2026-5-13 Board of Education Regular Meeting

001Hello. Welcome to the St. Rain Valley Schools Board of Education meeting of May 13th, 2026. Please stand if you're able and join me 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. Thank you. Christy, would you please call the roll? Sure. Mrs. Babs? Present. Mr. Berthold? Present. Mrs. Horanek? Here. Mr. Lechuga? Here. Mrs. Solomon? Here. Mrs. Weiss? Here. Thank you. Are you aware of any changes to the agenda this evening? No, I'm not. Okay. This meeting is being streamed on our website where a recording will also be available. If our live audience would please be sure device notifications are silenced, we would greatly appreciate it. The meeting is

002being translated into Spanish and headsets are available for anyone in our audience that would like them. I will begin tonight's meeting with our district's mission statement, to educate each student in a safe learning environment so that they may develop to their highest potential and become contributing citizens. This mission provides clarity of our purpose and our focused leaders make all decisions within its context. We're starting this evening with visitors. First up we have our Lyons Elementary School Focus Program presentation. Carla? Good evening, President Gillian, members of the board, and Dr. Capuchin. At Lyons Elementary, students have the unique opportunity to master academic standards through the school's STEM-based environmental leadership focus program. This program provides every student the opportunity to engage in year-long units of study that are centered around the community and the environment. By leveraging

003design thinking, computer science, data literacy, and expert scientists, the students aren't just reading about science and environmental leadership, they are living it. The heart of this program lies in its collaborative spirit. Students participate in bi-weekly labs facilitated not only by the STEM teacher and classroom teachers, but also by student mentors from Lyons Middle Senior. This mentorship creates a pipeline of leadership that stays with students long after they leave the elementary hallways. Additionally, each spring, the Town of Lyons Ecology Committee hosts an annual K-12 confluence event where the students of both Lyons Elementary and Lyons Middle Senior present the outcomes of their environmental leadership projects to the community. I had the privilege of attending this event a couple of weeks ago, and it was impressive to witness the pride the students took in their work, and

004more importantly, it was inspiring to see the impact the students' research and projects are making on the Town of Lyons. Before we hear from these incredible students joining us this evening, I would like to recognize Andrew Moore, principal of Lyons Elementary. Andrew's vision and leadership have been instrumental in both the launch and the ongoing success of the environmental leadership focus program at both Lyons Elementary and Lyons Middle Senior. While he will be transitioning to a new role within the school district next year, we are deeply grateful for the lasting impact and leadership he has provided during his tenure at Lyons Elementary. And with that, I'll turn it over to Mr. Moore. Thank you, Mrs. Allenbach. Thank you, board members. Thank you, Board President Gilligan. Thank you, Dr. Capuchin. We are grateful for the opportunity to

005share the great work we are doing in Lyons, integrating design thinking, computer science, data literacy, with a focus on presentation. We ask kids to present, to stand up, to practice, and to really share their learning in meaningful ways. It's all within the context of solving real-world problems within the local community. I'd like to thank and recognize Sarah Weigert, our STEM coordinator and teacher, who is an incredible teacher-leader. Her innovation and instruction are inspiring a generation of leaders. Mrs. Weigert will introduce our first group of second-grade students. Thank you very much. It's okay. Good evening. Good evening. At Lyons, each grade level has a rite of passage project, and so tonight you're going to hear from second and fifth grade. We're going to kick it off with second grade, and they're going to share about their

006garden work. And then fifth grade will take over, and they'll share about the health of our St. Vrain Creek, as well as our trout hatchery. So Sadie, Karina, would you guys like to kick it off? Hello, my name is Karina, and I am a second-grade student at Lyons Elementary. In our grade, we share the responsibility of looking after our school garden, which involves tending to our greenhouses and raised garden beds every week. During the year, we explored some key questions. How can we grow healthy crops? How do pollinators and soil help our garden stay strong? How does our garden support the Lyons community? And finally, how can we produce food for our local food pantry throughout the winter? Hello, my name is Sadie. We had a successful garden this year, thanks to the efforts of

007the local gardeners and high school mentors from Lyons High School. We used seeds saved by students last year to grow several crops, including lettuce, tomatoes, and herbs. To make sure our garden thrived, we researched the needs of each plant species. We published our findings to our garden app. Each week, we walked our harvest to our local food pantry leaf. These visits gave us an opportunity to talk with the volunteers and executive director. We felt proud to be helping out our community members. We kept track of our leaf deliveries by recording the number of pounds we donated each time. We weighed our boxes of food with the leaf team when we arrived. We noticed that September 3rd was the day with the heaviest donation. Overall, each week's deliveries were about 25 pounds in total. We delivered

008327 pounds this year. We were interested to see if we could grow vegetables for more leaf donations during the winter. We received grants from the Lyons Community Foundation and St. Rain Educational Foundation to help us purchase hydroponics towers. The towers have helped us grow lettuce and herbs even when the weather outside is cold. Today, we are happy to share a piece of our harvest with you. This evening, please take a plant or two with you, and we hope you think of us as your own garden thrives. I'm a little taller than a second grader. Alright, hello everyone. My name is Wilma Spencer, and I am a junior who attends Lyons Middle Senior High School. Every month, I have the incredible opportunity of going over to the elementary school and getting to work hands-on with our

009amazing fifth grade students on all sorts of things with environmental leadership. This year, we focused a lot on the St. Rain watershed as we typically do in things like macroinvertebrates and water quality, but I'm going to hand it over to the fifth graders to really tell you what we did. Hi, I'm Natalie, and these are my fellow fifth graders, Tayen, Ogden, Harriet, Lydia, Cassidy, and Hazel. Did you know that macroinvertebrates are small aquatic insects that live in our local rivers and creeks? Macroinvertebrates can help us determine water quality in our creeks. A high concentration of sensitive species means a healthy aquatic environment. To monitor the number of sensitive versus tolerant species, we visit Bone Park at Lyons twice each year to gather and categorize these insects. With river boots and waders, we kick up the

010creek bed to disturb rocks and pebbles. Using identification keys and microscopes, we categorize and tally the insects captured in our nets. We are super excited to share that we found a lot of bugs that need clean water to survive, indicating a healthy ecosystem. As you might imagine, identifying the many macroinvertebrates that live in our creek can be time-consuming work. To become more efficient in our process, we investigated how we might train and use AI models to speed up the process. My little mama, my big sister, helped us train an AI model with many macroinvertebrate pictures. We tested the model against live specimens as well as photographs, and we compared our results with groups and found that the results varied. We learned that AI can make a lot of mistakes, and many of the macroinvertebrates we

011tested were identified as leeches, and none of them were actually leeches. We also discussed that AI can be biased and inaccurate. Modeling our models would require adding more data and the higher use of higher-quality images with different backgrounds. Modeling the St. Rain's health is a top priority for us, as we want to provide a thriving environment for the rainbow trout we release. That's right, we release our own fish. In our two 55-gallon tanks, we raise trout starting from the egg stage, caring for them through the alvin and juvenile phases. Then, every spring, we release our young trout to the St. Rain creek. We conducted several tests on our tanks each day to simulate similar conditions to the creek. Our tanks have chillers, pebbles, bubblers, and pumps to replicate the creek's flow, water temperature, and natural

012elements. We made decisions about changing the tank's water based on our nitrite and nitrate levels. Each year at our Confluence event, we present our findings to the Lions Ecology Board. This year, we propose that the Town will continue monitoring the park areas and the effect of tourism, but the current creek status is excellent. We hope to maintain Bone Park as our chat release site. Our water quality assessments and macroinvertebrate data indicate that it remains a strong habitat for our fish. Come visit our healthy creek and lions when you have the chance to see it yourself. We'll see you there! Gainesville! Okay, that was delightful. Next up, we have our smart team presentation. Matt Buckler, thank you. Thank you. I'm happy to be here tonight. President Gilligan, board members, Dr. Capuchin. It is an honor to

013work with and support an outstanding principal, and that's Jeff McMurray. Under Jeff's leadership, Longmont High School has year after year provided their kids with these incredible, I'm not even sure how to describe it, learning opportunities and really cutting edge science experiments. I know that there's been a long tradition of that at Longmont High. I've been impressed by it every year. Here I see the presentations, and I'm going to have Jeff come up and introduce his smart team. Well, good evening, Dr. Capuchin. Thank you for having us, Madam President, board. We are just so excited and thrilled to share one of the amazing opportunities that we have at Longmont High School. We have an amazing medical and bioscience academy, and majority, not all of these students are part of that academy, but these are students who

014thrive in a co-curricular opportunity called the smart team. These are students modeling a research topic, and they dedicate hours and hours of their own time researching and modeling a particular protein. They do this alongside an amazingly dedicated bunch of teachers and staff and Dr. Marder, as well as graduate students from CU Boulder, and tonight they will be able to share with you what they've researched this year, and I am sure you will be impressed. With that, I'll ask Kelly Lubkerman to come on up here and speak to you from the smart team perspective. Thank you. Hi there. My name is Kelly Lubkerman. I'm a science teacher at Longmont High, and I run the smart team program along with Chris Chow, who's another science teacher at Longmont High. Most of you probably know her, and of

015course, Dr. Marder, who you probably know as well. Our smart team studies proteins, so basically they read scientific research and 3D model of protein and then also create a poster to share what they have learned about their protein. This year we had the really exciting opportunity to invite schools from Ohio, Kansas, and Wisconsin to join us here in St. Rain at the Innovation Center for our first ever Colorado Smart Team Symposium, which is really exciting for us. Normally we travel to a national conference, but we said, hey, maybe we can host it here, and that was awesome. And it went really, really well, and the other schools were so impressed by our Innovation Center and the facilities we have here in St. Rain, so that was really exciting for us to be able to show

016off and invite other teams here. So I will have each student introduce themselves and tell us what grade they are in school and maybe what they have gained from being on the smart team. Go for it. Hi. Hi. That's probably a better idea. Hi, my name is Chase Johnston. I am a senior this year, and I have gained so much presentation skills from this team and have, excuse me, and have learned so much biochemistry from it. It's amazing. Hi. I'm Karina Mattinger. I'm a junior at Longmont High School, and I learned how to read a lot of academic papers. We read a bunch of papers, and so just kind of going through and being able to know what these different things mean has been really impactful for me. Hi. I'm Tristan Perry. I'm a junior,

01711th grade as well. I've been in the smart team for three years and have had a lot of experience with biochemistry as a result, gotten to tour colleges, and had just generally a very awesome time. It's an amazing program. Hello. I am Quang Wing. I am a junior. This is my second year at smart team. Smart team has given me opportunities to do research at a post-high school level that I wouldn't have the chance to do otherwise. Hi. I'm Reese Weider. I'm a junior, and the most valuable thing I've gained is experience, again, reading academic papers, but then translating that knowledge into our own words and being able to share it with people around us. Hi. I'm Owen. I am a sophomore, and honestly speaking, this has been a good opportunity. I have had the

018ability to learn how to do public speaking, presentations, the scientific method and its applications, and how it's generally speaking utilized in the wider world outside of just school and science class in general. Hi. My name is Adam Wegner. This is my first year at Loma High Smart Team, and this has just given me a wide variety of skills that could be applied both in academic studies and even outside of it. For example, public speaking and really reading without a script, presenting without a script, it's just really helped me with a lot of these skills, and I'm really happy I've taken this program. Thanks, folks. I think what you want to hear is about their proteins a little bit. We have two posters today that our proteins have been chosen from the graduate students that we

019work with at CU Boulder. We work with three of them. We're proud to say one of them is a Longmont High graduate, so that's exciting for us, and an older sibling of someone on our team, which is also fun to have the connection. And so without further ado, we will let the students tell you about their proteins. Hi. Once again, hi. I'm Chase Johnston. This was our poster this year. We had the opportunity to research phospholipase A2, or PLA2 is what we'll call it from here on out, and it is a protein that breaks down phospholipids in the lipid bilayer of cells. So in your cells, you have a lipid bilayer that keeps stuff inside and keeps things outside. It's really important to keep this structure very sound and very stable, or else you have

020stuff leaking out of the cell and bad things getting back into the cell. So phospholipase cuts the tail of the phospholipid right here and creates a phospholipid with one tail, and then the other tail of the phospholipid is free-floating. This gives the phospholipids a more conical shape rather than a cylindrical shape that allows them to snag together, which kind of kinks the membrane, allowing it to fall apart, which causes cell death. This protein is really important to study because it is found in three different species of snake venom in high concentrations. So traditional snake anti-venoms are specific to the snake that you are bitten by, and then kind of where you're bitten, you have to know what you're doing in order to receive the correct anti-venom to be treated. With understanding phospholipase A2, you can

021create a more universal anti-venom that can be applicable to all types of snake venoms, to almost all types of snake venoms. With that being said, there are a lot of different structures, there are a lot of very similar structures to PLA2. This PLA2 was taken from Chinese cobra venom, and there are so many other ones like this. We decided to look at two different comparisons. We looked at the secreted PLA2, which is the type of snake venom that one that we have, and then cytosolic PLA2, which tend to be larger and are found inside of cells that are regulated by complex cellular signaling processes and are themselves a part of a lot of cellular processes. One of our other mentors, Dr. Joe Falki, actually taught us a little bit about the cytosolic one, that this

022cytosolic PLA2 is actually a part of the pathway that acetaminophen blocks to stop pain. So understanding this protein in particular can help us create a more universal anti-venom for snake bites, because snake bites are really deadly and really dangerous. Thank you. Hello again, I am Quang. This is the other protein that Smart Team has researched, antifreeze protein. So antifreeze protein lowers the freezing point of water within organisms, which allowed them to survive in sub-zero temperatures. We focused on modeling the antifreeze protein found in mealworms right here, as you can see. So antifreeze protein works by binding this flat face onto the surface of water like this, which reduces the amount of entropy and basically makes it harder for water crystals to grow. is convergently evolved. So basically, as you can see in this corner, all

023of these animals above do not have antifreeze protein, but all these separate animals evolved them separately, which leads to a wide variety of differences between all antifreeze proteins. But they do share some commonalities, such as this flat face. Every single one of these antifreeze proteins have a flat face that is used to bind to water, and they all have freonin residues that bind to water. Antifreeze protein is important because compared to traditional chemical antifreezes, it does not damage cell membranes and cell tissues. So this could possibly lead to the preservation of tissues and organs below sub-freezing temperatures without worrying about ice crystal growth. Because currently we just carry organs within buckets filled with ice, but if we could develop antifreeze protein in a way, it might be possible to bring these organs below sub-zero temperatures

024and preserve them for longer. It is also used in ice cream. Many of you guys have eaten Breyer ice cream. They use antifreeze proteins to prevent freezer burn and the recrystallization of ice crystals within their ice cream. Thank you. So as you can imagine, we're really proud of the work our students have done this year. Very high-level science and amazing that they're able to break apart such complex papers and get the important information out. So are there any questions for our team? No questions. That's great. Thank you so much for your support and we appreciate the opportunity to come here and share what we have learned this year with you. We would love to get a picture if that's okay. Yeah, we would love to. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, next up we have the

025Kent Willman recognition. Adam Wellington. Good evening. Thank you to President Yelligan, the board, and Dr. Capuchin for having us here tonight. I am Adam Wellington, the K-12 Social Days Coordinator for St. Mary Valley Schools. It is an honor to introduce our team behind Doing Democracy Day and to celebrate one of its originators, Mr. Kent Willman. For 16 years, Doing Democracy Day has brought high school junior government students from across St. Rain together to solve local issues. While the team will explain the process of Doing Democracy Day shortly, I want to acknowledge the immense effort and planning behind this event. This is my first year working with this incredible group of teachers from Silver Creek High School and others associated with the district. Justelle Gransart, Kirsten Brown, Kayla Olszewski, Carrie Adams, Tripp Merklin, Brandon Schaefer, and

026of course, Kent Willman. From our monthly lunch meetings to managing complex logistics and researching issues for students to explore, this team's dedication is truly impressive. I also want to thank Silver Creek Principal Eric Finistead for his support of his team of teachers and this event over the years. Most inspiring, however, is watching the students who make Doing Democracy Day the event that it is. They arrive nervous and a little uncertain, but through the day's work, they transform into collaborators and friends, creating masterful presentations to solve real-world problems. Each year, the event grows and gains more voices. We are excited to expand Doing Democracy Day in 2027, hopefully to involve our middle schools. As well, neighboring school districts have inquired about this event and how they can replicate it for themselves. The future of Doing Democracy

027Day is definitely bright. Moving forward as this event does grow, it will be with less involvement from our driving force, as Kent Willman will be stepping back. Justelle and Eric are going to say more about Kent soon, but I just wanted to quickly express my thanks to him. I first met Kent nearly 20 years ago as a young teacher with a lot. I signed up to take a professional development course on helping students to look at and analyze primary sources and media. That was the start of multiple PD offerings I would take with Kent and a professional working relationship between us formed. Up until my last year in the classroom, I still used many of the methods that Kent taught me. I still can't look at an image without thinking, whoa. Kent's impact on my

028teaching, my skills in social day's methods, and ultimately where I am today is immeasurable. I know that most social day's teachers across St. Brain Valley, whether they personally worked with Kent or not, have been impacted by his work as well. Thank you, Kent, for the vast influence you have on our social day's world, for the lessons you have given us. With that, I'd like to introduce Kayla and Kirsten, who will speak more about the specifics of doing it. Thank you. We have a video. Sorry. As Adam said, my name is Kayla Olszewski and this is Kirsten Herman, and we're here to give you a little bit more information on what Doing Democracy Day is. This is an opportunity for government students across St. Brain to come together on one day to tackle local issues in

029our community. They work with students and peers from other high schools to create potential solutions for those issues and present on them. In addition to working with their peers, students have the opportunity to also work with local leaders who not only serve as judges to our student presentations, but also as experts on some of the local issues. Here you can see an example list of some of the issues that we've used in the past. As a Doing Democracy Day team, we work really hard to pick issues that are not only engaging for students, but also relatable and relevant to their lives. On the list you can see this year we used AI in classrooms because there's been some question asked like, what does the appropriate use of AI look like in our classrooms? Also the

030cell phones in schools, especially with other districts changing their policy, a lot of students were curious as to how that might impact our school district as well. Just a fun little side note, a Silver Creek student designs the Doing Democracy Day logo every year. We get to feature their student artwork on shirts, pins, stickers, whatever we're using for the event. It gets to be featured with all of the students. This is our most recent one from this year. Once again, government teachers from all secondary schools in St. Brain are invited to bring their students to participate in this event. Some of the local leaders that you might typically see there include other school district employees, our SROs, some of our very own school board members have been at these events before, as well as city

031and county officials at multiple levels. Of course we have to thank our Longmont Museum staff because they host the event and they do an incredible job supporting us logistically, technologically throughout the day. Up here you can actually see a visual of our students engaging in conversation with some of our local leaders at the Longmont Museum. So now we're going to get into what a typical day looks like. We have students show up at the Longmont Museum bright and early. They check in. At check in they will receive a name tag and when they receive their name tag they're also going to receive the local issue that they are going to eventually be presenting on. In this process we're very strategic about how we place students in groups because we want to make sure that there's

032a variety of school representation in every single group. Then we encourage them to have breakfast because everyone's a little bit better with some food in their stomachs. And then after that we have students, teachers, and doing Democracy Day team meet in the auditorium. In the auditorium we then welcome everyone who is in attendance and then also have a keynote speaker who reminds us as to why we're there which is for civic engagement but also making our community a better place. Usually at that point students are pretty fired up and ready to go but we also have to go through some nuts and bolts such as just kind of what our expectations are. We also go through some resources such as links, articles that we provide students with as a place to get started but then

033also some former presentations from previous years and templates that they're welcome to use. Then they're welcome to go meet with their groups and start researching their local issue. And then they will also eventually meet with local leaders. Sorry. So not only do we give them breakfast but we also provide them with lunch and lots of snacks for those high schoolers. And they have a working lunch where they're culminating all of the evidence that they've gathered throughout the day from their research, from those local leaders, and creating a presentation that they will be sharing in the afternoon. So the students are divided among three different sections in the museum where they will present to a small panel of judges. Once again, those critical local leaders serve as those judges and each group presents their topic and

034the judges are able to give some feedback, ask questions, and then they choose a final winning group as a semi-finalist from each section. So those top three groups then move into the auditorium with all of the students, all of the adults, and they present their topics once again to the entire group. And then it's a real edge of your seat, nail-biter situation as they're waiting to see that judging panel declare the official winner of Doing Democracy Day, even though they are all winners. There's metal involved at the end. And then teachers who bring their students are observing and coaching them throughout the day and they get an opportunity to recognize individual students who may not have made it to the final round but demonstrated exemplary leadership skills working with their group throughout the day. This

035slide is just to show you that our event has had such a meaningful impact on students, teachers, and local leaders that local news outlets every year come and report on our event. So if you would like to see their perspective on what this day looks like, you can click on any of those links. They come from the past two years. And we will say one of the most rewarding parts of being on the Doing Democracy Day planning committee is seeing, hearing, and feeling that community impact. Our local leaders, who so very much support our schools every day, finally have an opportunity to see our students engaging in civic action and work with them face-to-face. Our government teachers, who up until this point in the spring have been working tirelessly throughout the year to ingrain these

036ideas in their students, get to see them put it into practice so all of our teachers' hard efforts pay off in the end. And our students tell us year after year about how much fun they have at the event, how much they enjoyed working with peers from other high schools, and how meaningful it is to have their voices heard on a larger scale than just one classroom setting. So we want to give our students the opportunity to share for themselves. So we're going to give a couple testimonials from Silver Creek students and hope that our sound is different. The first thing that I liked about Doing Democracy Day is that it was something totally new. You met new people. You met community leaders. You did things in the community that you have probably never done

037before in school. And through this new connection, I feel like it gave me a deeper and better understanding when it came to how our community works. And I think that's something very important for students to see and understand. So something that I learned, well, the main part that I learned was just how to work with like a group and work as like a team, because you only have like four hours with your team to be able to create a whole presentation about a topic that you're trying to solve an issue on. I think my favorite part about Doing Democracy Day is the fact that we're able to actually see ourselves make a difference within the community itself. Getting data from volunteers in the community and school board members, seeing real world experience from people who

038have been alive for longer than us and know a lot about the topics that they work on, it's very important and I found it was very interesting and helped me in coming up with ideas when it came to our presentation. None of this would have been made possible without Kent Wilman. So now I bring up Justelle, who's going to honor him. Hello, I'm Justelle Granser. I teach at Silver Creek High School and I'm a proud member of the Doing Democracy Day team. Tonight, we want to honor, we want to take a moment to celebrate the heart. And this is going to be a little emotional for me, so you've got to give me a little grace. I thought I would cry more halfway through, but not at the beginning. All right, it is my honor

039to take a moment to celebrate the heart behind Doing Democracy Day. Kent Wilman is here tonight, who founded this event 16 years ago with Dr. Ken Bickers, who is here tonight from the University of Colorado with a simple but powerful goal to increase civic engagement among our students. And that goal didn't just became a reality, it exceeded every expectation. Ms. Adams, Kerry Adams, put a flyer in front of you and it's an infograph of Doing Democracy Day in numbers. I, like that flyer, could describe Kent to you in numbers. I could tell you his numbers are 30 years teaching in St. Brain, one year teaching in Boffrain, 16 years leading Doing Democracy Day, 10 years guiding lessons on local government, 10 years at the University of Colorado, hundreds of student teachers like myself in his

040classroom, instructing hundreds of teacher candidates at CU, like Kirsten. Add to that, he co-taught, integrated 10 with 8 teachers, including Kara Lukes, who is here tonight. Add to that, countless hours as a board member of the Colorado Council on Social Studies, you begin to see the scope of his contributions in numbers to civic education in our community, in our district, and across Colorado. As we remind our students when we teach them history, numbers never tell the full story. They only scratch the surface. And while Kent's accomplishments are impressive, they don't capture the true depth of his influence. These numbers don't capture the way he's reminded us as teachers that it's our responsibility to educate every student, every student that walks in our door. When I was student teaching with him, he'd always tell me, everyone

041that walks in your door is your responsibility, Justelle, and that's true. The numbers don't capture that civic engagement cannot be measured, as he tells us, by a standardized test. That's our role as teachers, is to help students find their voices and to believe that those voices matter. For many of us, it's not those numbers about Kent, it's Kent's voice we carry with us every day, reminding us that public education is the cornerstone of our society, that we are entrusted with keeping democracy alive and well in our schools and in our classrooms. So at times, we may all wonder what our impact is, what's our legacy. Sometimes I do. Well, tonight, I can confidently say that Kent, your impact is not in numbers. It can't be measured by a standardized test. No, it lives on in

042the countless lives that you've impacted, in the sparks of democracy that you have ignited, and in the teachers across our state who have been inspired to be the best educators that they can be. So 28 years after I first stepped foot in Kent's classroom at Longmont High as his student teacher, I am now honored to recognize him, not just as a colleague, but as a mentor and my inspiration, an extraordinary educator in St. Vrain, and a driving force behind Doing Democracy Day. So on behalf of our Doing Democracy Day team, as we give this award out each year at our event at DDD to an extraordinary civic leader, it's our privilege to present this civic virtual award to Kent Willman. Thank you. Hello, my name is Kent Willman. I am Kent's AI-generated voice. The words

043are his, and in some ways, I am too. First, let me say thank you to Dr. Kaputian, who provides most of the funding for Doing Democracy Day, and her assistants, Diane Hargash and Christy Jonathan. I won't consider Doing Democracy Day a success until I can get those two to show up and participate. Maybe next year, I must say that singling me out for an honor like this while appreciated tends to shade out the work done by so many talented colleagues. Let me shine a light on a few. First, Ken Bickers, a CU political science professor, who when asked what we needed to do in high school to get kids ready for college-level political science, he did not say more. He said, just get them interested and we can do the rest. He went on to

044write an outreach grant that became the very first Doing Democracy Day. My wife Keely, who reminds me that everyone, no matter their station in life, deserves the opportunity to play in the American experiment and to share in its rewards. The community groups like the Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters, they put life into the ideas of community service and civic virtue. Next, the students and the local leaders who show up each year. Just for the asking, if they don't show up, nothing happens. The best part is when they walk out saying the same thing about each other. They say, those folks are smart and they really care about our community. The teachers who come to Doing Democracy Day each year, they take time from an overcrowded curriculum to give some students the

045chance to play with local leaders. I will mention one, Jamie Ravelli, who has attended all 16 Doing Democracy Days, the planning team. These folks are the best. They could plan a royal wedding, Adam Wellington, the district social studies coordinator, and his predecessor, Jenny Pettit. Who at a time of deep partisan divides, they encourage teachers to engage students with issues that other places duck. Silver Creek's leadership academy director, Carrie Adams, who seems to pull off events like Doing Democracy Day and much larger every week. Tripp Merklin, retired teacher and former SVVEA president, who is as savvy as a Louisiana precinct captain. Brandon Schaefer, who makes sure we don't screw up too badly and end up in court. The teachers from Silver Creek, Kirsten Herman, Julie Forbes, and Kayla Olszewski, who could herd cats through a car

046wash while teaching them to meow our national anthem. And Justelle Grandsire, who coordinates the Doing Democracy Day teachers. I first met Justelle when she student taught with me at Longmont High 100,000 years ago. I would sit at my desk and watch Justelle teach, frequently taking notes, saying to myself, oh, that's how you do that. If all teachers were as good as the members of this planning team, many of the problems facing education would simply disappear. Please join me in giving all these folks a round of applause. As another student of mine and current Saint Brain teacher said, this is the best job in the world. It has been a joy and a privilege to work in the Saint Brain Valley School since 1978. OK, well, thank you so much. Next up, we have our Fine

047Arts yearly recap presentation, Janae. Perfect. Hello. Good evening, Dr. Capuchin, Madam President, members of the board and district leadership. My name is Janae Bird and I serve as the director of Fine Arts, Performing Arts, and PE. I'm honored to be here this evening to share an end of year Fine Arts report and to celebrate the incredible work of our students, teachers, and schools across Saint Brain. As I've been reflecting on this school year, what stands out to me is not just the number of events, performances, pieces of artwork, or recognition, but the intentional ways that students engage in the arts across our district. From preschool music night and the fifth grade symphony field trip to our honor ensembles, school theater day, and the district art show, we provide opportunities for connection, belonging, creativity, and excellence.

048These experiences also reflect our commitment to making unique arts opportunities accessible to entire grade levels and broad groups of students, not only those who already see themselves as artists or performers. You have a handout in front of you that includes many of the facts, numbers, and recognitions from this year. But rather than read every data point to you, I'd love to share some highlights, faces, and stories behind our year. I'll begin with music. This year marked our second year partnering with Sheila Blankenship and the Early Childhood Education Department for Preschool Music Night during Week of the Young Child. This collaboration has become a wonderful example of how we can build meaningful arts experiences for our tiniest learners and their families. The event provided families an opportunity to be a part of their child's learning experience

049in a creative way through music and movement, and it was one of the most joyful events I think I attended all year. We were also proud to have two SBA VSD ensembles selected to perform at the Colorado Music Educators Association Conference this year. Blue Mountain Elementary Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Amber Bartels and Erie Middle School Tiger Lily Treble Choir under the direction of Abby Martinez. Being selected to perform at CMEA means you have one of the top ensembles in the state, and in addition to the performances, several of our music educators represented our district as presenters, which their sharing their expertise with colleagues across Colorado reflected our strong reputation statewide as a district where we've got great arts instruction, innovation, and teacher leadership that's happening every day. Every year I invite the directors

050whose performing ensembles were selected for CMEA to be recognized at this board meeting, so at this time I'd like to invite Amber Bartels to join me. You had the privilege of hearing her amazing students prior to their CMEA performance at a board meeting this past fall, but I'd like to recognize her hard work and congratulate Amber, Blue Mountain students, the community for this achievement. Amber, your students were incredible. Thank you for being here, and she has a few words to share. Hi everyone. My name is Amber Bartels. I am the music teacher at Blue Mountain Elementary School where I'm also the director of our Blue Mountain Beats Percussion Ensemble and our Summit Singers Choir. I grew up in Longmont and attended Sanborn Elementary, Longs Peak Middle School, and graduated from Longmont High School in 2012.

051I began playing the flute in 6th grade band at Longs Peak Middle School and have been very involved in music ever since. I participated in every music class and music opportunity I could throughout middle school and high school, including concert band, marching band, jazz band, the musical, choir, orchestra, and winter drumline. My experience in the winter drumline at Longmont High School was part of my inspiration in starting an elementary percussion ensemble at Blue Mountain. The Blue Mountain Beats Percussion Ensemble started in the 2023-24 school year. It's a club open to 4th and 5th grade students. Students must complete an audition to be accepted into the ensemble. As Janae said, the Blue Mountain Beats Percussion Ensemble had the incredible opportunity to perform at the CMEA Clinic in January. It was only possible for us to perform

052at CMEA because of the enthusiastic support of our principal, Stefan Hull, and our assistant principal, Nellie Gallegos, as well as the rest of the staff at Blue Mountain and our students and their families. Our percussion ensemble students learned so much and had a great time preparing for our performance and performing at CMEA, but a benefit of this experience that I wasn't expecting was how it impacted our day-to-day music class at school. The students in percussion ensemble became supportive and confident leaders in the music room and elevated those around them. My 4th and 5th grade classes were able to perform more challenging music than in the past and were able to move through our standards quickly and more efficiently, which allowed us to cover more content than we typically would in a normal school year. I

053want to thank the following people for all of their support in our CMEA preparation and performance, our principal and assistant principal, Stefan Hull and Nellie Gallegos, our office manager A.K. Butterworth, our area superintendent, Matt Buckler, for supporting this program, as well as driving down all the way to Colorado Springs for our CMEA performance. And side note, he was actually my principal back in the day at Longs Peak Middle School. And a neighbor, the staff at Blue Mountain for being supportive and flexible as we prepared for this performance and for the percussion ensemble students and their families. Thank you. Does anyone have any questions for Amber? It's okay. Good. Okay. You're good. Thank you, Amber. We're so proud of you and your students. Our other CMEA director, Abby Martinez, who you've met, also met at a

054previous meeting, and her singers have their end of year concert tonight, so they were unable to be here. And I typically do bring a performance group in to share some live music with you. And so this year I've got a short clip from their CMEA performance. And to set the scene, it was a packed ballroom at the Broadmoor. And I know some of you were there, so feel free to share the impact of watching it live with the person next to you. But the maturity, musicality and complexity of what these middle school students accomplished was beyond impressive. If you've been to a standout performance in your life, you know they end with a standing ovation. And the middle school students received a standing ovation in the middle of the concert. The clip will start in

055the middle of a song in Italian and will show the beginning of the next song so you have an idea of the complexity and the breadth of their skill. It's a little intense, so that's your fair warning. Well, the next song was very peaceful, hopefully you can tell. And just the commitment to the performance and the shift in the complexity of the characters was truly outstanding. So I have the full video if anyone would like to see it later. I'll unplug it because I know it will go at a random time. Okay, let's see. My last highlight for music at St. Frank Valley Schools was once again recognized with the Best Communities for Music Education Award for the sixth year in a row. Recognition reflects the collected from our board, district leadership, school leaders, teachers,

056families, and communities, ensuring that music remains a valued part of a well-rounded education in our district. Moving on to share about visual art and theater, this year we hosted an incredible collaborative workshop for the very first time that brought together our visual art and theater students. Julia Pleasence, director of casting for Disney Television Animation, worked with our art and theater teachers during a job-alike professional development. And then the next day we hosted a student workshop where visual art students created and designed original animated characters and the theater students got to bring them to life through voiceover acting. Students were able to explore animation industry through a visual arts and performing arts lens. It's cutting out, yep, let's see. And it was so impactful working through creative discomfort and strict deadlines, both of which are very

057real-world skills. One visual arts student shared after the experience, thank you for inspiring students who are often unseen. Julia shared, the director of animation, I was incredibly impressed by the talent, engagement, and imagination of St. Frank Valley Schools students and teachers throughout the workshop. By offering an experience similar to what we use in a professional setting, the district is creating amazing opportunities for students to explore creative careers. I also have to share that Hillary Sontag played a large part in creating that opportunity and I know she's not here tonight, but I want to give her a massive shout out for her collaboration. And my final highlight tonight is from theater, Erie High School and Niwa High School both received Bobby G award nominations, which are essentially Colorado's high school version of the Tony Awards. And

058it's been a while since we've had a nomination. You may remember several years ago, Frederick High School alum Thomas Beaker won Best Actor at the Bobby G Awards and they fly you out to New York and he made connections and is now a successful actor there and he's in a current show on Broadway. The Erie and Niwa nominations include recognition for performance, costume design, hair and makeup design, stage management, and leading and performing roles, leading and supporting roles. I love that these nominations highlight the full range of our theater education, not just what happens on stage, but also the creative and technical work behind the scenes. Musical theater creates a space for many different kinds of student talent, leadership, and contribution and the awards take place Friday night at the Buell Theater, so be sure

059to follow on social media for the outcome. I'd like to end this year's Fine Arts Report with gratitude. Arts educators and building administrators, I know several of you are here tonight, thank you so much for all you do to make the arts thrive in your schools and thank you to everyone in this room for your presence at these events throughout the year, Dr. Capuchin, members of the board, our area superintendents, and our district leaders. I've seen so many of your faces at our events and performances this year and I just want you to know as an artist, one of the most meaningful parts of creating is being able to share it with someone and so thank you for engaging in the arts with your time. You are so appreciated. And that's a wrap on our

06025-26th school year. Are there any questions? Thank you, Janae. Do board members have any questions or anything to add? No? I'd like to just thank you, Janae, you thank everybody else, but you're at a lot of those events and providing a lot of support, especially around all of the logistics to help teachers be able to just focus on their students, so thank you for the work that you do. Next up, we have our crisis response team recognition with Johnny. I am humbled and would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that what I've witnessed tonight is the power of public education. It is truly an honor and privilege to be a part of the school district here and we started with kids and they are a hard act to follow. And so I'm glad

061I wasn't right behind them, but equally a hard act to follow with Janae. And so I am here, first of all, to acknowledge our superintendent, Dr. Capuchin, and our board president, Dr.—sorry, Ms. Gilligan, and esteemed members of the Board of Education, senior staff, and all the attendees. It is my distinct pleasure to recognize Maura Brady-McMullin, our crisis response team lead, and members of her team for the outstanding support that they provide our schools during times of crisis. A crisis in this instance is defined by the assistance we provide at times when schools or departments lose a staff member or student. This team comes in and wraps their proverbial arms around the staff, school, and the department to support. The kicker is we, they, never know what support may look like because it varies from response

062to response. More times than not, they are called upon at a moment's notice and they graciously drop everything to meet the needs of the school or department. They are trained, skilled, but most importantly, available, although you know my background is steeped in athletics, a great coach once told me, son, the only ability that matters is availability. And so they are truly always available. We appreciate the fact that our district and the Board of Education took a moment to recognize their work, and now I'll turn it over to Maura to offer a few words of appreciation and acknowledgement. So I want to thank the board and Dr. Capuchin for inviting the crisis response team to this meeting. It's an honor for the team's work to be recognized for their contributions to supporting schools, our district students,

063schools, family, and staff during some of the hardest moments in people's lives. In 1999, Dr. Robin Morgan, who is joining us tonight, saw a need for counselor support due to a loss in the community, and she recruited a group of counselors, including Olga Cordero, to support a school. From that initial response 27 years ago, they created a team of district counselors to support schools and buildings who have experienced a loss or crisis event. Yet that initial team met yearly to refine and polish the work, and we are where we are today because of their leadership and foresight into the needs of the district. I would like to recognize not only Dr. Morgan and Ms. Cordero, but two of our other former crisis leads, Sherry Kanamoto, from West U Middle School, and Tenisa Henry from Niwet

064High. Neither of them could be here this evening, but I want to recognize them. Adam Letito, he's currently working abroad, but he was also a former lead of the crisis team. Every iteration of the district's crisis team has grown from these counselors' leadership and expertise to all the counselors and previous crisis team leads. I want to thank you for all of your work. Here tonight are Dr. Morgan and Ms. Cordero and some of our current 2025-2026 crisis team members. Again, not all of them were able to attend this evening, but all of their contributions have been invaluable. Thank you again for recognizing the work of this team. It's hard work, but it's incredibly rewarding, and as a counselor whose schools have benefited from this team's involvement in a loss, I know how much a difference

065their support can make. So thank you again for having us. I really appreciate it. This is our team, so I'm going to have them step forward and I'd like to introduce them. We have Amy Ward. She's a counselor at Student Services and at Hygiene Elementary. Alejandro De Santiago, he works on our attendance and engagement team, and he is part of our crisis team at Student Services. Zenia Cantana is a counselor at Sunset Middle School. Ana Soto-Harrison is one of our interpreters and translators, and she is also part of the team. Dr. Robin Morgan, one of the original members and the founding member of our district crisis team, so where all of this started. Dr. Bustios, our coordinator for interpretation and translation. Stephanie Marcharino, one of our interpreters and translators, and Odalis Loya, also one of

066our translators and interpreters, and then obviously Olga Cordero. So without these people, I could not do my job, so I am incredibly indebted and grateful for all of their work, so thank you again for the time and the recognition. Questions for our team? I think so. Go ahead. I have a question, just a comment. Your jobs are incredibly important, and they are not easy, and so I just want to say thank you for what you guys do and putting together such a wonderful workforce here, and just thank you for what you do for the communities, for the families, for the students, and for everybody here. Thank you. I'd also like to just thank you all truly from my heart. I often get those calls on weekends and in evenings and many times during the holidays,

067which are very difficult times for people, and you're always, always available and ready to go, and many times you're there first thing in the morning so that you can intercept students who are in crisis or staff members who need support before they start their school day, and I know that when we have some of those crises that are back to back, that you all have some very difficult weeks and months, and those have to take a toll on you all emotionally as well, but you're always there and you show incredible strength, so thank you for the work that you do. Okay, next up we have audience participation. Do we have members of our audience that would like to sign up and address the board this evening? Go ahead and come up to the podium. Okay,

068thank you for joining us this evening. The Board of Education greatly values feedback and perspectives from our community. We will hear up to 30 minutes of non-agenda topics and up to 30 minutes of agenda topics per meeting, and each speaker will be limited to three minutes of speaking time. It is long-standing practice of the board to not address or respond during the public comment section of the agenda, but please know that we are actively listening. May we have you please state your name and address for the record. Thank you. My name is Anya Kemplin, and I live at 101 Estes Court in Lyons, Colorado, and so good evening everyone. I represent the parents of sixth grade students in Lyons, and I wanted to talk about the problem of screen, use of screens at schools. So

069since the start of sixth grade, many of us have noticed a significant decrease in the amount of paper used in classrooms, including homework which was replaced with screen time. While technology could be a useful tool, there is growing concern that the current level of screen use, especially the gamified learning platforms, is negatively affecting students' attention span. This leads to lack of reading comprehension, low information retention, and ultimately low academic performance. From a parent's perspective, it is especially troubling to see schools unintentionally undo habits that families have worked hard to develop over many years, such as reading paper books and monitoring and limiting daily use of screens. The proposed immediate goal is to assess how many hours per day the students are spending on tablets during the school day, and to develop a plan to reduce

070screen use to the minimum necessary without changing the curriculum itself. And we believe that it's relatively easy to achieve at this point. We believe that there are many opportunities to revert to paper-based materials, and here there are examples. Short stories, poems, and written assignments could be easily read and completed on paper instead of typing responsibly as tiny digital text boxes and PDFs on little tiny screens. Core novels should be read in paper form rather than on screens. As parents, it is difficult to imagine children to read nearly 300 pages on a tablet when the same reading could be easily done using a physical book. Reading a novel represents approximately 10 hours of screen-based reading that could be easily converted to off-screen time. We're also concerned about learning platforms that rely heavily on frequent notifications, pings,

071and reward-based feedback. This type of design encourages document-driven engagement rather than deep learning. Learning should not rely on the same psychological mechanism as games. The traditional concept of play and learn was twisted into game and learn, which with poor educational outcomes. Despite of strong school ratings and many students earning high grades, straight A's, a large number of parents are feeling that something is wrong. EdTech tools were heavily adopted during COVID as a temporary solution, but many schools have never returned to pre-pandemic levels of paper use. EdTech company advertised that the tool they were selling to schools were going to increase learning, and we feel like these were empty promises and that the tools were not tested properly. Instead, the kids have become test subjects for products whose long-term effects are unknown. And the following is

072documented. Superior reading comprehension when reading on paper versus screens. Cognitive benefits of handwriting with a pen versus typing. And research suggesting that our kids are the first generation that has worse cognitive skills than their parents, which is enough for us to be deeply concerned. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you. Do we have anyone else? Yeah. Is Joshua Snable here? No? Okay. Okay. Thank you so much. Next up, we have our superintendent's report. Dr. Capuchin. Great. Well, my heart is full this evening after all of those presentations. I think tonight represents the very best and is the tip of the iceberg of all the great things that go on in St. Vrain on a daily basis. This last week, we had our retirement dinner and we were able to celebrate all of the retirees,

073all of the staff members and teachers, administrators who have given so much of their time and their commitment to the children in our community. And thank you all who were able to attend. It was just a very nice evening recognizing our staff members. On Monday, we were able to watch our unified students participate in the Day of Champions. There is nothing better than watching a kiddo flex after he's hit the button with a ball and has dunked his principal. In this case, I got a great picture of a kiddo flexing his muscles after he watched principal Rosh Kolb go into the drink. And we suggested a spray tan maybe next year. I would like to thank Chase and Laura Hess and Janae for their work in organizing that event every year. It's just really a

074beautiful event and we've had great weather for those events this year. I also had the pleasure of meeting with a couple of partners this week. I met with the community foundation of Boulder and had a nice conversation with them on the ways that we can support one another's work. And then this morning, I was able to meet with the Mayor Phillips Foundation at the Innovation Center. They got to see all of the music innovation program work and have some of our students present the work that they're doing in music innovation. They have been very, very generous with our programs at the Innovation Center and always come back every year to see what's happening. The other is yesterday I was able to go to Sandstone Ranch with Blue Mountain's second graders and hang out. We got

075to learn about the history of that area of Longmont as well as the ecology of that beautiful piece of property. So that presentation we had a couple of months ago and it is an amazing experience to be able to take all of our second graders to know and learn more about their community. And then finally, yesterday afternoon I spent some time at a celebration for our association reps, our teacher reps from each of the buildings and was able to thank them all for spending a lot of time with our students and having a very successful year with our students. I'd also like to thank Kara Smallwood. Kara works tirelessly on behalf of the teachers in our school district and truly cares deeply about their success. And often works closely with our team to reduce the

076challenges that they face in their classroom so that they can stay focused on the success of our students. So I'd like to recognize Kara as well for her work this year. And that is it. I really, truly, there is so much going on that I could talk for hours but those were some of the highlights and I know that you all have some highlights to share at the end of the meeting as well. So thank you. Thank you, Jackie. Next up, we have reports. The 2025-2026 high school scholarships awarded. Dina. All right. Thank you, Dr. Capuchin, President Gilligan, and members of our board. Each year, local, state, and federal scholarships are awarded to graduating seniors. These awards are substantial and support students economically as they pursue their education beyond high school. Several scholarships, mostly local,

077are pending and are not yet awarded this year. A full report of scholarships is provided annually to you each fall. But tonight, we will provide an update on scholarships for the class of 2026. Mara Brady-McMullin will share information about how our school staff and administrators support students in the scholarship process and we will also hear from two students who will help us personalize the impact that scholarships have. We take great pride in preparing our students for their futures. In St. Vrain, this begins with premier academics and extends into an array of athletics, art, music, leadership, and career and technical programs, and more. These experiences build character, connect students to each other and to their community, and develop the competitive edge needed for post-secondary admissions. Furthermore, they empower students to secure scholarships that make their goals

078financially possible. Over 500 local awards and over 1,500 total scholarships have already been granted this year to this class and we are seeing the direct impact of the school opportunities in action. The class of 2026 is on track to earn a significant amount of scholarship awards in alignment with our historical success. Counselors, teachers, and staff, coaches, and our administrators are critical contributors to the success of a student's scholarship application. All of these people are helping students with letters of recommendation and polishing scholarship applications, but one key factor is that counselors and staff are often encouraging students to participate in extracurricular activities, leadership opportunities, and community service. Many scholarship organizations want their scholars to be active members of their communities, and as you'll hear in a minute from our scholars here behind me, many of these

079students demonstrate those leadership, service, and well-rounded qualities we all want our graduates to embody. While we take great pride in providing extensive opportunities and support for our students, it truly is our students who make the decision to take advantage of our opportunities. The credit is all theirs for making their education a priority. Tonight, Abby Sindelir and Nick Cantana join us as representatives of the class of 2026, and they will share a little bit about their experiences, their scholarships, and their future plans. My name is Abigail Sindelir, and I'm a senior at Longmont High School. I was awarded the Daniel Scholarship, and I plan to major in physiology at the University of Wyoming. I was a part of the NHS, MBSA, and volleyball program at Longmont High School, and I took classes at the CETC to

080get my certification in medical office administration, certified nursing assistant, and emergency medical technician. Ms. Chow was my AP biology teacher and my advisory teacher for my four years of high school, and she had a really huge impact on my success throughout the years. And I'd like to thank Dr. Capuchin and the board for all the opportunities available in the St. Vrain Valley School District. Hello, it's an honor to speak in front of the board again. I am Nick Quintana, and I will be attending the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and I'm able to attend this because I'm the proud recipient of the Questbridge Match Scholarship. And within the St. Vrain community, I've been able to take a part of so many opportunities we have had. I take classes at the CETC,

081and I was able to take the law classes there, and that really solidified my future plans of wanting to become a lawyer, and being able to figure that out now rather than after I paid for law school was a great opportunity. And besides that, I've also been able to compete at state through FBLA and practice those business skills there, as well as being a part of the Silver Creek Leadership Academy, which allowed me to run my own capstone, something that I never thought would be possible when I was a little kid to be able to help and work with a nonprofit as a high school student. And even though these are the opportunities I've been able to take a part of at the high school level, and these are the opportunities that colleges look at,

082there are so many opportunities that start with K through 12, and I've been able to take upon those opportunities since I was in elementary school. I still remember our field trip to Young Ameritown, and when I got to be the banker at the bank, and I loved that power trip of being able to manage everybody's money. That is what truly solidified for me that I wanted to go into business. So while colleges may only look at the opportunities we take upon at the high school level, St. Vrain offers so many opportunities that help prepare us to be able to embark on those journeys at the high school level. And when we take those opportunities through elementary school and middle school, it has really prepared me. And I would like to thank the board and Dr.

083Capuchin, because I am seeing firsthand and I have experienced the St. Vrain advantage. Thank you. That's all we have, unless you have questions, and we'd be happy to take a picture, too. So, Nick, as your youth basketball coach, it's all coming together now. You know, I would call it defense, and Nick would say, you know, Coach Juneau, I think we should do this defense. Lawyer in him. Congratulations, guys. Thank you. I got to spend last Friday with my fifth grade class at International Town, and we got to be Singapore, which was the World Bank. So I can relate to the power. Anyway, before we move on to consent items, we have several new hires this evening. Amanda, would you like to introduce them? Good evening, Dr. Capuchin, Board President Gilligan, and members of the board.

084I'm pleased to introduce you to seven administrator hires, some new to their roles and some new to our district. So we have two individuals who are out of country and out of state that I will introduce on their behalf, and I'll read a little bit about them. And then we also have a short video of introduction that they're sharing this evening, and then five in person. First individual is I'm pleased to announce Ms. Deborah Somerall is the Executive Director of District Security and Safe Schools, starting next school year. Deborah completed her undergraduate studies in psychology and criminal justice at the University of Alabama, where she also pursued graduate education and obtained a master of science degree in criminal justice. She has a strong background in law enforcement operations, encompassing over 25 years. Prior roles she

085served and include deputy and criminal investigator for Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office, police officer for Pelham Police Department, and armed area supervisor in Alabama. Since then, she has worked for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office and served as deputy for the community outreach unit, sergeant overseeing patrol in the school resource officers unit, and most recently lieutenant in the administrative unit. And she'll be transitioning here this summer. And thank you so much for your help. I'm Debbie Somerall, and I'm excited to be your new Executive Director of District Security and Safe Schools. In just a few weeks, I will retire from a 25-year career in local law enforcement in Alabama, and I'm eager to continue serving, using my experience and education to sustain reasonable yet proactive security and safety measures in St. Brain Valley schools. I want to

086thank Dr. Jackie Capuchin, Board President Gilligan, and members of the Board for entrusting me with this vital position and for the overlap with Mr. Richard Peebles, ensuring a smooth transition. I'm a proponent of servant leadership, transparent communication, layered security measures, and most importantly, maintaining the intention of the spaces for our children to have a welcoming environment to learn and grow. My door will always be open to welcome ideas or concerns. Thank you. And our next individual that we'll introduce by video as well is Mr. Kelby Benedict as the principal of Soaring Heights Pre-K-8. He graduated from CSU with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and completed his teacher prep program. He continued his education at CSU and earned his master's in education and human resource studies. He brings over 23 years of experience as an educator.

087He is in his second year serving as deputy principal at an international school in Turkey in a pre-K-12 system. He was previously a director at the Futures Lab, a career tech ed center in Puder School District, and he also was principal for four years at Wellington Middle High School and assistant principal at Puder High International Baccalaureate for six years. He also has experience in K-12 math curriculum facilitation, instructional coach, and math teacher. He filmed his time zone very different in Turkey, and so he really wanted to make sure he had the opportunity to introduce himself, and so here is a message from Turkey from Kelby. Good evening. My name is Kelby Benedict. Thank you for allowing me to engage with you this evening virtually. First, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Dr. Kapushin,

088Board President Gilligan, and members of the board for the opportunity to join the team at St. Vrain Valley School District. Soaring Heights is an exemplary community, and it is clear that staff believe in the success of all students and are intentional about student learning and engagement. I'm particularly thrilled to be joining the dynamic educators and leadership team at Soaring Heights. The foundation and culture that exists, along with the core values of responsibility, integrity, service, and excellence, aligns with my previous experiences and passions for student learning. I'm ready to dive into the energy of the hallways, the brilliance of the classrooms, and of course, the spirit of extracurricular events. As my family and I transition back to Northern Colorado after a two-year international post, I'm beyond excited to lead the intentionally curated learning at Soaring Heights,

089where there is a shared commitment to the whole child. I believe that every student from preschool through grade eight has unique potential that is both academic and social, and they deserve a learning environment that allows them to live into that potential. Lastly, I'm here to listen, to learn, and to work alongside our students, our staff, and community. I'm eager to hit the ground running and contribute to the academic excellence and innovation that has been intentionally designed for all students at Soaring Heights. Thank you again for welcoming me into the community. I look forward to meeting you all in person very soon. And now it's my pleasure to introduce our five individuals that are here this evening. So, Ms. Amy Forchet is joining us as the Director of Enterprise Systems in our DTS department starting next

090school year. She brings a background with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, continued her studies at Rollins College, where she earned her Master of Arts degree in Corporate Communication and Technology. Bringing over more than 25 years of experience to her new role, Ms. Forchet currently serves in our district as the Director of Special Projects in the DTS department. In this position, she provides strategic leadership and is responsible for the successful execution and advancement of our high priority cross-functional initiatives. In the past, Ms. Forchet has worked in senior leadership roles in the area of technology based project management, a strategic partner for cross-functional business units, and streamlining processes and operational efficiency. It's now my pleasure to welcome Ms. Forchet up to say a few words. Good evening, President Gilligan, members of the board, and Dr. Caputian.

091Thank you for having me. I'd also like to thank my family, friends, mentors, and leaders for all their support and guidance through the years. As a child, I always wanted to be a teacher. However, life circumstances led me down a different path. That path afforded me many opportunities to grow as an individual and in my career, and I'm grateful for it. It may have taken me a little longer to get here, but I am confident that now is the right time and the right place for me to be of public service, and I am privileged to do that here at St. Frayne. I'm excited to get started and grateful for this opportunity to serve and make a difference. Thank you. And next, I'm pleased to share and introduce that Ms. Katie Gustafson will be joining

092us as the principal of Lyons Elementary School. Ms. Gustafson graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a bachelor of arts degree in geography and a minor in psychology. She continued her education at the American College of Education, where she earned her master's degree in educational leadership. She brings close to 19 years of experience as an educator, currently in her fifth year serving as the executive principal at Flagstaff Academy, and brings experience as a middle school math and social studies teacher, also from Flagstaff Academy and the Collegiate Academy of Colorado. It's my pleasure to welcome Katie up to say a few words. Good evening. I'd like to first say thank you to Dr. Capuchin, to our board president. Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here tonight. For the last 15 years, I've

093had the honor of sitting on the periphery of the St. Vrain Valley School District as a part of one of St. Vrain's charter schools, Flagstaff Academy. I've got to work alongside so many different folks from our district leaders, Dr. Diane Lauer, our student services department, our special education department, our assessment department, and so many more, where I have learned and grown as an educator and as an educational leader. It's my honor to be able to join the Lyons Elementary community. And as you saw tonight, under the leadership of Mr. Andrew Moore, the wonderful legacy that he's leaving behind is very deep. Mr. Moore was actually the principal who hired me at Flagstaff Academy 15 years ago. And so this feels like a full circle moment to be able to walk in his shoes and to

094follow the good works that he's been doing, to really focus on student leadership, the importance of science and outdoor education, and also to ensure that the community that is so deep in Lyons continues under my leadership. Thank you so much. And next, it's my pleasure to introduce to you Ms. Lindsay Laporte, who will serve as the principal of Mead High School. We shared briefly about her earlier this season, and she brings a strong background in the area of education, has a degree in communications, a master of arts degree in digital teaching and learning, and a second master's degree in educational leadership. She brings over 17 years of experience in her new role, and is currently as the assistant principal at Mead High School. She has served in many leadership roles in our district, including dean

095of students, instructional coordinator, learning and technology coach, and math teacher. Her background in education also includes eight years as a math teacher for out of state. Lindsay, come on up. Hi, good evening. Thank you so much, board, Madam President, and Dr. Caputian. I am elated, to say the least, to be the next very, very, very proud principal of Mead High School. I came to Mead five years ago and really just found a home. My heart is in Mead. I love the community. I love the staff. I love the students. I actually had a senior just a couple days ago go, you're going to be the principal next year? And he's like, that's a bummer. And I was like, well, okay. And he's like, well, just because I'm not going to be here. And I was

096just, you know, warmed in my soul. I am so grateful for the support of St. Vrain to be part of this incredible system, the support of all of my mentors, of my family who sat through this whole board meeting very patiently with lots of bribes of ice cream. And, you know, I just, I love all students. I love education and I truly love high school students. I get excited thinking about graduation next week and getting them, you know, watching them walk in in ninth grade and then walking out in 12th grade as full-grown adults. It's really truly an honor. And I am so grateful that you trust me with this opportunity. And I promise to make you proud. And hands up. And next, it's my pleasure to introduce Ms. Colleen Ford as the assistant principal

097of Niwat High School. Ms. Ford graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor of science degree in biology, continuing her education at UNC with a master of arts degree in educational leadership. Colleen brings over 15 years of experience to her new role and is currently in her sixth year as the assistant principal athletic director at Lyons Middle Senior. She also served as assistant principal in that same building and as a science teacher back at Niwat High School. In addition, she served for Chassa as Mile High League president and as a member of their football and volleyball committees. Colleen, it's my pleasure to welcome you. Thank you, Amanda. I'm honored to be here tonight. I want to express my deep appreciation to Dr. Capuchin, Board President Gilligan, and members of the board for this opportunity to

098lead in St. Vrain, not only at Lyons Middle Senior, a community that I hold dear to my heart, but also as a new assistant principal at Niwat High School. As an athletic director currently, I've been fortunate to work closely with Chassa staff and athletic directors throughout the state. My son gave me a little bit of a tickle in my throat. Athletic directors throughout the state that have given me a perspective about high school athletics and activities that will always inform my leadership at the high school level, and I'm extremely grateful. I'd like to think as I leave a position as an athletic director and move into an assistant principal position, I would be amiss if I didn't recognize the people that supported me as I was an athletic director at Lyons and really informed me

099as a leader. And so I would like to thank Chase McBride I'd also like to thank Brian Lammer and his grounds and maintenance and custodial services who on many occasions would take text messages from me confirming that regional softball field is ready, et cetera, et cetera. I'd like to thank Matt Buckler. I'd like to thank Carla Allenbach, Sarah James and Chris Frank for their support and guidance and leadership throughout the years. I'm extremely grateful to all of you, all that you've done. I did have to make sure that Chase wasn't here, but I wanted to recognize him. He sounds like he's at lacrosse. I'd like to thank the Lyons community, the students, the parents, staff and coaches. It's a beautiful place and a beautiful community that I will miss greatly, but it's helped form my

100leadership throughout the last eight years that I've served there. I'm excited to continue this journey at Niowat High School, a community that I'm passionate about due to my roots as a Niowat High School graduate, also as a teacher and a coach previously. I look forward to meeting the families at Niowat because I believe that strong schools are built on the strong families and the strong community that you build around it. And so I'm looking forward to meeting them and working with them. From there, I would be amiss. I always joke with my husband, but I'd like to recognize my family and the family that I have that my kids go to and thank them for their support because our community, our parents, wouldn't be able to go do the jobs they do in our community

101without knowing that their kids are safe at our schools, especially at the elementary level, the middle school level. So I'd like to thank those teachers that are taking care of my kids. And then also my husband who takes care of me and makes sure that he's the rock behind what I can do because I couldn't do this job without him. And I want to recognize that. So thank you so much. Thank you for the time tonight. And I'm really looking forward to serving Niowat High School. And finally, it's my pleasure to introduce Mr. Brian Shanahan as the assistant principal of Erie Middle School. Brian graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in special education and physical education. Continuing his education at Grand Canyon University, he earned his master's degree in education administration. Mr. Shanahan

102brings over 16 years of experience as an educator and is in his seventh year serving as assistant principal and athletic director for Rocky Top Middle School. He taught physical education and health at Fort Lupton Middle School before serving the five years as their assistant principal. It's my pleasure to have Brian come up and say a few words. Thank you for coming. I would like to start off just a message of gratitude to Dr. Capuchin, President Gilligan and the members of the board for this opportunity to join this phenomenal district. I did a lot of research leading up to this and what I found through my research and through my experience as a parent in this district. The district and Erie Middle School puts community and students first and that was a driving force for my

103desire to join this district and the Erie Middle School community. I've had the wonderful opportunity to actually spend a day at Erie Middle already. I was able to go to all three lunch lunches, which is always a fun experience, lunches in May in middle schools. So that was a wonderful, fun experience for me and I was also able to attend a musical at Erie Middle and I was able to go to their path to sixth grade night and so what I've learned so far is the principal Smith and the team at Erie Middle and the students are just a phenomenal community and I cannot wait to be a part of that community and just want to say thanks again to the to the for this opportunity to join that that team in this this district.

104Thank you so much. Thank you and next board meeting we'll bring a few more introductions your way. Well great, congratulations to everyone on their new roles. Next up we have consent items. Would any board members like to pull any consent items this evening? No. Okay then I will ask for a motion to approve all consent items as listed in our agenda. By Meosha. Second. By Hadley. Mrs. Babs. Yes. Mr. Berthold. Yes. Mrs. Gilligan. Yes. Mrs. Horanek. Yes. Mr. Lechuga. Yes. Mrs. Solomon. Yes. Mrs. Weiss. Yes. Okay next up is action items. 8.1 recommendation exception to board policy DB, annual budget and adjustment of transfer from general fund to cap reserve for fiscal year 27. Tony welcome. Thank you. Good evening. So this recommendation is that the board of education approve a one-time waiver of a

105portion of board policy DB annual budget. This would be for the fiscal year 26-27 so that's next fiscal year. This would be included in the budget proposal that's going to be brought to the board next week. Excuse me, next director of the board meeting. This what this would do is pause the transfer from the general fund to the cap reserve fund. This would help bolster some of the resources in the general fund to provide for additional resources for programming and compensation for our teachers and staff. I did want to be very transparent here. This is characterized as a one-time transfer or excuse me a one-time waiver. This did happen last year as well. It is characterized that way because absent any additional recommendations or action by the board we would revert to the standard practice

106that is currently in board policy and resume that transfer the following year in FY28. So I just wanted to make sure it was clear yep this was last year and this year. That sounds like two times and not one time and indeed it is characterized as one time simply because we're operating on a year-to-year basis. So I just wanted to make sure I was available for any questions. The amount of the pause that would impact the general fund that would help bolster the general fund would be seven million dollars. That amount was 5.5 million last year and we'll revert back in FY28 absent any other action. I just had a question just to make sure and she said it's going to pause movement from the general fund to the cap reserve. It would actually pause

107a movement that would normally occur and is normally in board policy to transfer some resources from the general fund to the cap reserve fund. And what this does is pause that for a year to maintain or retain some resources in the general fund. This prevents some funds going to Brian and his team. They are busy working on bond projects and they're able to focus on that. And again we don't want to hinder their work too much but at this point with their focus on bond projects we're able to find an opportunity to keep some of those dollars in the general fund. Okay. Just wanted to make sure I heard that. Thank you. You bet. Do any other board members have questions? No? Okay. Then I'll ask for a motion. So moved. Second. And Meosha. Mrs.

108Babs? Yes. Mr. Berthold? Yes. Mrs. Gilligan? Yes. Mrs. Horanek? Yes. Mr. Lechuga? Yes. Mrs. Solomon? Yes. Mrs. Weiss? Yes. Okay. Last but not least we have board reports. Would anyone like to start? I know a lot of us see each other at a lot of events. I want to say two things. One, this is the most exciting time of year. It's a great time as things wrap up to celebrate achievements, retirees tonight, new hires, students, staff, and all of the families that support all of those layers. I won't mention my invigorating NOCO insurance board meeting. No. But it's really truly an exciting time and I just appreciate all the invites from all the layers of the district. We can't make it to everything but there's always something you can go to and I really want

109the public to just know that there's always something exciting to see. We listened to the arts recap tonight. There's always a beautiful performance to go and watch and show support to. So just exciting. Looking forward to graduation. So I have a couple of things. I attend usually a monthly, well it usually occurs monthly, but I attend the local Erie URA and this past URA in May and April. One of the things we've been talking about are new businesses and so part of that URA where new businesses come in, the school district receives certain portions from that, whatever those numbers may be. So that's really exciting to see that new businesses are coming into Erie. And then as many have stated, many of us attended the retirement dinner for long-standing teachers and staff in the district

110and that was really exciting to see that a lot of, I think I looked at the numbers and I think majority of them were at least 20 years or more and there was one that was like 40 something-odd years almost. So that's really exciting to see that they're moving on to different things in their careers, many of them wanting to spend time with family and grandchildren and then some just wanting to travel and do more different things. So we very much support that. And then I also attended the Prairie Ridge 25th anniversary, that was really cool to attend 25 years of that school and they went through the 25 years and I felt really old at that point. I was like, oh gosh, some of that stuff felt like really back there. Then I attended

111the Carbon Valley Chamber Awards where we were nominated for a large business award of the year and that was really exciting for the district to be able to be nominated for that and then on each month I attend the Erie High School Student Advisory Council meeting and that's a good way to look and see what our students are doing, some of the activities along with some of the data that Mr. Griffith presents and the end of the year activities that they're doing. So we're talking a lot about that and I'll be attending their graduation next weekend. Oh my gosh, it's crazy. And then last but not least, I attended this year's, I think this is the third year they've done this, the DU School Board Symposium where we had some guest speakers and then I

112attended specifically the AI Innovation and Future Learning. So always want to learn more about that. There were two folks who are in the, kind of like our IT or DTS if you will, who were talking specifically about AI and the things that they're doing in those areas within their district for DPS and APS which is, what is it, Aurora Public Schools. And then equitable student support where we talked about how we can support from different districts, how we can better support our students in the district. So I think those are some exciting and insightful forums that we had at the symposium. So that's kind of my list of things, kind of busy. Well, I don't want to repeat everything that we've also been to but we had the Education Foundation scholarships last weekend, $500,000 to

113our students and it's just a significant amount and a lot of children that I, students that I've known were getting, well I don't vote on them but there's a lot of people from our, the Student Advisory Committee cracked a lot of money out of that as well. So it was a great retirement dinner and great champion day. It was just, it's amazing stuff and just keep going. Tomorrow night I'll be doing the BOCES graduation at Skyline High School for the BOCES people. That's about it. Thank you all. I can go next. I just have a few highlights from my last month or so. One of them was mentioned tonight, the musical at Nyquot High School of the Little Mermaid, getting to watch Prudumphi B. Ursula. I just have to say it was, she's very deserving

114of her Bobby G nomination. It was really spectacular and I am always grateful for how like amazing the opportunities are to be entertained and inspired by our students and how hard they work. And I also really appreciated the shout out to all of the other aspects that went into that that are also being honored that are behind the scenes and maybe not as front and center. I had a great couple of school visits with Dr. Kapusin last week at Burlington and at Indian Peaks. And they were kind of in the middle of iReady and everybody was so focused and calm. And our administrators were on top of things. Teachers seemed to be very positively engaged students, very focused. So it was wonderful to watch that in action. And also got to see the presentation of

115Digger Carey at the Innovation Center, the astronaut speaking to students there. And it made me want to go back and do new things with my life as well. So I really am grateful for bringing in that space partnership that we have and a lot of things to learn and be excited about. And then lastly, I just want to give a shout out to all of the teachers and administrators and students who are powering through these last two weeks of school. I know that it takes enormous commitment and I am just very grateful. So keep going. Yeah, I've always said there's all types of tired, but there's no tired like a public educator in May. So we see you and we appreciate you. Yeah, just a quick stat that I learned this week attending the P-TECH

116end of year celebration. Just at Frederick for grades 9th through 12th, they earned almost 1,400 college credits. And I did a little calculation with the help of chat GBT. And that was about $420,000 that was saved. So I thought that was a really cool stat. Yeah, without trying to repeat everything everyone said, I think there's so much fun things going on this time of year. I think they call it May-Sember. But yeah, the retirement dinner was a real highlight. I just also like appreciate all of the activities I get to do with my own kids, field days, field trips, concerts. There's so many and they're all just so fun. I really appreciate all of the teachers that support those events. And just being able to participate sometimes from the sidelines, it's just so fun to

117watch our kids learning and growing. I'd also just like to say, I know we recognize several of the scholarships. I just want to say how much I appreciate how generous this community is. It is so heartwarming to see scholarships awarded. And I just feel, I mean, I'm getting a little emotional about it, but I feel like when someone believes in you, it changes the trajectory of your life. And so I just want to say thank you so much to all of the people that have donated to our students and believe in their futures. So yeah, thank you. I think that's it. All right, our next meeting is Wednesday, May 20th. We have a study session followed by a study session and regular board meeting on the 27th. With that, I'll ask for a motion to

118adjourn by Sarah and Jackie. All in favor? Aye. Aye.