rm., and Regular Meeting at 4:30 p.m. in the school library.