Board of Education Regular Meeting: December 15, 2025

001Welcome. This is December 15, 2025 Essis Park School District R3 Board of Education regular meeting. It is now 5:15 p.m. This meeting is called to order. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Aaron, please conduct a board roll call. >> Director Fere, >> here. >> Director Kendall, >> here. Director Shocket >> here. >> Director Widerski >> here. >> Director W >> here. >> This the spotlight on success listed as the middle school environmental resilience team will instead feature the CASBY nominated art students. This evening's spotlight on success is a correction from what was originally posted and we appreciate everyone's flexibility. Moving on to

002approval of the agenda. Board members have an agenda before you at this time. We'll take any comments or amendments to the current agenda. Seeing none, is there a motion to approve the current agenda? >> I move that we approve the current agenda. >> A second. >> We have a motion to second. Aaron, please conduct a board roll call. >> Director Furry >> I. >> Director Kendall >> I. >> Director Shocket I. >> Director Widerski I. >> Director Wis I. Eyes carry the vote. Agenda is approved. Moving on to agenda item two, public participation. The Essis Park School District Board of Education welcomes public participation and values community input. This meeting is a public meeting held in accordance with Colorado law in order to conduct the district's business effectively and respectfully. The board will enforce its

003meeting decorum rules. Public comment is intended to provide the board with input, not to engage in dialogue or debate. Disruptive behavior, including yelling, personal attacks, threats, profanity, and refusal to follow the direction of the presiding officer, will not be permitted. The board president is authorized under Colorado law to maintain order. Individuals who disturb the good order of the meeting may be warned, and if the disruption continues may be required to leave the meeting. This evening, we had one individual sign up. Missy Lewis, will you please come forward to the podium and state your name and you will have three minutes. And Missy, on the bottom of the um speaker is on the bottom of the speaker's little green button. Just there you go. You'll have three minutes. Thank you. >> Okay. Yes. I'm Missy Lewis.

004Um Madame President, members of the board, and district leadership, thank you for allowing me to speak this evening. I am here as Luke's parent and I want to be very clear about why I am here. This is not a custody argument. This is not an attempt to pull the school district into family court. This is about what happens when a child is at risk and the system designed to protect that child steps back instead of forward. Luke is currently in the middle of an active custody case. The fact is known to the district. Attorneys on both sides have communicated concerns about enrollment, placement, and most importantly, attendance. At one point, it was clearly stated that Luke was facing truency. At that moment, Luke needed coordin coordinated adult action. What happened instead was procedural retreat. I

005formally requested the district's assistance, including the possibility of a truency petition, not as punishment, but as a structured intervention to bring accountability, clarity, and urgency to a situation that was and is deteriorating. The district reviewed the request, acknowledged the attendance concerns, and then declined to act, citing custody and jurisdictional complexity shortly after the previously discussed attendance meeting was cancelled. So, here's what concerns me and why I'm speaking to you tonight. The district the district recognized that Luke is at risk. The district recognized that attendance is a problem. And yet the district chose not to use its strongest tools, not to convene stakeholders, and not to create an alternative intervention plan. Luke did not become less at risk because the situation was complicated. In fact, complexity is what systems are supposed to step up is to

006step up, not step away. I want to be very clear. I'm not asking this board to assign blame. I'm asking this board to recognize a gap. When custody issues exist, when parents disagree, when courts are involved, children still attend school, attendance laws still apply, educational harm still occurs when support is delayed. Thank you for my time. There are no other speakers this evening. Public participation is closed. Moving on to agenda item three, spotlight on success. CASBY nominated art students and our wonderful art teachers, please proceed to the podium. >> I believe I'll be representing the arts teachers. I'm Angela Barbberry and um thank you school board president Fury, school board members, superintendent Bod and our our student representatives. With much pleasure, I'm here to present our students of success and I will go through and

007show you some of our wonderful work that was at the Colorado Association of Schoolboard members convention. So they every every year the student the Colorado Association of School Board has a a statewide contest and all three of our schools participated this year. So students, when I call your name, if you'll just come stand over here and then I'll give you a certificate. Does that sound good? Okay. Some of our students are not here. As you know, we have a lot of sick children. So for second grade, we have William B who did this beautiful picture. Stay up here. Okay. >> Congratulations, William. >> And third grade, we have Zoe S. you. Next in fourth grade, we have Julia L. Congratulations. >> Thank you. And in fifth grade, we have KCS. So that is elementary and

008in middle school we have Emily Reese not here today. In seventh grade we have Lily O. And in eighth grade, we have Ziggy Wild. At the high school level, we have Dylan Seed, who is not here tonight. We have 10th grade Dana C, who is not here this evening. And we have Sale C, who also is not here this evening. And with great pre pleasure for 12th grade, we have Jade Erdle. So, thank you for this spotlight on the visual arts. We appreciate your support and it's we're delighted to spotlight these wonderful students and their talents. Thank you. Thank you for being here this evening. I would just like to let all the artists know that when we did enter the uh Colorado Association of School Boards um convention, we could see all of your

009beautiful artworks up on a really large screen and it had your names and that you were representing Estus Park and it made all of us so proud to see your artwork out there. So, thank you so much for submitting those and fantastic job all of you. Okay, moving on to agenda item four, discussion items. 41, GM review presentation. Michael Scott, gifted education monitoring and professional development consultant with Colorado Department of Education. Please come forward. Let's see. Can everyone hear me? Okay. I'm a high school English teacher by trade and so I naturally project and so I may have to dial it back just a little bit so I don't make anybody go deaf this evening. It is a privilege to be here. Thank you very much for inviting me. I will speak on the gifted

010education monitoring visit that we conducted uh in October and we'll start from the beginning. So again, thank you again. This was the gym exit summary that was delivered to EST Estus Park Schools on October 29th, 2025 and it is still it is showing my speaker notes. Forgive me for just a moment. Does anyone know how we could do this to where the presentation shows? But my speaker notes do not. Okay. Thank you. You don't get your notes. >> Okay, I can cook in my laptop. >> Let me try one more time. >> Okay. Sorry about that. I don't know. >> Yeah. Maybe. I think that's what we were doing the first time. >> Yeah. I'll be right back. >> I don't know why it's doing that. Sorry. It doesn't like that. >> Sorry about that.

011Michael, is this your beginning slide right here or is this the end slide? >> That is the beginning. Okay. All right. And I think you're all right. >> Okay. So, my name is Michael Scott. I work for the Colorado Department of Education's office office of gifted education as a professional development monitoring consultant. So the gifted education monitoring review, this was part of a routine visit that we do uh in accordance with ECEA law and I will explain a little bit more about it as we go through. Uh but again when we do these vid well again thank you for having me here but when we do these visits we like to give a quick exit summary based on what we saw uh during our time here and the document review that was done prior to

012the visit. So, first and foremost, um we we thank Estas Park for the hospitality, flexibility, uh everyone opening their doors to us. Uh we felt very welcomed when we came here. This was a wonderful visit. Uh and we were again, you'll hear me say privilege a lot, but truly it was a privilege to be here uh and see the wonderful things that were going on. And so, we respect and acknowledge your ongoing efforts to improve the quality of gifted education in your district. And when we delivered this presentation uh congratulations were in order on completing the requirements for the preparation of the gifted education monitoring process and uh the process started when we connected last spring to discuss preparation for the gym visit. When we say gym that is gifted education monitoring uh the administrative

013unit began to prepare documents for the gym review and this is just a list of the things that had to be prepared. This is not a light lift. Uh on behalf of the administrative unit, specifically the gifted director of record, Rachel Graham. Uh she did a lot of work to make sure that our visit was seamless, and we appreciate that. Uh we developed a comprehensive 3-day site visit schedule in collaboration with the AU and the gym team lead. Uh we conducted listening sessions with school partners, including students and staff, and then we reviewed analysis of surveys collected from school partners. And so this is a brief look at the number of people that we were able to talk with in person. Uh four building administrators, six district administrators and leadership, the gifted director of record,

014four classroom educators, 29 gifted students, and then four uh counselors, social workers, and cultural liaison. Um a large part of the feedback that we received came in the form of surveys. As you can see here, 54 students, 26 families, 35 teachers, eight members of district leadership brought a total when you combine it with the previous slide to 171 people. Uh for a district of this size, that is a wonderful sampling uh that we're able to base our findings and our reporting on. And again, all thanks go to Rachel Graham for collecting that data and and giving us access to the people that we needed to talk to. Okay, so this is a preliminary view. Uh, this is usually the slide that everyone wants us to get to quickly. Uh, is were things found in compliance?

015Uh, yes, we found all areas of ECA rule to be in compliance in Estus Park. Uh, in 2021, they were found in compliance with ECA rule is the same for the 2025 2026 gifted education monitoring visit. We found all areas within ECA ruled to be in compliance with opportunities for continued growth in identification, program articulation, and personnel. Estus Park continues to take significant steps towards further commitment to excellence since the last visit in 2021. And we'll talk a little bit about those areas um those celebrations and then those areas for growth. So as you can see here, the celebrations that we found uh in our initial three days uh were powerful practices of evaluation and accountability, personnel and programming. So before we dive in, we have to commend the work of Rachel Graham in building

016a system of supports for both gifted students and those who serve gifted students in Estas Park. Her commitment, understanding of the needs of gifted learners, and desire to build an enduring system that works effectively and efficiently at all levels is exceptional. It was a privilege to see the work being done here and much of what we've seen in this gym visit will be resources that we will be able to use to advance the work of others in the field across the state. I have had four gifted education monitoring visits since the visit Estus Park and I have shared what you guys are doing here. uh there are some powerful practices going on that other districts are um able to take advantage of and so we are grateful that we saw some wonderful things here because

017that is if I'm being honest one of the strengths of the way we do this work is we go all over the state and we're able to share powerful practices. Um we we try to compare apples to apples as best we can but every district in Colorado is unique and so the best case scenario is comparing green apples to red apples. Um but I do think that that is um one of the benefits of this work because although technically on paper yes when we say monitoring people hear audit that's not how we approach it. We approach it as a diagnostic and so there is a wide range of services across the state. We have district districts that have strong systems in place that are doing the best they can and then we have those where

018it's a new person in a new role and they have to build the system. So it is a wide range of service that we're able to provide. So when we come to a place like Estus Park, it puts more in our back pocket, for lack of a better term, to be able to share with those districts. So let's talk about evaluation and accountability. When we do our work, we always take a systemsbased approach, asking how does policy and procedure at the top filter down to the boots on the ground and the learners they serve. The best scenario for gifted programs are those where gifted education is embedded, where district and sitebased staff include the academic and effective needs of gifted learners on their radar when making decisions regarding programming, scheduling, and district initiatives. This was

019something that we recognized well before we came to Estas Park with Rachel telling us about gifted being embedded in the MTSS process. But it was confirmed when we were able to meet with everyone who made the gears turn. Everyone understood the importance of serving gifted learners within their own roles and had clear ideas about where things could go next. In addition, the clearly articulated policies, procedures, and resources Rachel has either developed or partnered with others to develop are incredible, much of which I'll take to other districts and give credit where it was due. Again, this was written back in October. And it is a clear marker of a well-developed and again embedded GT services system. We also have to commend not just the strategic mission of the district which gifted ser gifted services fits neatly

020within but how it was implemented in practice. The growth Estus Park has seen over the last 5 years as testament to the work of all who have committed to this plan and the improvement of gifted services are a big part of that. It's cliche, but a rising tide lifts all ships and gifted students experiences spoke to the positive changes the district has seen. Even when we consider declining enrollment, which is a statewide problem, and teacher turnover, also a statewide issue, the district mission is also connected to how to program in the classroom, which we'll look at in a moment, as well as connected to a effective outcomes for students. We could plainly see the sense of collaboration and community your district has, and it's worthy of celebration. Let's talk a little bit about personnel. It's

021abundantly clear that Rachel is deeply respected throughout the district. School partners we met with often expressed heartfelt appreciation for her leadership and the positive changes she has inspired. They described her as a true change agent, someone who has transformed how gifted students are identified, understood, and supported here. As the district gifted coordinator, she works handinhand with district leadership to design professional development experiences that genuinely strengthen gifted education at every level. These opportunities range from district-wide training in the depth and complexity framework for critical thinking to participation in state and national gifted conferences. She also cultivates ongoing teacher-led professional learning through teaches, book studies, and the thoughtful development of AI guidelines and empower educators to use new technologies effectively as instructional tools. In addition, she provides coaching and guidance to help teachers write and monitor meaningful

022ALP goals. And that's advanced learning plans. Uh ensuring alignment between classroom practice and student needs. We observed a strong and seamless collaboration among classroom teachers, ELD teachers, instructional coaches, district directors, and coordinators of special programs, counselors, wellness teams, and building administrators. This collective effort reflects a shared belief that supporting gifted learners is not the work of one individual. It's a district-wide mission grounded in teamwork and mutual respect. One of the qualities that truly sets Est Park apart is how the district values and invests in its educators. Staff who engage in professional learning are often recognized through stipens, salary advancement, or both, made possible through a combination of grants and partnerships. This level of recognition and support is rare and speaks volumes about the district's commitment to continuous growth and instructional excellence. Not only does this

023approach honor teacher effort, but it also strengthens classroom practice and deepens professional engagement. Our as we visited classrooms and participated in meetings, it was clear that gifted education is woven into the fabric of Estus Park schools. As we mentioned earlier, teachers, counselors, coordinators, wellness staff, and administrators work collaboratively sharing insight, strategies, and encouragement. The culture of shared ownership ensures that gifted education isn't seen as a standalone program as we've seen in other places, but rather as a shared mission embraced by the school, the entire school community. So, now talk a little bit about programming. We've never been to a district where strong programming was in place, yet gifted services were lacking. Having robust programming options for all students is something that gifted students will take advantage of. From concurrent enrollment to AP classes to CTE

024offerings to internships, gifted students will thrive where a multitude of options are available. They also thrive where there are programs in place that can meet the needs of a wide variety of learner abilities. Implementing depth and complexity as a district-wide initiative is critical to this. Gifted students are gifted 24/7 and having a framework that can meet their needs in the regular classroom without the teacher having to develop a separate curriculum or separate assignments for students who need something more is critical. I often wonder why we don't see more adoption of depth and complexity as the official programming model for other districts. But I can say this, I don't think it's a coincidence that some of the most successful districts in terms of gifted education have some of the following common but some of the following

025traits in common. Gifted is embedded in the implementation of a district's programming mission which we saw and a programming framework like depth and complexity is administered across the board. Also something we saw here in one class we visited. We saw the global outcomes on the board much like the depth and complexity icons layered into the lesson the students were working on. This ensures that the mission is actionable, immediate, and real which is clearly why it is a success. So next we're going to talk a little bit about opportunities for continuous improvement. This was your program. This was program articulation identification and then next steps for new counselor position and site leads. So let's look at program articulation. First plans are already in place to develop a written articulation that outlines the work that's already being

026done to meet the needs of advanced learners. This was something that came out in our listening sessions. A clearly defined pathway for gifted students from elementary to high school. Since the work is already being done to meet the programming needs, it wouldn't be difficult. It wouldn't be a difficult lift to write out a plan as opposed to developing articulation from the ground up that encapsulates what's already being done. Many gifted students thrive on knowing what comes next and having a plan that counselors can refer to when helping students plan their future would see immediate measurable results. Elementary and middle school students spoke to a desire for an ELA pathway that meets their advanced needs in reading and writing. Again, the work is being done to meet the needs of students advanced in these areas. Things

027like death and complexity, flooding, and a wide variety of programs at the high school level. But having a clear plan in addition to the dozens of plans you already have, kudos to Rachel on putting those together and communicating that to students, teachers, and perhaps most importantly, families would net positive outcomes. Again, the work has already started. We just want to lend support behind continuing that work. Next, we'll talk a little bit about identification. Um, and it's important to emphasize that the areas that we identify for improvement are not the result of negligence uh by those working within gifted education. The dedication of staff is evident. Their work is often shaped by the time available to them and by barriers created by sometimes limited resources and assessments and even lingering misconceptions about gifted learners. Although gifted

028identification continues to increase, the gym team recognizes that refinement of processes remains an ongoing priority. Estus Park has self-identified identification as a growth area within its annual gifted plan. And our visit confirmed the district's commitment to improving identification practices and increasing proportionality among subpopuls, particularly multilingual learners and culturally linguistically diverse students. Data analysis shows progress since 2022 to 2023. However, continued work is needed to ensure that identification practices fully reflect district demographics. This effort aligns with a broader state level priority to remove unintentional barriers that may prevent gifted learners from traditionally underrepresented populations from being identified. Variability and identification rates across schools and student groups suggests that some gifted students may be going unrecognized. The GEM team recommends expanding identification efforts beyond reading and math to include other academic and talent domains. Principles, teachers, and

029students alike highlighted this as a key area for improvement. While Estus Park overall identification rate of 7.2% is comparable to the state average, opportunities do exist to broaden identification in areas such as writing, science, social studies, creativity, and leadership, as well as the talent areas including art, music, and psychoot abilities. We commend the proactive approach that we saw in exploring new tools and practices such as piloting the promising gamecher assessment to better identify ML and CLLD students in partnership with ELD teachers. Current work in using portfolios for identification is another asset that strengthens the district district's process and supports equitable identification and continuing exploration of additional evidence-based [clears throat] assessments that will further support efforts to find insert gifted learners who may be hiding in plain sight. And finally, we'll finish out talking about areas

030for improvement with a new counselor position in site leads. [gasps] To say that my ears perked up when you mentioned hiring a counselor committed to post-secondary outcomes and IAT management is an understatement. This is a golden opportunity, especially when we consider that you have the ability now to define what that job looks like. I would consider adding to the job description collaborating with Rachel to have a GT counselor who can help ease the burden of guiding gifted students into their lives after high school. I would also add that they receive training or be willing to take training that is specific to the needs of GT students. Gifted students thrive when they have a trusted adult who understands them in a holistic way. And I'm not saying that the staff already doesn't, but adding an additional

031layer of support for them would again net only positive benefits, especially when considered that increased affective and trauma-informed support for gifted learners was feedback that came out clearly in our listening sessions. I would also consider, excuse me, [clears throat] identifying site-based champions who could act as committed GT site leads who handle much of the day-to-day management of gifted services that Rachel is tasked with. Again, Rachel's work is exceptional. But when we consider all the position entails, the work of managing a GT program uh can be a lot for.5. We also have to consider not just that resources are limited. We're not pushing for full-time FTE um and that Rachel enjoys and is thriving as the PTE teach coordinator. We also see a position at capacity. A re when we see a position at capacity, our

032recommendation is either to increase the time to do the work or to begin identifying those champions at the site levels who can help manage some of the more time consuming and time critical tasks such as AOP development. We recommend developing something like this for the future site leads who can help ease some of the boots on the ground duties um that would enable Rachel to focus on some of the plans she has for the future. Okay. So, what is next? Eight to 10 weeks after the visit, I finalize a monitoring and compliance report that will be located in the data management system. Uh I give that to Rachel and Rachel delivers that to leadership and we usually share this as well. Congratulations on the completion of a successful monitoring visit. So again, it was a

033privilege to be here. I am grateful for the time uh not just for the gym visit, but thank you for opening the floor to me. I'm not sure if your agenda allows for questions, but I would be happy to answer some if it does. >> It does. Any questions? >> I know that was a lot of information, >> but I thank you for listening. >> Can you highlight some of the things that you saw in the Estus Park District program that you are sharing with other districts in Colorado? >> Uh, embedding depth and complexity was the first one. Um, we don't see that often and the places where we do see it, it's successful. Um, and it's something that not just the gifted specific folks will talk about, but the teachers will. the teachers will

034say having depth and complexity embedded um having the training associated with it is a um a powerful practice. Um, so that I would say we talked about the district initiatives, the global outcomes. A lot of times we go to districts and and district initiatives are and no offense but very pie in the sky, vague statements, every learner succeeds. And when we saw glo the global outcomes, they could be implemented in a classroom. Uh, I mean almost turnkey like we're going to be using this lesson today and we're going to target this global outcome. So it has a very boots on the ground uh teacher forward, student forward focus. Um [clears throat] so when we talk to districts about what their mission is because anytime we talk about gifted we want to embed it within the

035mission of the district and that's where success lies is that gifted is a part of the overall mission as we said here embedding MTSS and um making sure the programming model here meets the needs of all learners. Um but I thought that was a powerful practice. I would also [clears throat] I would also say um and forgive me I I'm trying to I'm trying to go back a little bit. We've had a few visits since um the initiatives embedding depth and complexity. Um embed oh embedding it in MTSS the MTSS team being the identification team that ensures that gifted is on the radar of everybody. Um that was one and and so we pushed for that. We just came from a visit in December with a district where one of the first questions I asked

036was, "Do you have a seat at the MTSS table?" And gift director of record said no. And so that was more that was really a a push for that like this person needs to be at the MTSS conversation. Um let's see. Let's see. Let's see. Um and and Rachel, if you're still forgive me if I'm forgetting, trying to think of other things. It may come up as we continue, but those are some of the big ones that come to the surface right now. >> Yeah. Well, thank you so much for your report and thank you Rachel. >> Um my my question is almost kind of the opposite. So very complimentary and and thank you Rachel. You had said that you took lots of things that we're doing and shared it with other districts. Was there

037anything that you saw that we could improve upon? um again maybe a gap that we had coming from another district and that we could use. >> Okay. Um so here the the sitebased champions is a big one. Um having those people at each site that gifted students can connect with and have that personal relationship with. Um because gifted students, you know, [clears throat] their social emotional needs go far beyond the the normal students social emotional needs. And a lot of times we'll go to districts where you know you have excellent counselors and well-trained counselors and but we know that a counselor workload can often be very very large especially at a high school level. Um I I I think that having identifying those sitebased people who are able that the students are able just to

038talk to right um and and another thing too and you guys you guys are in a really really strong region. Let me say that the the north central region of Colorado. So we we break everything down into different regions and each region has its own regional support consultant and I I as a region it is very tight-knit and there is a lot of sharing of practices in the North Central region and of gym visit that we just came from uh a middle school site lead developed an ALP process. he's already shared it with Rachel. And so that would have we had that conversation earlier that would have been at the top of my mind to say, "Hey, get in touch with this person." They've already made contact. And so, usually if we spot something good,

039we we we set up the bat signal and we say, "Call this person. Call this person. They need it." Or we say, you know, you're doing a great practice, you know. Um well, yeah, call this person, reach out to them because again, like it's that rising tide. like if we identify a gap over here, we're able to find typically find the person that's already addressed that gap and and and that's our best resource is people. You know, we could throw spreadsheets and instruction guides and stuff at people all day long, but the best resource are people who've who've walked it, who've done it and shown that it can be done and and can, you know, sometimes a five-minute conversation can accomplish more than a 100page document. Actually, I would say a five-minute conversation can always

040accomplish more [laughter] than a 100page document. What level of training would you recommend for a site based lead to have? I ask because it's it's challenging to find teachers with gifted endorsements. >> Well, uh so for a site lead, you don't have to have an endorsement. Um the site lead we we usually when it comes to endorsement, that's just the director of record for the district has to have or be pursuing that endorsement. Your site leads usually um someone I would start with someone who's enthusiastic. I'll take enthusiasm over endorsement, you know, and I'm not saying anything to buck the law because the law requires director of record, but for a site lead, give me enthusiasm any day. Um, we offer state level trainings. Um, there are other kind of mid not quite dist not

041quite um graduate degree level like some mid-level trainings that some of the folks in different regions are working on. Um, but I think just an understanding of the needs of gifted learners. Um, Rachel is a a fantastic resource. I say just identifying those champions and having regular check-ins, not to add more to anyone's plate, but regular check-ins of Rachel, understanding the needs of gifted learners and and the best practice to meet those uh those one-on-one those social emotional needs. um have them, you know, putting more into their toolbox on some advanced strategies because once you identify those sitebased champions, it's helpful because now teachers have someone that they can go to. If a teacher's like, I what do I do? Everything I'm doing, this student is finishing with them in 5 minutes and it's taken

042other students 2 days to finish. Having that site lead who says, hey, let's let's try some stuff out, you know, or even if they have time, they can push in and say, "Here, let's let's work together and come up with something." being a thought partner. [clears throat] >> Thank you for your presentation. And just for those in the audience, Miss Graham is here today. Miss Graham, if you could stand, be recognized. We appreciate everything. >> Thank you for your hard work, Miss Graham. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Thank you. Moving on to agenda item 42, audit presentation. Plant morin. Brian, do you want to come up? Jamie and Kelly, who did the audit, I believe, are on Zoom. Is that correct? And are going to present the results of our audit. >> Yes, that's right.

043This is Kelly Kazaliski. I'll be presenting. Do I need to present on Zoom or I think I see it up on the screen. No, I've got it. >> Perfect. >> All right. Am I good to begin? >> Yes. Go ahead. Thank you. >> Yeah. Wonderful. Thank you everyone. Appreciate the opportunity to present the annual audit to the board and those present. I am Kelly Kazaliski. I work with Jamie Esimacher and I um did transition on as the signing audit engagement partner this year for both your standalone financial statement audit and the single audit. So if I can track what you guys are looking at on screen um our slide two the key audit highlights. So just a reminder for this group, the scope of our services were for the 2024 2025 year ended June 30,

0442025 financial statement audit and what we call the single audit. So that's that second section down below. Um we did issue an unmodified or a clean audit opinion. That's the highest level of assurance we can give you all as your independent auditors. Um we did pro um perform the audit on a hybrid basis. So both some remote work as well as on-site work um with Brian Lond and his team. Our reports and the financial statements are dated December 3rd. And important to note, no findings to report for the financial statement audit. similar that bottom section the federal programs or the ESSER um report that's for the emergency relief that was um carryover funds from COVID and that is a required audit separate from the financial statement audit because of the threshold or dollar amount of

045funds received by Estus Park um and that threshold is 750,000 on a go forward basis um the feds have raised that threshold to a million ion dollar and you know absent updates that we might learn about this upcoming year. We don't believe that this will be a go forward um compliance audit required for you all to the extent you do receive federal grants in excess of that million dollars. We'll do some scoping with Brian and his team. Um but for that audit as well um unmodified opinion on that esser program that we tested and no findings to report. Moving to the next slide. These are required communications to the board given your charge with governance um over us as your external audit. So important for us to communicate that we did complete the audit in

046accordance with the timeline we set out um back in June of this year. The significant accounting policies um remain unchanged and they are in note two of the detailed financial statement audit report. Um there were no transactions um entered into that were recognized in a different period. So everything is properly recorded within the fiscal years presented. Um we're also required to let you all know about the significant accounting estimates in the financial statement. So those remain unchanged as in prior years. They are the the para pension plan liability and the oped liability. The disclosures um we're happy to report they're neutral, consistent, and clear with the accounting standards. um that kind of promulgate what we're required to disclose in the financial statements. We move to the next slide. Some continued required communication. So, no difficulties

047encountered in performing the audits. Um Brian and his team works great with our team. Everything was prepared timely. All of our questions were answered. So, no difficulties to report. Also, no disagreements with management. if there were any, we'd have to let you know about those. Um, there was one unrecorded audit adjustment. It was very immaterial and it came in pretty late related to timing. So, it's immaterial. There's not an internal control related finding um to it. But we are required to let you know that we do have different thresholds um for audit adjustments or journal entries. So there was a very immaterial one that management passed on and we were in agreement with that >> and I can talk to that too a little bit. Um >> great Brian. >> So this is in regards

048to the audit that um Colorado Community College Systems performed for our um career tech act funding last year. They found out that they were overpaying us. Um, so our allocation for last year in regards to the 2324 school year was too high. They continued to pay us. Um, they were supposed to have an invoice to us to repay those funds in October. We just got it last week. Um, that's why we passed on it because we didn't have the actual documentation to record it. Um, and then we are processing that through our categorical repayment. since it's a categorical fund. Um so we will process that through this fiscal year because we're sending the money back this year. So it'll flow through our categorical um repayment to CCCS. That's all I got. >> Yeah, great. Thanks

049Brian for the detail there. >> Um if we want to go to the next slide. Great. So also happy to report there were no significant findings or issues, no fraud or illegal acts. Um there weren't any consultations that management had with other independent accountants. So this would be akin to opinion shopping. If management did not like a stance we took on an accounting matter and they consulted with another firm, we'd be required to talk to you all about that. But that did not occur. And then management did sign a representation letter that um we received dated December 3rd. And really that just um attests to us that management cooperated. They gave us everything we asked for in addition to anything that maybe we didn't ask for that we they thought we needed to know and

050receive. So we did receive that representation from management. Um moving on to the next slide. So I mentioned this up at the top of the presentation. We did issue a clean opinion and a reminder that the financial statements are the responsibility of management and plant manoran as the independent auditor were responsible for issuing that audit opinion on the financial statements and that's really over the the material and fair presentation um of those financial statements. and we did complete our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States. The next few slides just walk through in graphical form the financial results of the district for the year ended June 30. So the general fund assets and liabilities um are shown here. So, total assets of just under $8.1 million. And you'll kind of

051see the makeup of cash and investments, some receivables, and then of course some restricted assets on the liabilities side of the equation. Um, just under $2.2 million. And again, you'll see that makeup of um accounts payable, the acred payroll and related liabilities, and then some of those due to other funds um which is similar to uh prior reporting periods and then deferred and unavailable revenue that um are recorded on the balance sheet. So nothing unusual to report there. On the next slide, the general fund revenue. So really moving from the balance sheet to the income statement. This really compares kind of yearover-year what that revenue looks like. So from 24 to 25 revenue increased approximately $2.4 million or 14.6%. And you can see the makeup of that between local sources, state sources, and then um

052transfers in. there weren't transfers in in the prior year. Um those are from the program reserve fund to the general fund. So um not uncommon that they're not there every year, but that is the difference between last year and this year on that specific category. On the next slide kind of moves us down the income statement to the expenditures. So this again comparing 24 to 25. So there was an increase from $16 million to just over $18.2 million. So that's an increase of about $2.2 million or 13.5%. On the last slide, we talked about revenues increasing of 2.4 and 14.6. So there was an increased clip of revenue growth that um surpassed those general fund expenditures yearover-year. Um the most significant expenses continue of course to be instruction which is great um support and then

053the capital outlay uh which both which all of those categories did increase year-over-year for debt service. I don't believe there was a payment made in 25 just due to timing um and that there was a prepayment in the prior year. So, just a little bit of a difference there when you look at that the debt service differences year-over-year to our iPad lease. >> Sorry, Brian. What was that? I didn't catch it. >> Uh, this is in regards to iPad repair. >> Oh, got it. Yep. Thank you. And then our final kind of financial statement trending slide just shows the general fund balance for the district that 5-year history um of really kind of the strengthening of fund balance over time. So looking back from 2021 to current, your current fund balance as of June 30th

05425 was just under $6 million. So year-over-year that growth um is near nearly a million dollars. So so kind of healthy healthy growth in the fund balance. Um and certainly over time that is a nice trend line to see. Um so with that those are our prepared remarks. I do want to commend I said it at the top but Brian and his team. This is a very smooth audit process and um Brian spends a lot of time with us and and we get what we need and we get the full cooperation of him and his team. So that's why you're seeing that that clean audit opinion and and no issues or findings to report. So um I thoroughly enjoy giving presentations like this. Uh so thank you Brian for your efforts. >> Yep. Thank you

055guys. Um, so like like she said, Jamie and herself were the partners and then Marcus and the team, they were out um in June and then again in uh October and everything went smooth and we got things through quickly and then uh Wendy Rash and Kim Morris on our side also contributed to getting things done in a timely manner to get things processed. So thanks everybody that was involved. Any board questions? >> No, we're good. >> Not really a question, but just kind of a summary comment. Um, you know, so thank you. Um, great. And the the the outcome I that I take from this is that our income is in alignment with our expenditures. We're saving a little bit each year. Our fund balance is at a comfortable level to be able to absorb

056any any shocks in the future. >> Yep. >> So, thank you. and the the she kind of spoke to it with the fund transfer coming in from the capital or program reserve. Um that was kind of the driver behind the a little bit bigger increase in fund balance last year too just because the timing of trying to get projects done and things like that. So those funds weren't expended and that was a huge inflow that was the first year we've done that. So, um, we're working through that right now, but that's that was the main driver behind the little bit larger increase than in the past. >> Thank you, Kelly. We appreciate it. >> Great. Thank you, S. Appreciate the opportunity to speak with you all tonight. >> Thanks, Brian. >> Thank you. M's up

057next. >> Well, we're going to go on to agenda item 43, mil levy certification report. Brian, you're up. All right. Um so in the packet there's two different options um for the mil levy certification and the two different op options are in regard to the mil levy override. um we can go to 3.1 million like we proposed last year. Um but we ultimately went to the 3.5 last year and then this year we did the same options just to give the board um some discretion on if we want to have uh less in mil override than um what was in our preliminary budget. But our preliminary budget is based off of the 3.5 million um and that's kind of how we planned everything. Um but within the packet you'll see there's a few different numbers

058um that are broken out. So legally we are required to collect a mill for program of 20.549 but in the packet you'll see that there's three numbers that make that up. Um there's the program number which is calculated based off of our October counts and the averaging of students to get what the state uh funding formula says we should receive for revenue. So that's at that 16.876 mil which leaves mills left over. Um, since we are 100% locally funded based off of where assessed values are and where our mills are locked, um, we do have to send back our categorical funding for, um, things such as special education, um, career tech ed, we have transportation reimbursement that's going back, um, English language proficiency, uh, GT money, which we we heard the report on earlier that

059money gets sent back. So that being said, we get to recapture that revenue going back through the program um reserve or not the program, sorry, the categorical uh payback mill. And then the funding after that is the program reserve um or program excess. I'm going to keep calling it program reserve because more than likely the budget stabilization factor is coming back. So it'll go back to a reserve. Um, so and that's why I kind of want to speak to the reserve piece a little bit. We don't tie that to salaries and those types of things because if the BS factor does come back, that has to go sit in a fund for the current year that we collect it, then we don't have access to it until the next fiscal year net of the calculated

060budget stabilization factor. So we can't really tie it to staffing because if BS factor comes back, we lose that revenue for that year and don't see it for the ne till the next year. So we wouldn't have funding available to cover staff and those types of things. So right now we have that planned to go towards capital and those types of things. Um we're working through our long range planning and the list of things that needs to be fixed keeps getting longer and longer. So that's kind of why we're using that money for those types of things. try to avoid bonds and those types of things down the road. Um the other number that is out there in the calculation for the total mills um is abatements. So we get those numbers based off of

061what the county had to repay that we get to collect in the next year. Um and those are dollar amounts provided by the county. Um the mill levy override is the one like I said that's the driver between the two different options. Um, back in 2017, we were voter approved to go to the maximum of 25% of the program calculation. So, it's a little over 3.5 million. Um, but we could go to a lesser number, but like I said, we um budgeted to the 3.5 million. We're also implementing some new programming in the elementary school to target special ed students and those types of things. So that's what that additional money would be going towards and just some other um programming within um the schools. Um but then like the program reserve or program excess

062funding we could use towards stipens and those types of things since it's treated more as a one type one-time kind of funding because if the BS factor comes back and those types of things. So those are the two different options that um the finance committee we came up with to present to the board. So, there's two different mills um associated with that. Um so, whatever the board decides, I will get sent off to the counties and the state tonight since it's due at midnight. So, any questions? I know I just threw a lot of information at you. >> So, Brian, quick question on the budget stabilization factor, which we don't know what's going to happen in the future, but am I looking at this correctly that the difference between the 3.1 and the 3.5 million

063is about6 mills. But our budget reserve mill levy is 2.7. So it's way bigger. Meaning that if that were to happen in the future, >> that one year would be like a major impact to our budget. A really big hit. >> Yes. Yeah. Because like it like going back to the audit presentation, we had that huge transfer of $1.9 million coming in as one-time funding coming in because the BS factor went away. So we had access to that full amount. >> Okay. [clears throat] So that could happen in reverse, which would be like 10% of our budget or something like that. >> Yes. Yep. And that's why we're not tying it to staffing and those types of things because if it's tied to pay, then how are we going to fund it? Do we do

064spend down? Do we do reduction in force? So that's kind of why we're trying to budget with those program numbers and then use that uh reserve for one-time things and possibly retentions and those types of things. What is the cost estimated um difference between the two for the taxpayer? I know it depends on the value of the property, but like on a standard >> so much going on. I didn't actually [laughter] run that. Okay, >> I have the calculation built. I just didn't run the two different variations. I probably should have, but I don't have that off the top of my head. No worries. >> I don't think it'd be a lot just based off of the differences. So, I think last year was like $2 a month, like a$180 a month last year. That's

065it. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. >> Moving on to agenda item 44, superintendent council report. Colby and Zia, you want to introduce yourselves first? >> Um, I'm Zia Vani. I'm the notetaker of the group. Good evening. My name is Kobe O'Brien. I'm a junior um and I'm the treasurer of Superintendent Council. So, this is our kind of December report of kind of just what's going on mainly in the high school, but also kind of the school district and what us as a council are doing. So this year we have seven new members on the council and we're excited for the projects, especially Bobcat Buddies that we're able to accomplish with these new members this year. >> Um, so I'm just going to introduce the members of the group. So we have Geneva Thomas

066who's a chair. We have Micah Beruchi, which is also the chair. Neva Case who's a social media coordinator. Maya Breezy who's also a social media coordinator. Colobby O'Brien who's a treasurer, Noah Webster, timekeeper, me, um, Ziaani, notetaker. Lillian Joerger, who's a normskeeper, Zack Carta, and Olivia Buton. So, what we really focus on is we like to increase the school pride, culture, and give the student body a contact point. So, kind of if the students like they need someone to come to, if like they have questions about kind of what's going on, obviously they can come to the admins or teachers, but if they want someone that maybe they're a little bit closer with, they can come to us and we can kind of word that for them so we can kind of get their voice

067out there. Right now, we're working on strengthening the connection between the students at the and the admins like I just talked about. And we've recently had a couple meetings with Dr. Harris and Miss Greenway. We have more to come in the future to strengthen that relationship and so we have a good understanding Um this year we have decided not to continue with the podcast but we will still do cat chats. Um this is basically where we um as a stu superintendent council we go into the different schools giving students the chance to connect with us and know that we are there for whatever they need. Um, we have currently had one cat chat and we were able to gain insight on the students thoughts about the happenings in the school and connection with the admin.

068>> So, we're we're focusing a lot on Bobcat Buddies because we kind of had a big disconnect from the past couple years. We really just didn't do it. So, we're trying to get back into that so the schools can kind of become closer together. And we have coordinated a couple Bobcat Buddies events through the year. And currently we're working on kind of a journal thing almost like pen pals where we give each student throughout the district journals and they can connect to their their younger buddy which would be like sixth graders and preschoolers and seniors and fifth graders so they can connect well and kind of have someone that they can talk to. >> Um the happenings in the school are winter sports. Uh with that we have our first ever girls wrestling team. Um

069and it's finals week and then next week is the start of Christmas break. >> Um yeah so uh recently we were given the uh opportunity to attend the 85th annual CASBY convention. There we gained insight not only about our own school district board but those of larger districts. Uh future steps given with what we learned is to focus on clearly explaining to students how the schoolboard and superintendent systems work, including the difference between the two while also working to strengthen the connection between students and administration. >> And that's all we have. Thank you guys very much. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask about anything. >> Questions? I'd like to know what were some of the key insights that you gained from the last cat chat that you had. >> So our

070last cat chat we kind of asked about what do you like what's going on in the school and what's your favorite part about cuz it was we did it around Halloween and what's your favorite part about Halloween. So we found out that students would like to have a better connection with the admin and know kind of what their job is more and that we also figured out that students like Halloween, they like dressing up and they like candy. Zia, can you tell us a little bit more about your um experience at CASBY, please? >> Um, yeah, it was my first time going. It was a lot of fun. We got to meet a lot of new people and connect with the board, the members who were able to come. And there we not only learned

071how to grow as a person, but how to create change within the school district. and that the school board and admin truly love students and not to be afraid to show what we want and like to give a voice to them because they're able to base what future steps to take based on student feedback and student feedback to them is very important. So that's the a couple of things I have learned. >> Excellent. Thank you so much and thanks for attending. Thank you both. Moving on to agenda item 45, superintendent report. Superintendent Bodie. >> Good evening everyone. I will start with facility updates. We're really excited on Monday of last week on December 8th. We did our kickoff with the team of architects that we hired, RB PlusB Architects. We did that kickoff with our

072long-range planning committee that we've already established and then also a smaller master planning subcommittee. It was plus it was probably over 40 members from the community, students, staff, parents that met with the team of architects. They gathered as much information as they could from those that were there. And then along with this kickoff meeting, that team of architects has become site assessments. So they've been meeting with focus groups at all the different schools with administrators with the buildings and ground crew maintenance custodial. They have been leading these small focus groups for two weeks now and they're almost done. There's one more to be completed this week and then with our technology team and so then we're done with those assessments. So we're excited to see what they come back with from gaining all that information.

073We're excited to be engaging in this work before the end of the first semester which was our goal. We have a lot of bulbs burning out in the high school gym. If you've been to a basketball game lately, you've noticed it's a bit dark. We've learned that the problem's larger than we than just burned out bulbs. And I'm sorry to report that. It seems like every single month I'm reporting something like this, but it looks like we're going to need to actually replace the light fixtures as well. And that it the cost will be about 14 grand and we'll be paying that out of capital. And the earliest they can replace those is March. So, as a fix to get us through basketball season and brighten our gym up a little bit. Over the holiday

074break, we're going to be putting some temporary fixtures in there to brighten the gym a bit more until we can get a permanent fix in March. So, that'll be happening. Some other work over the holiday break as far as facilities. We will be um we're we're actually doing the same thing at the elementary gym because I talked about that problem a couple months ago that the light fixtures needing replaced in that gym will be happening over Christmas break. And then um also we're going to be fixing the urinal that is broken in the bathroom outside of the auditorium as well over the holiday break. So there'll be some work going on in our facilities over break. We're also doing some it um we're changing out the switches in the middle school and replacing a battery

075at the high school. So, we're waiting for Christmas break to do that so that we don't put the schools out of internet while they're learning and doing semester tests. That would be panic time. So, we're going to be doing that over break, too. As far as a financial update, thank you again, Brian, and our audit team at Plantaran for all your reporting. Um, as Brian said, myself and the finance committee recommend certifying at the 3.5 million. It's the same level at which we certified last year. And Brian talked about some of that extra funding and what that would be used for. And it would allow us um my favorite thing that it would allow us to do is be able to invest in our people and give some staff incentives, some retention in incentives for

076our dedicated staff members and pay our teachers and our support staff and all of our employees that are full-time. And then we have purchased two new school buses. So, we're really excited about that. We budgeted for that this year. We've retired two of our older school buses and we purchased two international buses for a total of about $300,000 which is less than we anticipated. So, we are excited. We were able to secure a reduced price on that by partnering with a larger school district for the order for family and community engagement since we last met. Our high school treble choir performed at the noon Rotary meeting on December 4th. It was really appreciated. They sang beautifully. and why while they were there, they invited the Rotary Club to their concert this Wednesday, which is a

077combined choir concert with all of the students in the district. It's going to take place at Roo auditorium at the YMCA campus. And our music teachers, Paul Mey and Briana Gres, our new teacher at the high school and middle school, they collaborated together to bring that to our community. So, it's an event that you don't want to miss. And that's 6:30 this Wednesday. And then our district advisory and accountability committee, our DAC committee, they were scheduled to meet in December, but it was that day we had all that snow, so it was cancelled. They've cho chosen not to reschedule that meeting, but the agenda from December will be moved to January for the January agenda. As far as working toward our improvement goals and our focus area highlights, um on December 8th, we had a

078professional learning day for staff and that day was focused on just building level professional learning and staff collaboration needs at each building. So building staff focused on what was most needed each building right now as they focused on improvement and actions toward our goals in the strategic plan. NWA MAPS testing is taking place last week and continues this week with makeups in our buildings. And so that's for students in grades 2 through 11. We look forward to giving you a monitoring report on student academic performance in reading, math, and science when we return in January. We'll see how we are for our monitoring report. And then there are a lot of events under focus area too taking place right now for that real and relevant and authentic learning where students are celebrating and well they're

079celebrating the end of the semester too. There's a lot of fun stuff like staff basketball games and things like that but they're celebrating their learning. One thing that I wouldn't miss is the winter showcase tomorrow which Sonia will talk about in her report. And um then the superintendent council already talked about leading or our leaders that went to CASBY which is great. And then many of our service clubs, including the middle school student council and the middle and high school interact clubs, have adopted a family for bright Christmas this year and the giving spirit of the holiday. So, we're really proud of those students and those groups for doing that. And under wellness, I'll just say we did have to send a communication home to our families. We do have some confirmed cases of influenza

080in our school district. And so, we're really encouraging our students to stay home if they have any symptoms right now. Um, and we'll keep our community updated if that leads to not having enough students to play in games and things like that. I believe we chose not to go to basketball tonight because we had Is that right? Yeah. Because I think the coach and enough players were sick to um cancel. So, just make sure you're washing your hands, stay healthy. That's going around the community and just making you aware. This is why some of our artists weren't here tonight as well. and one of our students is also supposed to be here is is absent. So stay healthy everyone. Thank you. >> Any more questions? >> Um I do have a question. So, you mentioned

081some maintenance going on over winter break, and I was just wondering if there'd be any action taken for the locker rooms, cuz for the boys locker room, we're down two out of two urinals, and the water fountain's missing, and only one of the sink works, and the stall door doesn't lock. Yeah. >> Yeah, we do have a plan for the locker rooms. We have put aside a big I'm glad you asked. Um, we put aside a big capital for the reason of tackling the locker rooms. We are wanting to wait to do that project until the basketball season's over. And so, at the earliest, it'll be taking place sometime after basketball is over and the locker rooms don't need to be used anymore. But we have um you might remember we have a budget at

082a capital. Brian will correct me if I'm wrong, but it's somewhere around 1.5 million I think uh that we are then going to be doing a mid-year adjustment and we'll see where we are with our capital funds. We have had some things come up here and there, but we have um a few different options to choose from with the locker room renovations and depending on what our budget looks like, we can choose one of those. Yeah. And Colobby, I think you are on the long range planning committee and but you had National Honor Society. So, yeah. Great. Good question. >> For the lighting in the high school that you're talking about, is that like the the 14,000? Is that the permanent fix or is that more of an interim thing? >> Yeah, that's the permanent

083fix. That's what it's going to take to change every light fixture in the gym, which due to the electrical problem, which Eric can give you more information on cuz I wasn't there for the whole explanation of it, it'll fix it'll fix the problem. And so that's what the cost will be for the whole thing. And my understanding is that they're going to put up the temporary lighting for free to get us to March when we can replace All right, moving on to agenda item 46, administrator reports. Usually, Miss Miller presents first, but she wasn't available this evening. And the I will just point out that the elementary school report is online and available for the public to read. So, Miss Greenway, if you would come up. Oh, there it goes. I'd have to really stand

084on my tiptoes. All right. Good evening. I'll start with events and happenings. There's always so many. Feels like I was just here since November. Um I was fortunate enough to attend the Casby conference in Colorado Springs with members of the superintendence council. And I think my biggest takeaway is um so much hope for the future of education with the strong student leaders that we have in our building and all over the state. I am blown away and inspired and just really filled with with hope. Um rock stars. [laughter] [sighs and gasps] Our um I think another takeaway I had is let's just listen to our students more and more and more because the the great ideas come from them. Um, our thespian troop attended the Thesuscon convention in Denver on the 12th. We had our

085first middle school dance on December 5th. We had a good turnout. Students had a good time. There was lots of dancing and the light up items were a big hit as always. No pun intended. Some of them were shaped like this. So, [laughter] um, everything in middle school is a sword. Um, thanks to our PTO and Aaron Barry Hill and our parent volunteers for all of their help um, setting up and supervising the dance. Um, our we had our middle school turkey bowling event on November 30th. Miss Rishi took the trophy back to her win class. Miss Sunday was a close second. It was very loud. Um, middle school and high school band concerts were Thursday on December 11th. It's just amazing how much students learn from start to midway to end of year. Um,

086shout out to Mr. Pierce for his hard work with both bands. Our middle school environmental resilience team won the youth philanthropist of the year group award this year. So, kudos to them and Miss Davis. Um, Ruby mentioned that the EL choirs concert is this week on Wednesday. And I want to give a huge shout out to Brienne Agress, our middle and high school choirs director. It's her first year and to put something together like this is pretty amazing. So really lucky to have her and cannot wait to hear all the voices put together on Wednesday. For academic achievement and growth, our staff PD on the ETH was centered around depth and complexity. Thanks to Rachel Graham and Matt Syler, they facilitated for secondary teachers. We also worked on further embedding our global outcomes into daily

087instruction. Did some really good work around that and looked at our assessment and student self assessment of their progress on the global outcomes. We did take our major map tests on the 9th and we're excited about potential growth and achievement. We've set some goals to raise our achievement score um our achievement scores this year by at least two percentage points in all three areas. And our finals week is this week. Students will have tests Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with some long breaks in between. Um I think I said this already. Um, at the PD staff really worked in content teams as well on embedding depth and complexity into an existing lesson or further develop it for continued use in their classrooms as well as sharing how they were already using it. Really powerful when our

088content teams can get together and talk about teaching. An example from our social studies team was they created a notetaking graphic organizer using the depth and complexity icons to help students organize their notes. So hopefully you'll start seeing those in the middle and high school in your history and social studies classes. We also checked in on our action steps for a strategic plan and gathered feedback on what's working well, any questions, areas to improve, or further actions for the second semester. and our leadership team met today to discuss those action steps and what we want to focus on next semester for real world learning. On December 2nd, we had 40 high school students visit the CSU campus. Many of those visitors will be firstear college students. So that's exciting that they got to explore the

089whole process from application to financial aid and connect with those supportive programs on campus designed specifically for students new to higher ed as well as students who are not first first generation college students. Throughout that visit, the staff emphasized that there are so many resources available from mentoring and tutoring to cultural centers and community building groups. I think that was a big takeaway for students. They couldn't believe how many resources were available to help them out. Um because there's a lot of challenges to navigate if you're the first person in your family to go to college. Um our choirs performed at Poppy's on December 2nd for an annual fundraiser. The high school jazz band and major 13 choir participated in the Horizon Jazz Festival in Thornton. Got great feedback from judges and directors. Our HOSA

090club hosted a blood drive on November 15th. Good turnout. Um, lots of blood was donated. Our high school winter showcase is Tuesday. That's tomorrow. Students will be sharing work and projects from 15 different classes this year, including horiculture, automotive, history, and art. And our work-based learning students will share presentations of learning in the auditorium. This is great practice for those student presentations of learning in 2028, which is a big part of our strategic plan. Our sixth graders visited the Estus Power Plant, the sanitation recycling center in the town hall last week to learn about public works. Um after our staff PD, we were talking with um staff about what we needed and what we some actions we could do for our strategic plan and Alex Harris created a Google Chrome extension for us for the

091global um outcomes icons. So we have those for depth and complexity complexity icons. So student so teachers can move those right into their slide decks or their learning targets or whatever it is they're doing. And now we can slide those global outcomes right in there as a great visual reminder of whether or not students are focused on collaborating or critical thinking or any one of the global outcomes in class. He is amazing. It was an hour and we had those. So we'll be um rolling those out to staff soon. Our high school AP Gav and US history students presented documentaries on various issues including the Cameron Peak fire, restored justice, free speech, um suicide. I got to attend and and see some of those and they I was really really impressed. They were really well

092done. Um just really well done. And then Marcia and Bob shared all the rest of them. So, I'll be watching the rest of them over break so I can see them all. For wellness, we received the Bobcat Buddy journals and they are adorable [laughter] and the artwork is adorable and it's going to be great for our students to write back and share that with the with the younger students. We're focusing on communication in December. So, that's our global outcome of focus this month. Mrs. Barbari hosted a staff ornament decorating activity on December 2nd for secondary staff. Our middle school students are partnering with Bright Christmas to adopt two families this year and they'll they're raising money through a coin collection. Um students will collect loose change. We have buckets in the office and hoping to

093raise enough funds to purchase presents for children as well as a special family gift for the household. um such as um they want to do activities like a night of bowling or a pizza night so that the family can do something together as a gift. Um our annual staff student basketball games coming up on Thursday. It'll be a nice break from finals that day. It's pretty competitive. We'll see. I haven't looked at who all signed up yet. I think we have a lot more now. I don't know if you've seen a Kobe, but yeah, it's going to be fun. Um, we're bringing our staff happy cart back this week. Um, was wellreceived in November. We're stocking it with lots of goodies for staff so they can also get through that finals week. We continue to

094recognize students for demonstrating ROI behavior and our global outcomes in both schools. And we're recognizing staff with our lateral past trophies for staff who demonstrate and model the global outcomes of collaboration, perseverance, and compassion. And this week we recognize Cynthia Jorgensson and TJ Apple for their efforts. And I don't want to jinx it, but I'm glad the middle school gym lights are working. Just the sound in that building, which we fixed already. >> Yes. And the sound and that's getting fixed. >> Any questions? So, N can you tell me a little bit about um the secondary schools accountability committee meeting? >> Yeah, we we had Officer Paul join us and we talked about safety and crisis go and using um the I love you guys method for our safety protocols in our building. Sonia, can

095you talk about a couple action steps you want to focus on next semester? the results of your um conversation. >> Yes, I think um depth and complexity is one. We really want to see that in every classroom as much as possible. So teachers are working on um we have some teachers that are all in, they've jumped in the pool and they are swimming along. We have some who've dipped their toe. We have some who still have their floaties on. And so we want to move everybody up to where they're comfortable. So that's one action step. and then um a clear plan for SAT and CAMASS practice and where we're going to um put that into the regular classroom and also into when are two things we'd like to work on. >> Thank you. >> Other

096question. >> That's it. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> And Miss Bod is going to do the athletic report. All right, for high school sports update, girls basketball is 0 and2 to start the season, but already looking much improved from last season. The team had a really nice scrimmage win over Netherland to start the season. There are 12 players on the roster, and the team is led by Jaylen Arnold, Marley Davis, and Abby Wattree. The team is not playing at Brook tonight because they canled, but they are playing Pter Community on Tuesday, tomorrow, and Loveland Classical on Thursday. Um and they will also compete in the Windsor Charter Showcase on Friday, Saturday for a tournament with Mer and Windsor Charter Charter. Boys basketball is one and two to start the season. The team had a

097big win over Netherland as well. There are 16 players on the roster with both the JV and varsity teams. The team is led by Isaac Hill and Noah Webster. The team is also not playing at Brook tonight and will be playing the same as the girls pter community on Tuesday, Lovelin Classical Thursday. Girls swimming and diving is off to a solid start this season. The team competed in the Longs Peak Relays on December 5th and hosted the Estis Park Sprint Meet this past Saturday, which we couldn't go to because of Casby, but there are 13 swimmers on the team and three divers. The team is led by Lean Applegate and Lucy Franklin for swimming and Maya Breezy for diving. The team will host a home meet this Wednesday. Boys wrestling is is has started and

098they are competing. They competed against Fort Lupton and Weld Central in the first try and attended the Fair View and Horizon tournaments as well. Matthew Lopez took first place at the Fairview tournament. There are 11 wrestlers on the roster and the team is led by Adair Arzu. I think the V's in the wrong spot. Arzu, Matthew Lopez, Jacob Palasios, and Fabian Rojos. The team will compete this Wednesday at Longmont and then this weekend at the World Central tournament. Our kids got a lot going on. We are excited about our girls wrestling team. It's their first season and it's an official Chasset girls wrestling team. Um, and they are also off to a good start and they competed in Fort Lebanon and Weld Central in a try also and they attended the Gley West and Pter

099High School shooting stars tournament. There are seven inaugural wrestlers on the roster. The team is led by Yasmin Lopez and Robin Scott and the team will compete this weekend at the World Central tournament. For middle school, we just had boys basketball going on and we've received a a season recap from coach Chris Jorgensson. And I just got to tell you, I love what the middle school basketball team is doing and the focus they have. I'm really excited to share this. First of all, as far as their their wins, the season had three teams. We had a lot of boys out. They had a C team. It was a mix of sixth and seventh graders with varying experience levels. They played 11 games and finished seven and four, showing steady improvement and earning memorable wins at

100Gilpin and Heritage Christian. The B team put together an outstanding season at 11 and three, highlighted by unselfish offense. 56% of the shots came off of assists and some of the most consistent defense that was seen all year. And the A team blending experienced players with some newcomers went four and 10 and displayed incredible grit in multiple one possession battles, repeatedly climbing back from halftime deficits and growing stronger each week. But here's my favorite part. So excited about this. The team did really well academically this year. They did not have a single player on the low grades list at all during the entire season. They started with 36 players. They ended with 36 players showing high engagement and commitment levels. >> Another thing I really like is that the coaches focus on three core values

101this year. The values were be our best, perseverance, and team over self. And then at the end of season awards that they had, they gave awards based on those. and they called them core value awards. And so core value first team awards for be our best went to Zier Roas and Henry New House. And for the perseverance award that went to EMTT Damweber and Truman Moss and the team over self awards went to Josh Blevens and Levi Leighton. And then they had core value second teams and they didn't put which awards but Rivers Hill, Bryson Dre, Connley Jorgensson, um Jonathan Elkington, Thomas Kuseno, and Pike Youth also were second team. So I just think that's really cool and encourage other coaches to do similar things like that. And then today the girls basketball started at

102middle school for their official practice. Monday is the Essis Park Middle School starting blocks parent player meeting and yeah, that's today too. And then um January 6 is when wrestling starts for middle school. So that's the middle school update. >> Great. Thank you. >> Moving on to agenda item 47, board reports. Miss K. >> Oh, it's me. It's me. >> Mine can go. Okay. [laughter] Ready? Um I attended the elementary school accountability meeting. At that meeting we discussed um the global outcomes continuum that's being worked on for the students and the importance of receiving parent input for that continuum. So that's a work in progress. In addition to that I attended the Casby conference. Um the highlight of that conference was well there were lots of them but I really enjoyed spending time with our

103student council um representative our our superintendent rep uh council representatives and getting to know them hearing their heart and their passion for our district for their goals individually as well as collectively. I attended classes related to policy, district accountability, CTE, and additional opportunities for our high school students. >> Mr. Shen, >> um I attended the finance meeting, which we've already talked about a little bit. Um also the the long-range planning and master planning um committee meeting that happened where our architect was meeting with these folks for the first time and doing a lot of listening and they started out by using um points of emphasis that had already been created by the longrange planning committee and asking for more details and listening to those more details from all of our various stakeholders. Um and then

104lastly, I I also attended the CASBY conference and a lot of the courses that I um chose to go to were all along master planning, financing, facilities, trying to learn more about that sort of thing. >> Mr. Casby and it was pretty awesome. What I really enjoy is talking to the students and getting their input of what the school is like and what the school needs and everything. And the and the one of my favorite was the drone show. It was just awesome. And the decoration at the Broadmore was awesome. Plus meeting all a lot of people there. >> Thank you, director. Uh I attended the first day of the CASBY conference and uh was very impressed by the keynote speaker that we heard who just instilled a lot of passion in all of us

105and excitement. I attended um sessions on school safety, a data session on what Coloradoans think about education and a meeting of the rural school board alliance. And for me, I also attended uh CASBY and the main sessions I attended was policy governance and legal related. I also attended a CTE uh session talking about uh different creative ways to improving and supporting CTE programming. Uh as Superintendent Bod said, the DAC meeting was cancelled this year, this past month, I'm sorry. and the president's cafe. They just spoke about the upcoming CASBY conference. So, moving on to agenda item five, consent agenda. We have two items on the consent agenda this evening. 51, meeting minutes, November 17, 2025 and November 17, 2025, a second meeting. And 52 is December 2025 personnel list. Are there any items a board

106member like to pull from the consent agenda for discussion prior to approval of the consent agenda? Seeing none, is there a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda? >> I move that we approve the consent agenda. >> I second. >> We have a motion and a second. Aaron, please conduct a board roll call. >> Director Fere >> I. >> Director Kendall >> I. >> Director Shocket >> I. >> Director Widerski >> I. >> Director Wis >> I. >> Eyes carry the vote and the consent agenda is approved. Moving on to agenda item six, action item 61, mill levy certification. Is there a motion? >> I move we certify the total levy of 28.566 mills. >> I second. >> Any board discussion? >> So this mill is amount is in alignment with the 3.5

107million we talked about earlier. Um, I really like that with aligning this with the staff retention bonus that the district can know that they have this funding available now, not waiting till the end of the year when there might be contingency or not. >> Therefore, we can get the message out to our staff before when everyone kind of switches jobs in the springtime so that they can take that into their account and hopefully, you know, a few more will stay and and we'll have less churn. Under board discussion. Aaron, please conduct a board roll call. >> Director Furry, >> I. >> Director Kendall, >> I. >> Director Shocket, >> I. >> Director Wederski, >> I. >> Director W. >> I carry the vote and the motion passes. Moving on to agenda item 62. KEC public

108concerns about instructional materials. Second reading. Is there a motion? I move we approve KEC public concerns about instructional materials second reading. >> Is there a second? >> I second. >> New board discussion. >> I'll make a comment. There are no changes from the first reading on this policy. The policy is changing in response to Senate Bill 2563. Any other board comments? Seeing none, Aaron, please conduct a board roll call. >> Director Furry. >> I. >> Director Kendall >> I. Director Shocket >> I. >> Director Widerski >> I. >> Director W. >> I. >> Eyes carry the vote. The motion passes. Moving on to agenda item 63. JL library resources selection adoption and reconsideration second reading. Is there a motion? >> I move that we approve JL library resource selection adoption and reconsideration second reading. Is

109there a second? >> A second. >> Any board discussion? I would like to say there are no changes from the first reading. This is a new policy also in response to Senate Bill regarding the selection adoption and reconsideration of library resources and will become an admin policy upon approval. Any other board comments? I would just like to comment that while this is a new policy, previously the library resource selection adoption reconsideration portion was included together with the instructional material. >> Correct. >> So it's just kind of taking the one policy and separating them out to two. >> Great comment. Any other comments? >> Seeing none, Aaron, please conduct a board roll call. >> Director Fere >> I. >> Director Kendall >> I. >> Director Shocket >> I. Director Whitki >> I. >> Director Wis >>

110I car vote and the motion passes. Moving on to agenda item seven, upcoming meetings. The board work session is January 13, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. at the admin building. Moving on to agenda item 8, adjournment. Would a board member like to make a motion? >> I move that we adjourn. Is there a second? I second. >> We're adjourned. Everyone, thank you for coming.