001[Music] here so okay thank you good afternoon we'll call the special board meeting for Wednesday December 11th 2024 to order at 4 pm. roll call please miss Olson director P here director car here director Hayley here director Janson here director M Pam here director Nelson here director o here we have all seven board members in attendance in person in the boardroom um so before we get into the agenda for tonight that we do have a packed boardroom we also have media present at the back of the boardroom and uh possibly several people waiting outside uh or in the Overflow room back there um I know that there are a lot of emotions and sentiments uh based on the topic on today's a agenda and that's totally understandable but it's my responsibility to ensure efficient and
002effective conduct of Bo business with that in mind there are clear norms and expectations that everyone on this Das and in the audence audience are expected to follow so we can have professional decorum in the boardroom simple rule is to demonstrate courtesy and respect to each other especially when someone has been recognized and is speaking up there at the podium you may disagree or agree with the views expressed but the Democratic process is rooted in civil and courteous discourse and behavior and anything that that disrupts the professional decorum in the boardroom will not be doll with that thank you we'll move on to the today's agenda and please join me as we observe a moment of silence thank you adoption of the agenda director jensson can you please make the motion to adopt the agenda
003as presented yes I move that the Board of Education adopt the agenda as presented second moved and seconded Ro call please director bis hi director car I director I director Janson I director I director Nelson I director I the I havit the agenda has been adopted uh we do have the Pledge of Allegiance and uh security officer France Frank Vasquez uh please approach the podium here and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance please rise pledge of Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank sir thank you Officer Vasquez okay we do have public comments and uh the last time I checked with Miss and we have several public comments uh as a reminder uh going
004over the board protocol for uh public comments um the board welcomes and is very interested in listening to comments um uh please approach the podium uh when your name is called you have 3 minutes to deliver your remarks so please monitor the clock that is on display and complete your comments in that alloted time board meetings are primarily business meetings for the orderly and deficient contact of the business of the district keeping that in mind the clear expectation is that your feedback is provided in a civil professional and courteous manner without resorting to disparaging or defamatory remarks students are often in attendance or watching our broadcast speak speakers remarks therefore should be suitable for an audience that include minor students including no use of profanities or obscenities to adhere to the board policy and accomplish
005the work already on the agenda the board will not respond to comments during this time but I can assure you that your comments will be taken into consideration as we discuss agenda items to maintain the flow of the meeting and not have prolonged interruptions please refrain from clapping if you want to show support or solidarity to a speaker please stand as the speaker is talking or use a silent Applause lastly the statements made by the public do not reflect the views of the board or the district we usually have 60 Minutes uh for our comments I know that we have several comments out here we will see what we can do uh to get through these today with that um the first comment um Maria Bergman Miss Maria Bergman Miss okay thank you introduce yourself
006and you have 3 minutes good evening board my name is Maria Bergman and I'm a d resident I'm here tonight to ask that you end the master agreement with the local affiliate of the National Education Association CSA tonight you have a once in a generation opportunity to free our school district from the unaccountable grip of a far-left special interest group d11 Master agreement contractually demands that the union have shared decision-making power in the school district the master agreement creates an unequal Business Partnership between d11 and the CSA giving the Union the controlling interest in the Affairs and decisions of the district and what is your business partner doing outside the district the Washington examiner reports that last year the Nea spent more du's money on partisan politics than it did representing its own members here
007in Colorado Springs Nea Affiliates spend hundreds of thousands of dollars campaigning against many of you sounds like a bad business partner this agreement isn't about protecting teachers and it definitely isn't about what's best for kids it's about union bosses retaining their grip on you and on public education make no mistake this contract has nothing to do with with teacher salaries or benefits no other school district in El Paso County has a master agreement and yet until this school board came along d11 had some of the most underpaid teachers in the region the master agreement prevents the district from paying more for harder to fill positions and creates a cap on salaries as well you have spent the past three years significantly improving School District tonight if you end the master agreement you will prove that
008there is nothing you are unwilling to do to put kids teachers and parents first in this District thank you thank you Miss Jaclyn Robertson good evening board directors president malakam my name is jacine Roberson I'm a d11 taxpayer parent teacher at Palmer high school every day all day I'm the vice president of CSEA so I guess yes I am a union boss but again I'm every day all day in Palmer high school working with kids that matter more than anything to me the master agreement involves things like protecting teacher plan time for example and creating a framework around plc's this way when things become muddy and plan time is taken for PD or PLC we can address the issue together and collaboratively in Joint Council or within our buildings come to a solution so that
009we are able to um do what's best for our kids I want to make sure that teachers have the time they need to best serve their students with constructive feedback and rigorous lessons I want to make sure that teachers feel heard and that teachers have this opportunity to provide a voice to leadership this is just one of many things that matter to teachers and impact students that would likely be forgotten from a topown approach um should the master agreement not be renewed I volunteer my spare time for this work to be a union boss um I work hard in my job um at as a matter of fact as a 20-year career teacher I continuously strive for New Opportunities just last year I began developing a patient care technician course new to the district I
010am certifying students to be nursing assistants photomy techs and EKG technicians I also teach an IB Sports exercise and health science course medical Explorations human nutrition and freshman bio I work very hard and I want to be respected with the rights that we have bargain for in the master agreement I love the experiences that my own children have had with their d11 schools and I ask that the board view my children and all students as more than just a test score I also ask that their teachers have the rights that they need to ser and deserve as professionals as a taxpayer and a parent I truly believe that the work that I do is for my children too I want my children's teachers who are here here in the Overflow room right now watching on
011screen grading papers at home to maintain their workplace rights through the continuation of the master agreement the union is our teachers this is not a separate organization we are here doing the work in the classroom and we are asking to be heard regarding the needs of our students through IBB and I would like to add that the base salary was raised in the entire El Paso County region because of our bargaining in d11 thank you thank you Miss Valerie Buffa Valerie Buffa okay bua I'm sorry if I mispronounced your last name please introduce yourself good evening thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is Val buff and I'm a fourth generation educator with over 30 years experience across the United States for my family teaching is so much more than a job it's
012a calling it's our community service our civic duty our social responsibility our family Legacy I have seen this same level of devotion in teachers everywhere that I have taught I see the same depth of dedication in the educators of d11 and the members of CCA we are 100% committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure the success of our students to that end we rely on our collective bargaining unit and the master agreement to clearly delineate the rules and responsibilities the procedures and protocols the structures and systems like our country's Constitution it is a living document reflecting a thoughtfully negotiated Concord like the constitutional amendments it can be adapted and revised to remain responsive to changing Community needs both are designed to promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and
013our prosperity by coming together to review and renew the master agreement we are all modeling for our youth will we show them our commitment to a common purpose to civil discourse and seeking common ground or will our actions teach them to walk away from commitments that have become difficult with nearly 50% of first marriages in the US ending in divorce this is a lesson they already know Research indicates that children suffer the most when families tear aunder our students spend almost equal amounts of time at school and at home they have forged significant meaningful relationships with their teachers how much harm will the divorce of d11 and CCA do to our Collective children let's work this out let's come together in new ways to form new commitments and cooperatively for the good of our students
014our district and our community seek aord thank you thank you Miss Jessica Medina Jessica thank you my name is Jessica Medina I'm a school psychologist in school district 11 I've lived in working in d11 for over 20 years I have a child attending a d11 school I'm a stakeholder in the district and my working conditions and the school environment of my child and the students and families I serve are protected by the article set forth in the master agreement the master agreement and d11 teachers have been politicized and vilified as a left-leaning group working to preserve a document that forwards their own interests when in reality the master agreement outlines the working conditions for all teachers those within the district and those conditions directly impact the learning environment of our students it feels as though
015the majority of our school board and interest outside of deal want to take away those protections and have offered nothing in return this action does not benefit our staff nor our students as a D1 parent I want my child's teachers to have safe and secure working conditions such as smaller class sizes and manageable case loads as well as the time they need to plan and implement the learning activities and lessons that she benefits directly from as a D1 educator and parent I support the continuation of d1's Master agreement thank you thank you that's Jessica claen book good evening superintendent call and members of the board my name is Jessica clber I'm a first grade teacher at Wilson Elementary School I am here to with you today to share with you my journey that that brought
016me to d11 I found my calling at the age of 10 when a teacher helped me through a variety of different challenges in my life and after graduating from high school and college I was ready to take my place within the educational system and was looking for a school that would help me support students both academically and socially after working in three different private schools and a public school district in Colorado I came to Colorado Springs I came to to the city as a burnt out and defeated teacher because my previous schools did not support me emotionally it did not respect me as a professional I was looking for a new District to call home for the rest of my teaching career after interviewing in almost every single School District here in Colorado Springs I
017Came Upon a school that I knew in my gut was the place for me and after looking into d11 I felt the same way and after a short period of time I regained my passion for this job that I love so much every day the reason why is because the obstacles that prevented me from being my best self were gone I didn't stress about having time to eat or plan engaging lessons that are enriching for all of my students or to collaborate with my fellow Educators I didn't stress because of the master agreement and after being in the district for a couple of years I saw a different side it creates a bridge of collaboration between teachers and the district it allows teachers to have a voice and allows us to work with the district
018in order to create the best learning environment for all students last week I I was part of a group of teachers who had the opportunity to sit down with four of you this was this collaboration is needed for our district and one of those board members stated that they looked forward to Future collaborations but how can this happen when teachers feel disrespected and not heard last year one of you stated the master agreement was preventing d11 from moving forward but the truth is the master agreement is one of the reasons that teachers come stay and love this District my initial interview brought me to d11 and the master agreement allows me to do my job and what's best for all of my students every day it allows me to balance my d11 family and my
019personal family I want you to think carefully about the impact that moving forward to dissolve the master agreement would make with our district by doing so you're telling teachers students parents and the community that teachers don't matter how can we put the students first if we put the teachers last thank you thank you Andrew Sans sandstrom Mr Andrew sandstrom thank you good evening my name is Andrew sandstrom I'm a d11 Community member and I'm reading this letter on behalf of a teacher named James um kabi please accept my apologies for not being here in person but I have another meeting that I am attending my name is James kabi a resident of Colorado Springs and Veteran teacher for over 32 years in this area I have worked for and with d11 D20 and d49 schools
020I remember well a time when d11 rivaled those of D20 and cheyen Mountain School Districts many great people have come out of d11 and these other school districts how many more though have slipped through the cracks and been failed by the current system has the CSEA helped in collective bargaining and helped to increase teacher wages yes but under their Pur strings for well over the past 20 years I have seen d11 schools disserving too many students as a professional and concerned parent in the Colorado Springs Community I am asking you not to renew the master agreement with the Colorado Springs Education Association in my teaching career I've experienced districts that have Master agreements and those that don't the ones that don't are free to innovate as they are not bound to the W will of
021hyper political organizations like the CCA and those school boards are free to govern their districts with the will of their voters and constituents in mind it is in my professional opinion that D1 has been greatly stifled in the Colorado Springs region because of the master agreement d11 is held accountable to the union but has no mechanism by which to hold the union accountable this even presents the district from paying teachers more for those harder to fill positions the results of this half a century old contract are in in and myself and many in the community are not impressed with the results it's time for something new everyone knows public education works best when school districts are put in the hands of the public and not in the pockets of union bosses so in short I
022ask you please do not sell your souls and your creative rights to the unions and and their moneymaking schemes I ask as a concerned citizen that you do not renew this restricting contract thank you thank you Tracy Mor Tracy Mor Tracy yep good afternoon um don't we live in an amazing place where all children can go to school and learn about the great wide world out there public education is one of the greatest Enterprises ever undertaken again where all children are welcome um who does the work who makes sure that those children are educators it's the teachers I'm one of them in addition to science I teach my students the importance of looking at the world with a critical eye while maintaining a sense of empathy it's a tall order our Master agreement helps me
023fill that order it ensures that I am treated as a professional and given a voice in making decisions it allows me confidence to try different things in my classroom to better meet my students needs if I make a mistake I can model for my students how do you own up to that mistake and how do you Rectify it and I can do that without fear of reprisal I am fortunate to teach in a building with supportive and amazing admin not every teacher in this district has that I ask you to please extend the ma so that all teachers can feel that support thank you thank you Miss Martha Alvarez Martha Alvarez good afternoon I'm Martha Alvarez and I speak tonight as a parent of two Palmer high School grads I am also a Palmer high
024school teacher a taxpayer and a union board member this is my 30th year of teaching I first want to address the way we were made to feel so unwelcome this afternoon even though we ran here from school as fast as we could as soon as that bell rang we had to stand in the foyer with d11 security walking back and forth to make sure that we stayed put this meeting was called at an hour that prevents attendance from our coaches our moms and dads of young children um and our second job holders and so forth I'm dismayed that an important decision like this is scheduled at SC 24 hours out my strengths as a teacher lie in long-term planning I am a logistics person at heart and wonder frequently about the circle of consideration versus
025the circle of consequences our considerations are so small and the consequences huge currently d11 has the only teacher contract around teachers have moved here specifically to work here because of that contract what does the contract grant us the right to teach about controversial topics Evolution being one of my favorites notice the address this is the only illustration on all of Darwin's Origin of the species another one of the classes I teach is environmental science and that is such a hopeless topic and getting our students to learn when the hope is thin is something that is near and dear to my heart and right now the hope is thin amongst our teachers so what really is the issue around the contract surely acknowledging the importance of plan time and its amount and frequency cannot be a
026problem academic freedom to create lessons that are age appropriate for our students is surely an expectation of teaching knowing that our safety is a concern and our health benefits are guaranteed and that we have a duty-free lunch is important protections from being assaulted should be a given we expect to collaborate that's a responsibility and a privilege and we treat it as such we collaborate over issues like calendars school bell schedules and so forth d11 is going to face a teacher shortage would doing away with a master agreement encourage more teachers to come work for our district or does the master agreement allow us to perform our jobs better because we have hope we have less stress because we know what the rules the regulations the expectations are we know the processes you see teachers like
027students do better when the ground RS are known and not changed spur of the moment unions are about the Dignity of work our master agreement allows us to know specifically the rights and responsibilities thank you your time is Mr Larry Langston Larry Langston backra thank you i' I'd like to make a suggestion that since some of our folks are further out um perhaps you could mention the next person who is speaking so they can know the round deck yeah thank you thank you James sailor is on Tech the next one is James sailor after Larry Langston thank you director my name is Larry langson I'm a parent and a grandparent of two granddaughters that are in this District so good evening members of the school board superintendent um who is the customer and I asked
028that question out front boy they didn't even give me a drink of water but my son and his wife and my two granddaughters that's who the customers are and you guys know who the customers are thank you for giving me the opportunity as a d11 community member to speak with you today I want to address important topic that many in our community have expressed curiosity about the master agreement this document currently governs the operations of our schools yet it's not fully understood by everybody it mean it's 123 pages long first let's discuss what the master agement is and how it influences our schools and decision-making processes is important to recognize that the master agreement is not created by our elected school board members the people in front of me right here who represent our communities
029with is cuz we voted you guys in it is also not developed by our school superintendent who sits right there who manages our District's daily operations instead the master agreement is crafted by an external organization the teachers union this document outlines the terms and conditions that affect various aspects of our district including Staffing pay scales and working conditions while we appreciate the intent behind the master agreement to protect our Educators we must consider its implications for our students their families the district's governance and when I was reading this document you don't mention parents until like page 33 on this document which I would think would be on page one they're the customer these constraints limit our ability to make decisions that address our needs of our students in this C crucial post pandemic period when
030our an outside entity like the teachers union exerts a significant influence over our schools raises important questions about our community to local governments and our ability to do what is best for our students if the direction of our district is largely Guided by a document not created by endorsed by our local leaders and not focused on what's best for our students we must consider what this means for family and Community representation in local elections are the voices of the parents students and the local leaders truly being heard when so much Authority is being vested by an external agreement I don't think so matter of fact my my son sends his kids to District 20 I believe this is the time for us to come together and consider how we can foster a more balanced and
031collaborative approach to moving forward our decisions must reflect our values our needs of our community in conclusion this is not about understanding the hard work of our teachers rather it's about ensuring our local leaders individual we elect have the authority to guide our schools effectively thank you for your attention and dedication to our community's future thank you two seconds so James sailor the next one is Stacy at thank you president m Pam I am James sailor former 15-year teacher of the German and Japanese languages at Mitchell High School a teacher's Union is not a part of public government it is a private Corporation why does this matter Article Five of the master agreement codifies the transfer of the authority of the citizens from the school board to the master agreement it says the board retains
032All rights except to the extent that those rights have been limited by the provisions of this agreement Article 5 means that the governing principle of d11 is the transfer of authority of the elected school board and the principles of the schools to the Colorado Springs Education Association which is an un elected private Corporation every article and line item in the master agreement takes away the authority of School principles to lead the teachers and the parents together the adults who care the most for their students and who are most closely involved in their students education you the d11 school board can choose to let the master agreement expire if you do after 56 years you will restore the authority of the citizens of d11 over their Public School District you will restore the authority of the
033school board to govern and you will restore the authority of School principles to lead the teachers and the parents together to give our schools good discipline and positive adulthood you will take the first and found ational step to reverse the 56-year downhill slide of the achievement of d11 students all the other school districts in our County don't have a master agreement why 140 of0 school districts in Colorado don't have a master agreement why because the conscientious members of those School boards choose to be accountable to their citizens and not to a private Corporation teachers union let this be the day that d11 makes history let this be the day that this board returns public education to the public thank you thank you Stacy there and the next one is Kate dang Kate dang good evening
034members of the board teachers parents and community members my name is Stacy a ad D I'm a 19-year teacher in d11 there are several hundred nonunion teachers obviously I'm not wearing red so I am a non-union teacher recently I heard that the teachers union claims to represent all teachers but as I reflect on this claim several questions come to mind does the teachers union truly represent all teachers when it donates thousands of dollars to far-left Democrats in Colorado Springs how does that align with representing all teachers regardless of their political views does the union represent all teachers when it locks out a non-union teachers lawyer from an HR meeting that was my experience because of the Union's sole representation as outlined in the master agreement my lawyer was told he couldn't attend the meeting leaving
035me without representation at a critical time does the union represent all teachers when only union members are appointed to important District decision-making committees does the union represent all teachers when it did nothing for the staff at Mitchell High School after all teachers and staff were fired where was the Union's support for those Educators who were left without a job does the union represent all teachers when it spends teachers dues to participate in the the local lgbtq parade are all teachers comfortable with their dues being used in this way or do some feel this political activity is not representative of their beliefs does the union represent all teachers when it makes statements against capitalism even go Governor polus a Democrat took notice and spoke out against this shouldn't the union be focused on issues that deal
036with education not pushing political ideologies does the union represent all teachers when it's to leaders wear badges to school badges to school with QR codes linking to explicit sexual material these badges were given out at the teachers union conference is this the kind of representation that Educators want to stand for if any of these questions I've asked resonate with you I invite you to consider joining an alternative non-political Teachers Association like the American Association of Educators for just 1950 a month you can receive legal representation two $2 million in liability insurance and access to your own legal advice without any political agenda or ideology AAE will be there to guide you through any workplace issues including bullying and harassment last year while campaigning for Schoolboard candidates my car window was broken and after last week's
037speech I received a threatening email that I have since reported to the police I asked this board to protect all teachers and all students from the political influence that the teachers union brings into our District we must make sure that District 11 is a place of learning growth and opportunity for everyone free from divisive political ideologies thank you Kate djun and the next one is Mara West Marsha West having a good evening okay apologize sorry one moment uh I am Kate D young I am an educator at North Middle School I hopped across the street because um I feel like I kind of have a unique insight into sort of this issue uh so for context I did my student teaching training in Buffalo New York and the school that I was at is in
038the Buffalo Public School District and for those who are unaware that is one of the strongest uh teachers unions in the country or at least it was at the time that I was there and I just kind of want to report on sort of how I felt how the teachers felt and joted down some notes I promise so the school that I was at and the district I was in we saw high achievement we saw motivated students we saw dedicated teachers because they were able to trust that they were going to be working with the same people because there wasn't a high turnover and they were able to build relationships they were able to feel secure in their job and that allowed them more energy and more ability to dedicate themselves to their students and
039their achievement but that was not my only teaching experience when I moved out to Colorado Springs I moved to uh worked with the district that will remain nameless for the moment and this District did not have a union and I want to report what I saw there actually I say I didn't have a union uh to be perfectly uh Frank and honest they had a union years before I got there but it was broken by people like these lovely blue shirts right here and I want to report what I saw uh so no Union um it was a priority turnaround School uh we had abysmal graduation rates uh there was incredibly High turnover I I cannot emphasize enough how high the turnover was at our schools it made the news okay uh in my second
040year there my entire department sa for two people left okay and six months after I left only one person remained this is what we're signing up for if we abandon the master agreement okay so I understand that some people up here have some experience with the military and I want to pose a question okay what is the importance of unit cohesion how vital is that for achieving the goals of a unit and a team can you cohesively come together as a unit if you have a revolving door in your unit if there is a revolving door of teachers how can you unify the idea that eliminating the master agreement will improve student outcomes is pure fiction I have seen it with my own eyes these people they're playing make belie and that's their business but
041it becomes my business when they're playing it with our students Futures I urge you renew the master greement and stop playing politics with our kids thank you thank you Marsha West and the next one is Lynn Chesler hi there I'm Marsha West um I am a proud Marauder at Mitchell High School and I absolutely love my job um I have been in District 11 for 29 years I have seen uh Julie 's kids go through sa Middle School I have worked with Sandy bankis as assistant principal I even had Jason Jorgenson in my seventh grade Beth class uh so I have been around the district and I am a dedicated teacher who has devoted most of my life to d11 and our students I think there is some misunderstanding and misinformation about what CCA is
042we are your teachers in your District we are not this scary powerful political Lobby that d11 momentum is trying to portray we have a passion for students for Learning and for teachers teaching we are the boots on the ground and more than anything we want each and every one of our students to learn grow and succeed that is why we became teachers our Union used to have a great partnership with the board and the district we all used to work together for what was best for students and it felt like we were on the same team for 56 years we had an agreement where everyone came to the table in the spirit of collaboration and trust that should mean something to us all we have that kind of partnership at metell high school between our
043building CA representatives and George Smith our principal why can't we have that kind of partnership and mutual respect from our district leaders our board and our CSA directors I keep hearing that this board um is very Pro teer but I don't see it and I don't feel it in fact it feels like we are under attack and being vilified because we want a voice and a seat at the table with a representation of our Union and I can't help but wonder why what is it that the district and the board want to do that they can't do Under The Master agreement what is it that you all need that can't be worked out through collaboration and bargaining I come to you in the spirit of cooperation collaboration and professionalism with a strong desire to advocate
044for our students teachers staff and Community my hope today is that the board will hear our voices and do the right thing for all d11 students and staff by preserving the master agreement thank you Lyn Chesler Miss Lyn chestler the next one is cantis Miss cantis green cantis green good afternoon board my name is Lyn chesla I am a grandparent of children in d11 school my kids went through a d11 also I spent eight years as the Palmer Pride president down at Palmer I would like to start by Reading part of the master agreement did you know the contract protects protects academic freedom in the classroom the contract gives the right to teachers to teach controversial issues given the lesson age is appropriate the contract allows them to determine instruction appropriate for students to me
045controversial issues should be discussed at home with your parents or your guardian I don't think that should be discussed in school if I want my grandkids to know about certain things I will talk to them about it not get somebody else's agenda and guide them towards that way what is happening to teaching Reading Writing math science English and history that's what teachers are for I have been dismayed by the disregard disregard shown to the speakers at these meetings is this being taught in class that if you disagree with something you turn your back on that teacher I just it has bothered me since the meeting last week if the m agreement allows the teachers to disregard the wishes of the board whom the parents grandparents elected then it should absolutely not be renewed I thank
046you the superintendent and the superintendent and the board for making things right for our children thank you Miss candas green and the next one is Dr Angelica Giver Pierce Angelica Giver is on Deck um good evening I'm Candace green it's nice to see all of you um everyone for coming out tonight um introduce myself briefly I'm a daughter of a naval Adat class of 50 Annapolis my son is Air Force recruiter um I support teachers I support all public service I support military but I support more than anything else I support respect I'm a published author I have been a teacher for 33 years in three different states in four different school districts in those three states and I have four master's degrees in all of these years not once not one time have I
047ever felt so disheartened disrespected and disillusioned and I worked in Harrison District too for seven years just so yall know um I'm here this evening to speak on behalf of my fellow teachers wherever they might be in out or teaching clubs at school or Sports I am here on behalf of them and myself and my family I chose D1 because of what it has to offer children I chose D1 for what it does for children and if that m agreement helps us do that for children then I made the right choice I wanted stability sustainability hope opportunity I wanted to finish my tenure strong I have five to seven years left here in education maybe more and I seek to be the best for all my students I seek to be my best self for
048all my families yet the school district all of us in this room can't see eye to eye we can't seem to put our children first and in or in by taking teachers attention away from our students in in this manner we are not doing what's right by them I taught my club after school today and I raced over here because I wasn't about to leave my students hanging at a very good part of my book that we're reading thank you very much thank you Dr Angelica gier fears and then the next one is Rebecca kerine Miss Rebecca kerine good evening board I'm Dr Gibler VES as you all know and I am a teacher we have heard a lot from community members that make a lot of claims about we do and what we don't
049do I'm here to tell you what we actually do in my 16 years I have many moments to celebrate last week I celebrated with a student whose mom was told she is now cancer-free today I cried when a student that is a struggling reader doubled his reading score last quarter I laughed when a kid told me that I tricked him into liking a book that we read as a novel study I let Bruce koville know as well they're extremely difficult times as well I've received a phone call on a Sunday night because the parents an aunt and uncle of several of my students died that day in a plane wreck I've helped students navigate the laws of friends I've collected food from Neighbors friends and families to drop off on my students pits because of
050the co shutdowns and their families not being able to get food to their kids I have adjusted entire your units to go online to be hybrid and then back in person I have again adjusted whole units because my current students have different needs but also different skills because they were impacted by covid in kindergarten and first grade teaching is more than following a script it is so much more teachers are exhausted in leaving the profession to the extent that we are in a crisis lack of pay but also respect are the leading causes I worked in a district that lost collective bargaining overnight our health benefits went up and our deductible was $5,000 for an individual plan time was pulled and all specials teachers were let go respecting teachers looks like allowing the voices of
051the people that directly impact students to be heard collective bargaining with a master agreement allows those voices to be heard why would you want to lose more teachers when our students need them we need to respect teachers and keep the master agreement I have invited all of you into my classroom and to our school numerous times come see what we do at the beginning of the school year I had 32 fifth graders in my room we fought to get a third teacher luckily we did because now we have over 70 kids in fifth grade and there's no way we could teach them with that many kids we cannot lose teachers we need all of them do not run off teachers extend the master agreement thank you Miss Rebecca canine Le Lisa shot is the next
052one Lisa shot good evening superintendent Gul president Mel palcon and board directors my name is Rebecca oo kerine and I'm a retired substitute teacher in d11 thank you for allowing me to share my experiences as a teacher within the union this evening I appreciate your commitment to understanding the challenges we face I began my journey with District 11 in 2004 as a power professional and my bilingual skills provided me with the opportunity to take on the elll aison role at Wilson Elementary in 2005 when I received my teaching license I felt pressure from the union to join it was difficult for me to navigate this decision and I was concerned about potential legal challenges that could arise from my role as a teacher out of fear for my future I decided to become a member
053although it was not not a decision I took lightly during my time at Wilson I participated in community efforts to advocate for our salaries alongside my fellow teachers however there were challenges I encountered that left me feeling unsupported a significant incident occurred between myself and another teacher where I sought the Union's representation only to be told that due to a conflict they could not assist us this was disheartening especially since I had been diligently paying my dues in good faith believing that the union would provide me the protection we deserved this prompted me to drop my membership with csca I also faced difficulties during the closure of wson high school in addition Mitchell High School left many teachers without a job and the union did nothing for them these situation raised questions about the union
054support during critical itical times it pains me to share that the information provided about the master agreement often felt misleading there are beneficial labor laws that are for teachers in Colorado that protect employees I found many of the assurances regarding the Union's protections to be lacking contrary to what was communicated to us I learned that many benefits are provided by the district rather than the union itself and that unions can sometimes times inadvertently hinder individual recognition and rewards for outstanding performance I truly believe that the power and the influence of the Union within District 11 needs to be reconsidered it is my hope that the board will take the concern seriously and think about how we can work together to create a more compassionate and supportive environment for all Educators and students thank you for
055your time and attention Thank you Lisa shot and the next one is Lori Watson Lori Watson good evening um so I spoke last week and um I just want to say that I wasn't wearing anything offensive because my face wasn't shown along with all the others and I am dressed exactly as I was last week so I'm not sure why my face didn't get up there when everybody else's did but the conversations last week that I heard the the speeches that were up here we talk a lot up here union bosses it was political parties the national Nea things and just like someone else said I am the union it is your teaching that are here when I come into this room I speak my truth I feel a sense of responsibility to give you
056the facts and reasons behind that and every teacher who has stood up here has done the exact same thing given you so many examples of their day and what we need to be giving to you to know the proper things that you need to help us with but what I'm hearing from the others is the words control threaten bullied intimidation big bad words these are generalizations and they allegations with no proof I am professionalism we are supporting nurses counselors Librarians all types of Educators our specials teachers we are supporting each other I am solidarity what's really hard coming into this room is I do not feel supported when I come in here there is control of the media just like my face wasn't shown there's control of the media what's on the screen there is
057control of the public messaging last year when you guys said that you gave the $50,000 salary you made no mention that that was in collaboration with us that was part of bargaining bargaining is both sides coming together you have issues and we came together to work on that but we don't get to be part of that public messaging and that's hard comments we're told that we can't badmouth somebody but last year the ca president was badmouthed not CA badmouthed and nothing was said to stop that person but when someone mentioned a name didn't badmouth them it was stated that they had to stop or they would be removed from their speaking it's hard to come into this room when I don't feel that I get the same treatment as everybody else I am Justice okay
058I am your union and just like I said last week it is not US versus them it is about working together to create a stronger more vibrant educational community and I invite anyone to come to a sack meeting a PTO meeting because we don't see people there they're here but why aren't you at our schools I ask that you keep the master agreement thank you thank you Lori Watson Miss Lori Watson the next one is Cheryl sailor Miss Cheryl sailor this should be familiar to the board members because I sent it to you last month dear board members in the 11 Community my purpose to speaking to you today is to give you my input in negotiations and approving our Master agreement with the teachers I know that some of you don't see things as
059I do but I am hoping that giving history from my own perspective that will help you to understand our point of view for 56 years we've managed to keep the peace with the master agreement I would like to see this continue with any issue that I've had in this district for 25 years Master agreement has helped me to know what my options were once it helped me to see that I had not fulfilled my obligations in the situation I was in see the master agreement is not one-sided document it is a collaboration between the board the administration and the teachers all sides have input into it negotiations it changes to meet the needs of the times each year we have the ability to discuss and change the language to fit the situations that arise it
060is mutually negoti negotiated mutually beneficial and mutually respectful of all sides obligations teachers are your front line with students we have an agreement with you to help us to do our jobs WorryFree the master agreement is unique we have the ability to use the to use it productively for half a century last year was the first year that we had to take grievances to the arbitration level because the master agreement was not followed we used the procedures outlined in the master agreement to fight back and we were right according to an outside judge in the matter this shows that our teachers do need this protection and that it is valuable of course you should choose to dispose of this agreement we have to fight back again and the m and the master agreement is clearly
061the reason that we've had very little litigation over the years so I have a few questions do you have no desire to collaborate with your teachers you make us take training that we will collaborate with our students you think the teachers do not deserve a say in their working conditions or their pay are you afraid of our teachers their needs and their opinions if you have issues with the master agreement they should be brought to negotiations and settled in that method that we've also always done so not without without the litigation and the lawyers lastly my Association is made up of teachers we are not Union thugs we do not threaten political action almost all teachers are part of the association because it's our professional organizations to have say some something to say in our
062working conditions and treatment it's our choice and it's if you do not respect our choice it means that you don't respect us you're teachers we have a lot to do together to make this discour one of the best our associate ation is not going to prevent you from that goal so I ask you to leave it alone anything else is contrary to the goal it is our right to organize and we have always sought to to behave collaboratively and have an attitude about this with our association to work with the board and the administration to do what is best for our students please join us in that effort and stop this animosity that is building on both sides something I've never seen before have a good day okay um I've got about uh a dozen
063more public comments left and I'm going to we are at the our one hour Mark um so I'm going to look at the board and see if the board is interested in going through the rest of the public comments and um uh if you give me a thumbs up then uh if I got the collective of the board I can continue with the public comments out here okay okay I've got four more than four okay thank you uh we will continue with the rest of the public comments in a respectful manner as we've been doing thank you um Miss uh Cheryl sailor and the next one is car Cara Prime Cara Prime good evening board superintendent Gul and fellow community members let's begin with prayer heavenly father thank you for this opportunity to get together
064as a concerned Community to participate in actions taken by the Board of Education in regards to the education of our children please provide the wisdom and courage for each of our board members to do the right thing and keep us all focused on what is best for our children we are blessed and so grateful we pray in jesus' name amen my name is Cheryl sailor and I come before you as a parent of two graduates from District 11 and the concerned grandparent of two children currently attending the district I am taxpayer and D 11 and I have actively been involved in The District activities for about the past 5 years I feel that I am fairly well versed in the facts of what our board and our district have been up to over these past
065years I go through a long list of their accomplishments but time is limited suffice it to say I'm particularly proud of the focus and progress in academic achievement for our children and in support of that the priority of getting and retaining the best possible teachers now to the point of the master agreement the reason most of us are here today I was alarmed by the recent statement from a teachers union newsletter where they emphasized that the master agreement protects their freedom to teach controversial issues in the classroom they declared quote our contract allows us the right to determine the instruction even if the d11 school board votes otherwise now this is very troubling I have supported this board and quite frankly had my boots on the ground to help get them elected because their values
066align with my values as well as the tens of thousands of people who voted the same way why should a master agreement enable teachers to undermine the values me and my community cherish I trust this board to continue to work toward the best for our children in pursuing high academic standards and in eliminating the agenda supported by the Nea CA and CSEA best demonstrated by eliminating the equity Department in the early days of the employment of our new superintendent on behalf of my fellow community members I de cl to the board to vote to dismantle the master agreement and return control of District 11 to our board this will ensure our schools continue to serve the interests and values of this community and keep the children and academics at the Forefront of their actions thank
067you for your time thank you cara Prime carna Prime and the next one is Josh Rumple Josh Rumple okay I'm going to call again Cara Prime p r i m Cara Prime okay I don't see uh a Cara Prime so Josh Rumple the next one is Val deor Val demort Mr Rumple go ahead good evening my name is Reverend Josh Rumple and I'm the associate minister at First Congregational Church in downtown Colorado Springs a few of my congregation at the church are District Educators and many of the Children and Youth are d11 students I'm speaking today in support of our Educators and students and thus in supports of the overall health and vibrancy of d11 as a whole I have been Gravely disappointed by the actions of you the school board your continued efforts to
068undermine public education your your desire to get rid of the amass your agreements and your lack of respect for educators students and the community itself is disheartening and discouraging personal agendas and partisan politics have influenced your decisions and the decisions you make on behalf of the largest school district here in Colorado Springs we've already witnessed an exodus of Educators because of you and I fear there will be an even greater Exodus if the master agreement is canel if this is your goal good job if you want our students to be less educated less respected and less welcome keep up the work for so many students school is a safe haven from the chaos of their life teachers work so incredibly hard to educate as well as to make our students better humans I'm confident that
069our teachers work harder than most people with much less pay and much less support Dr malakam wrote these words as we look into the future we are committed to the Visionary mission of Mrs Palmer ensuring all our students receive a rich and rigorous educational experience built on fundamentals while providing them multiple Pathways to explore their passion for continuous improvements and learning beautiful words but I dare say ending the master agreements will threaten the very premise of these words don't cancel it Schoolboard our community is watching begging you to do the right thing our Educators deserve our support thanks thank you Val deot the next one is aiga bman but Val Val de deor de morti no okay aaya Bergman aiga bugman aiga bugman pass today okay thank you Joel senson Joel senson the next one
070is Trevor m o Trevor Malloy good evening board my name is Joel Sorenson I'm a former d11 student and a current d11 resident I'm here tonight to ask you to end the master agreement with the local affiliate of the Nea for 50 years the master agreement has allowed a special interest group which Advocates on behalf of the far-left across this country and here in this community control of the steering wheel which this community elected to give you let that sink in an organization which spends millions of dollars to democratic political causes an organization which spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep you out of this board is allowed shared governing authority to lead the district in this contract our community elected you they elected your vision just a couple of weeks ago the union
071said in a newsletter to their members that they literally have the ability to override your decisions on curriculum and instruction they did so advocating by the way in defense of the master agreement that wasn't a slip of the tongue that was a reason to keep it so that they could continue to have this authority over your decision making make no mistake this has nothing to do with kids it has nothing to do with protecting teachers it has to do with a half century of special interest power losing control of this school district the reason that I know that is because it is the only District in this County which has a master agreement and yet every other district has competitive with d11 pay and benefits and until you came along d11 was well Behind these
072other districts despite having a master agreement far longer than you've been here it doesn't have to anything to do with teachers it doesn't have anything to do with students it has to do with special interest power so do not be intimidated when the threats and lies come at their loudest and I know that you've already received them know that this community is behind you 27,000 people 27,000 people don't sit in this room tonight they don't stand outside 27,000 people have jobs and kids in this District their parents and their community members and many of them are teachers who feel intimidated by this Union they elected you for tonight tonight is the reason that this board is here tonight you have the opportunity to fulfill your mandate you have the opportunity to release District 11 from
073the Feds that have bound it for 50 years so take courage take heart thank you very much for your work in these last three years and fulfill your mandate and the master agreement thank you very much Trevor Malloy okay the next one is Jennifer strombeck Jennifer strombeck good evening school board members Educators and community Community thank you for giving me Trevor Malloy d11 resident the opportunity to address you I come before you not out of opposition but out of a deep concern for our students schools and community's future schools are meant to be a beacon of learning integrity and opportunity they should instill in children not only knowledge but also the values that make America strong Freedom responsibility and the ability to think critically however when an organization aligns itself with ideologies that conflict with
074those values we must examine its role and influence with clear eyes and Open Hearts it is no secret that some leaders and policies within this teachers union have supported ideas and organizations that oppose American capitalism and promote communism this is deeply troubling for several reasons communism as history painfully teaches us undermines individual liberty stifles free thought and erodes the very principles upon which every public is built the question we must ask is whether an organization with such association should be entrusted with shaping the policies that directly affect children's education I want to be clear this is not an attack against the hardworking dedicated teachers who show up every day to inspire and educate our educators are heroes but the union is not a classroom teacher it represents its own political agenda one that prioriti IES
075power and dominance over education and Excellence continuing this master agreement would Grant undue influence to an organization whose priorities aren't aligned with what is best for our community or students instead of fostering an environment of impartiality independent thought and a love for Liberty it would risk politicizing education and compromising the values we strive to uphold terminating this agreement is not about creating division but about reaffirming our commitment to these principles it is about ensuring that our schools remain places of learning not platforms for ideological influence as taxpayers and members of this community we entrust the school board to carefully consider the organizations and policies that shape our schools this moment requires courage it requires leadership by severing ties with this Union we are sending a message that our community stands for accountability freedom and the
076best interests of Education over politics I urge you as stewards of our education system to take a stand instead of empowering a centralized Union with questionable affiliations we should be empowering our local Educators directly and building a system that prioritizes children and families by doing so we not only uphold the values of our community but also set an example for our children about the importance of standing up for what is right thank you and may we have the courage to do what is right Jennifer stromek and the next one is um Tom Jacobs Tom Jacobs my name is Jennifer strombeck and I'm speaking tonight as a parent and as a resident of d11 as a lifelong Colorado Springs resident I graduated from District 20 but when I purchased my home I looked specifically within d11
077because I wanted to send my three children to District 11 neighborhood schools I listened to the board meeting a few weeks ago and heard many comments from community members that identified themselves as residents of d11 or residents of Colorado Springs I didn't hear from the parents of d11 students I think it is easy to become afraid of what we don't know what many community members don't know is what is actually being taught in schools they fear that schools want to undermine their values as parents as a parent I understand the fear but as an involved parent in d11 those fears are unfounded my three students have been enrolled ever since preschool and are currently in grades 12 10 and 8 we have had dozens of amazing teachers over the last decade and a half who
078have shaped them to who they are today in addition to meeting and exceeding expectations on both math and reading standards here is just a sampling of what they've learned to play an instrument to read and write in Spanish to code to develop and publish a gear book to maintain a bicycle to write a personal college essay to swim competitively to be a good teammate to build a robot to collaborate with others to create a budget to speak in front of groups to understand how government works to keep trying when things are hard and of course calculus but never a political agenda my senior is waiting for her College decisions her Top Choice is so far away from home but I know wherever she goes she got there because her d11 teachers who are experienced knowledgeable
079and trustworthy my middle child dreams of becoming a teacher like Mrs Moyer but I have been cautioning her against it because like all parents I want my children to pursue careers that make them feel valued and fulfilled but also where they are respected and treated fairly I hope that the board considers showing that they value the professionalism of their teachers by maintaining their agreement and protecting teaching as a sustainable career but when Darth Vader said I'm altering the deal pray I don't alter it further we know how truly ruthless he is when the special interest groups that have no personal stake in d11 move on to a new project the rest of us will still be here because we are the d11 community the voters the voice thank you for your time thank you Mr
080Tom Jacobs the next one is Mr William James good evening board members superintendent go and community members my name is Tom Jacobs I first started working in District 11 in 2002 at dhy high school was there for 3 years then I got bored and joined the Peace Corp left the country for a few years came back and decided to rejoin District 11 because I was so impressed with the experience I had the first time when directly dwon high school was there for 5 years until it closed so for those of you who mentioning me thank you very much I appreciate the recognition from there I went to Mitchell immediate well except for I went back to the peace score and then I went back to Mitchell and I was there for uh the last 11
081years which means I was there for the closure uh four years ago that was also a difficult position I appreciate the recognition for that as well thank you every time you turn around I can't hear you I was just thanking them for recognizing what we went through at wson at Mitchell thank you Sandra um about 30 years ago in my first year of teaching I founded a student at the end of the course I did a survey and and I asked the students to give me their feedback on how the course went for them that year and I I'm here 30 years later I still remember her name and I still remember what she said she said I'd rather chew off my thumb than take your course again I failed that student I don't mean
082she failed the course I mean what I did for her I failed and I think on reflecting on what happened I failed to listen to her I failed to get to know her earlier today I was given a transition ition assessment to one of my students I work in special education transition were preparing students to live life beyond high school and on this transition assessment which was a self-determination assessment was a question it was a simple question it said other people like me and he checked I disagree there are only two options I agree or I disagree he checked I disagree this is a great kid he's a wonderful child I knew he had read the problem wrong because he had a learning disability so I took the question back to him because i' learn
083learn my lesson I need to listen to my students I need to listen to the people I serve I went back and I asked him I said is this true or not and he said that's true nobody likes me and then a conversation happened that would not have happened if I didn't listen to him for the past couple of weeks I've been walking around Mitchell asking teachers how do you feel about the board canceling the master agreement I'm telling you you need to listen to us the teachers who are in the building please do not cancel the master agreement right now in my life I'm having to ask my question do I want to continue to work for this District or chew off my own thumb I bet I find another option and I hope
084we can too please extend the master agreement have a good night Mr William James William James okay the next one is Sharon Simpson Sharon Simpson Deon thank you good evening uh my name is William James I'm a resident of District 11 and a parent of District 11 students you have to bear with me I'm a little nervous I don't usually do any public speaking I'm an engineer I talk to satellites not people um I'm not a teacher I'm not a a trained lobbyist I'm just a parent but here's what I've learned in my industry if you mess with people's pay and benefits they'll leave they'll they'll go somewhere else cuz there's always someplace better to go but here's the thing about District 11 it is one of the best places to be right now teachers
085want to teach here I see it all the time and even even D of11 momentum's website calls out how great District 11 is how much progress has been made they call out how other districts should emulate what you do here the only problem is the only thing they get wrong is where they they contribute all of that to one one thing but it's not it's a multitude of things but the majority of what it is is the hard work dedication of the teachers of District 11 and on top of that they are the best and the brightest do you want them to bail do you want them to jump ship and go somewhere else do you want to undo all of the hard work and achievements that you've accomplished this far that I would recommend
086against it and that's all I've got to say thank you thank you Miss Sharon Simpson toan Willie Brazil Mr Willie Brazil yes next good evening Dr Mel pacam members of the board I'm Sharon Simpson doong I'm a longtime resident of a district 11 and alumna and alumna of Mitchell a district 11 retiree and the daughter of a school board member that implemented the master agreement District 11's CSA has been mischaracterized over many many months it has been mischaracterized as being anti-parent how there are parents that comprise CCA there are parents who are members of the sac parents who are members of the DC it's been mischaracterized as being anti- Excellence all of the teachers in District 11 are striving to do to do their best for the students at District 11 it has been mischaracterized
087as being anti-public input the public are invited to sack committees to the deck I am not a d11 parent I am serving on a sack as a community member there's public input from us we have heard tonight some members of this uh listening audience asking you to have the courage to do what is right I'm asking you to do what is right I'm asking you to listen to the teachers who are stepping foot in the classrooms every day taking work home every day taking the memor of your students home with them every day how do I know that because I did the same thing for 33 years the master agreement was not created by some external organization it was cocreated by a board and teachers all of the people who are sitting on this day
088today primary pronunciation sitting on this day today really care but where is that caring happening is it caring because you have you have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of your being there to drive a national agenda that has been in place for about four decades to try to dismantle public education that's not what you're here to do you're here to listen to the people who are in this room living next door to you in your neighborhoods they are not the represented 9% of the people who voted for 30% of the of the members on this board I ask you to do what is right to come to that intersection on the ven diagram of the school board and the teachers there's an inter intersection meet there thank you thank you Mr willly
089Brazil no okay Mr Billy Brazil I don't think he's here okay that that ends our public comments I gone through all the public comments um uh I truly appreciate uh all of you coming up to the podium and presenting it in an orderly manner um I know that there are strong emotions uh in this room but I truly appreciate all of you respecting the professional decorum in the boardroom um uh couple of things that was uh mentioned I think one of the uh public comment um commenter mentioned um that uh her face was not shown on the media that will be communicated to our uh media Department uh it was not shown last week I think that was the comment and then um I want to give kudos to our security our security is doing
090the best that they can to ensure that we can conduct this board business in an orderly manner it is not meant to be disrespectful of our teachers or uh anybody that is there in the audience today we just want to make sure that the board business is being conducted in an orderly manner um audience members are always welcome to come and attend board meetings we count on your presence and um engage in this uh public uh discourse that's happening up here okay thank you for the public comments um moving on to the action item on the agenda there is one action couple of action items and I'll go to the first one first um which is the term of the master agreement uh I will provide some context and facts to the community before I
091open it up for the board um so beginning in October the board of education has discussed in a total of five executive sessions various options pertaining to the master agreement including the term of the agreement and the exchange of issues seeking legal advice along the way during last year's negotiation a provision was added to the master agreement to state that by the third Wednesday in January either party that is the board of the education or the CCA board can provide written notice and express their intent to not extend the contract if no notic is given by January 15th the contract automatically renews for an additional year essentially the January 15th deadline requires both party to resolve the term of the agreement at first before engaging in this year's negotiations after discussion the will of the
092board was not to exchange additional issues last week in the spirit of good faith negotiations the board expressed intent to First resolve the term of the agreement I shared this with the community because I was at a school today I attended a PTA meeting and this was brought up as to why the board did not exchange issues and it was to ensure that the term of the agreement was first resolved by the board and we didn't want to the will of the board was not to exchange issues and look um be considered um not in good faith afterwards with that context I will turn to the board to start this discussion for this evening and um I'm going to first go to vice president hafley um uh vice president hafley and uh you have a
093motion vice president hle yes I do I move that pursuant to Article 19 of the master agreement with the Colorado Springs School District 11 the Board of Education not extend the master agreement beyond the June 30th 2025 expiration date second second moved and seconded uh you got who seconded um okay thank you and um so there is a motion on the floor we will engage engage in this discussion going forth uh on this motion um and I will go to you vice president hle first thank you thank you president Mel pacam this decision enables us to prioritize our goals and embrace New Opportunities those goals are listed over there on the banner we are transitioning to an opportunity driven District moving away from a fear-based contractual approach to our teachers I want you to truly
094hear this this is not an attempt to undermine or disadvantage you your salary schedule will remain intact your benefits will not change your retirement is secure your leave time is unchanged you will not be asked to work without pay and your planning time will not be reduced our goal is to support you better and create an environment where you thrive this is about giving you a choice in representation currently about 40% of teachers are not members of CCA and we want every teacher's voice to count not just a segment this is about opportunity and shifting our culture for the better it's not about taking anything away from you I was you for 30 years I was a d11 teacher for 29 in my 30 years I was a member of the Union twice so for
095those of you that think that I'm not pro teer I can't begin to tell you how Pro teer I am for more than half of my life I have been devoted to this profession to the kids that came through my classroom any one of those kids would tell you the same thing many of those kids that are of age and registered voters voted for me thank you I I don't know what camera to look at their parents supported me because they knew I was committed to their children and to their children's education every member of this board is pro teer I've said this before I said it in April I'm going to say it again the majority of members are teachers four of the seven of us are experienced Educators in this District or neighboring
096districts and the academy collectively bringing 69 years in the classroom I share this tonight to set the record straight because recent media posts and emails have been making false accusation about this board and the superintendent disparaging our efforts to support teachers and students these messages are malicious they are incendiary they are divisive and above all they are patently false I personally find them offensive and I'm going to go off my own little notes Here I worked my tail off in school to be a teacher I worked my tail off to be a good teacher and I was I was a six-time award-winning teacher in 30 years I worked my tail off for other people's children to make sure that those kids had a good education to the detriment of my own family and I do
097it again in a heartbeat in a heartbeat so I'm going to continue to correct these inaccuracies that are floating around and the threats that have been made on board members and their children the 5B service highlights that new elementary teachers feel supported and school school culture is steadily improving over the past year the board secured substantial pay raises for educators the calendar was adjusted ensuring teacher representation on the committee that shaped those decisions and as a matter of levity I wish I had a fall break when I was teaching I'm so glad that you guys got a fall break I know it was difficult I know that it wasn't 100% perfect nothing is but I'm grateful that y'all had a a fall break before each board meeting we celebrate the incredible work of our teachers
098and programs showcasing students achievements and projects last year superintendent Gaul and the board took proactive steps to safeguard teacher positions by adjusting the budget we prioritized allocating funds directly to classrooms avoiding teacher layoffs despite budget reductions we are not anti-teacher any necessary Cuts were made at the central Administration level ensuring that our teachers and our students were protected we've improved starting teacher pay enhanced benefits and actively addressed your concerns about classroom challenges including attendance Behavior and the overuse of cell phones in response we implemented policies to tackle these issues becoming the first dist in El Paso County to remove cell phones from the learning environment it deeply saddens me to think that anyone could believe that I would support anything that goes against the principles and purpose to which I've devoted my life nothing could
099be further from the truth I remain fully committed to advocating for all staff I believe there's going to be a new employee handbook which which will be designed to be inclusive of all employee groups to ensure an equal voice for all d11 employees our approach aligns with the practices of other school districts in El Paso County and is essential for driving positive momentum that we're already building in d11 that being said we want to be able to give teachers more money that's what we're fighting for believe it or not it's true we want to address teacher shortages so for instance high school calculus teachers special ed teachers and all teachers in certain challenging schools we want to pay them more we're not talking about lowering anybody's pay I would not stand for that as a
100member of this board I think any any member of this board would tell you that we want to increase the pay of Educators in hard-to-fill positions we want to remove burdensome bureaucratic processes when the district needs to make decisions quickly so for example after covid we needed to add 30 minutes to the school day in order to help our students make up lost ground getting the union to agree to this was very difficult and timec consuming when our students have needs the district needs to be able to Pivot quickly to address them that's what we're talking about here we want to give teachers the choice of benefits right now the master agreement precludes the district from communicating to teachers offerings that compete with the Union's offerings for instance liability insurance from providers other than the
101union that's unfair to teachers and it benefits no one but Union itself and let me put it in layman's terms so this is easy for anybody to understand CSEA is the sole unit of representation in d11 and that's fine if that's what you want for yourself but if I can't find what I'm looking for at JC Penney I'm gonna go to Kohl's and if I can't find what I'm looking for in kohs I'm going to go to Dillards and if I can't find what I'm looking for at Dillards I'm going to go to Amazon I'm going to go to Costco I'm going to go to Sams I'm going to go somewhere that I can find what I'm looking for because JC Penney is not the endall Beall of department stores same thing goes for grocery
102stores if I can't find what I'm looking for it's Safeway I'll go to king supers that's what we're talking about here offering choice to teachers is not a bad thing we're all about choice for parents we're all about choice for students why are we not about choice for teachers teachers have a right to choose for themselves the master agreement requires the district to subsidize the union which is a private Corporation with public taxpayer dollars in the form of salaries dues deductions the use of District facilities and more this is an improper use of public dollars so as steers of the taxpayer this board recognizes the imperative of ending this practice and finally the master agreement requires annual negotiations that don't accomplish anything but to create an opportunity for drama and posturing last year the board
103entered negotiations fully committed to giving teachers every available Dollar in additional compensation that's the God's honest truth negotiations didn't change that but afterwards the union pretended that it had extracted compensation that in fact the board was already intending to give so that process is divisive and unproductive and finally I want to say CCA isn't going anywhere if you want to be represented by CCA be represented by CCA but there are about 40% of the teachers in this District that don't want to be represented by csca and if we're talking about inclusion and being Equitable to people then everyone needs to have a voice at the table that's what we're talking about nobody's attacking teachers I won't stand for that nobody wants to take anything away from you I won't stand for that those people that
104know me know that about me I have a huge sense of justice and I won't stand for that those of you that don't know me I invite you to get to know me I may be a bit of a bear when I'm poked there isn't anything I wouldn't have done for my students that was legal there is nothing that I wouldn't do for the teachers of this school district as long as it's legal and I believe teachers need choice and with that President Mal pacam I am done with my comments thank you director hefley um response from board members I see Dr bankas director bankas I want to start out by saying a little bit about myself I come out of East LA I'm first generation American my my parents didn't finish High School my
105my father did not uh finish Elementary School and yet by the time he was done he made sure that the three of us all graduated out of high school I am the first in my family to go to college and I have to say if it wasn't for public education I would not be here today I would not have a doctorate I would not have a master's degree I would not have a bachelor's degree public education is the door that opens up for us to be able to get into society and live the kind of life we want and as I heard my colleagues say it's about choice I also can go through and talk about teachers who have made a difference in my life I would like to think and actually I know that
106I have made difference in the lives of the children that have come through my doors I've listened to your heartfelt stories I have my own I have buried children who got caught up in traffic accidents or gang violence I have seen my kids go off to older Dame on a full ride scholarship and you have to remember I was only a fifth grade teacher so when you see and you plant those seeds of how it is that your children can meet the challenges and the rigors of what's being presented to them it does depend on all of us teachers no matter where you stand on this contract or no contract we come because we have a mission in life and that mission is to do the best for our kids that we can do and
107be a good role model for them and that's an important piece when we take a look at our our job here as Board of um directors for the school district you know that in the state of Colorado that we operate under local control so you heard some information before about how it is that people voted and we got into office well that's local control you as parents whether you're the teachers or whether you're the community members you are part part of that local control and we exhibit that by the um decisions that we make and I'll draw your attention again to the board priorities we've worked on those we focus on those we make decisions based on those when we talk about how it is that we want to see you as Professionals in your
108field it is with the utmost respect it's respect because again you are the backbone I was the backbone she was the backbone and every other teacher that was sitting on this board have been the backbone backbone of what it is to grow up in America today and I believe in America I believe what we stand for I believe that we have an opportunity and that opportunity comes from not only the teachers in school that spend so much time with our children and buying books for them and making sure they have clothes and making we've all done it and we do it willingly and we do it willingly because that is what what we're called to do when we take a look at what's under our uh agenda today that brings us all here today I've
109thought a lot about it I've looked back on my own experiences and so let me go back to the notes that I have in the state of Colorado school boards operate under local control in keeping with board priorities decisions made by this board fall into one of those four C targeted areas in reviewing the interaction between the board and CSA CSA the lines have been blurred between a public entity represented by duly duly elected board members and a private organization I understand that 16 of the 17 school districts in the county and we've heard this before operate without a master agreement I have been a teacher or an administrator in four of the districts here in the county I've worked with a master agreement I've worked with that one I have been successful and I'm
110glad to be able to point that out for those of us who teach I've been successful in my career and I've been able to move from one District to another bringing the skills and talents motivation and commitment everywhere I went because that's what we do and it's to make things better today we're going to vote on uh this decision and when I look at my 30 years in education I also looked at the emails listened to the phone calls sent to the board I've listened to the comments made by staff and constituents doing public comments and I take the responsibility as a board member to ensure the district provides highquality instruction fiduciary accountability and conditions to support a high functioning staff some concerns have been voiced that a vacuum uh would some concerns have been
111voiced that a leadership vacuum could be created without a master agreement rest assur that this board and this Administration will deliver a staff teacher handbook that reinforces our commitment to prioritizing student outcomes teacher empowerment and I'll say that again teacher empowerment there's a decision and I see you shaking your head and I'm saying that there's a decis there's a distinction between empowerment and decisionmaking decision making as I mentioned earlier between our conversations has become muddled when shared decision making we you have to remember that we are responsible for the pro the business of this district and so while your information is important and it is important and we do listen to it we also put it in the context of how it is that we got here and what our responsibilities are as a public
112entity responsible for public education which means all of the children who want to come to our school come to our school and we educate to the best of our ability you've seen decisions made by this Administration and this board that have protected the sanctity of the classroom you have seen this board make decisions and this superintendent look to how it is that we can enhance our working environment by the pays that has come through by the supplies that are being um provided by systematizing and reorganizing so that we are more efficient what other district for those of you who've worked in other districts have ever experienced a district moving as quickly as we have in the last three years there will be a handbook that reinforces our commitment to prioritizing student outcomes teacher empowerment parental
113engagement by delivering a highquality work environment exceptional compensation and benefits and an open line of communication for every employee in every school when you look at other districts we are operating in a way that is consistent with reasonable people expect for an institution to behave so your experience in District 11 I would like to see it continue I would like to see that you can see that we are working to the best of what we have to offer to make sure that you are treated as professionals that this constant drum roll of how teachers are not respected let's put it in context when we visit schools and we see you in your classrooms and we see come to your events and we see parents interacting with all excuse me we see parents interacting with their
114teachers and how much the kids love their teachers we know we're on the right track we are supportive of one another and I would like to continue to support one another are we all going to agree on everything no but we are going to agree that the kids are important that you deserve to be treated as professionals and we as as your duly elected board members deserve also your respect for the responsibility that we have taken on in this time of change in ch change is difficult we all go through change excuse me I'll end my comments there before I cough to any more thank you thank you director Bankers um if you want to add something extra you can let me know um I see drelon my comments are brief um it is my
115honor to serve the students families staff and community of Colorado Springs District 11 as a member of the Board of Education the cola Springs Education Association is not accountable to the students families and District 11 Community the CCA master agreement contract gives a private Corporation authority over a public institution based on principle I will be voting against a contract renewal thank you thank you um any other comments from board members before I wrap it up and call for a roll call I don't see any other comments at at this time okay yep director jinson I apologize well let's rearrange the order and I see director art after that thank you rearrange the order of this a little because some of it's been spoken well tonight the majority of our our board is Educators as you
116as you've heard and I think that I'd like to maybe bring a little bit of of we've all kind of shared our experience as as that path uh some of you might not know but I started at Carver Elementary and my favorite teacher there was Miss skip a line Riner because when we learn cursive we'd skip a line and take our time to learn how to do the cursive and yes Miss West was my math teacher at Sabin and uh and then I went to dhy and and graduated uh from there and it was Mr gilotti who uh director a and and Mel pum just uh were there with me at his funeral a couple Sundays ago who inspired me to be a teacher and so I stayed local and and became a teacher and
117I was very eager to get a job and I found a job down in Harrison District 2 which I believe one of the um speakers tonight spoke about and I have a little bit different experience so it was good to hear her side of the story but my experience was much different it was uh I was hired on right when that Union was dissolved and so I was told get your union and and get get protected and and and all that and and when I learned where it was going and uh the dollars that I had which I was making $1900 a month month and I thought that was a lot of money as a starting teacher and uh to see that $75 at that time was going to to such things I just had
118not do it so I said I'm not going to do the union and I love the ability to in this case it was um Mr miles's pay for performance I'm a good go-getter and so I said well let me see what this can do and I quickly became a distinguished teacher he went through the whole process um you know helped kids we were among one of the leading middle schools in the district and that was my experience I had the the understanding that uh you know I realized that if I was doing a good job or I saw issues with with uh within the system then I could address those with with my leaders and I would get help that if I um I wasn't really worried or or never taught to fear being misrepresented
119or treated unjustly or worrying if I had representation if I was called in the principal's office which happened a couple times over 10 years we all make mistakes um but I I didn't have that experience I just showed up for the kids worked at balancing my work and family life which is possible after you get through those first few years of of teaching as we all know um and we always just joked uh really at the time that when we got tired and we wanted to slow down and and work less hard we could go to d11 that was a joke we had in D2 and and I'm sorry to say that now but that was that was the the talk of of the teaching staff and D2 at the time uh so I'll go
120back to just a couple of my other thoughts here there are many widely shared concerns about unions first their political activity and their how their use of their dues to advance partisan causes uh can be distasteful to some they can injure some members interest while advancing the interest of others like director Halley mentioned when employees may need help CA can prevent them from getting the help they need from other preferred sources other than the ca as the exclusive bargaining agent of d11 that's just not Equitable the union is not governed by any obligation to provide quality service as we are duly elected officials to the board of education and so the exclusive representation of the ca with the district because it's always how it's been has to be discussed not only can unions hold the
121employees hostage but also students and their parents school choice which is antithetical to the teachers unions across the country has been attacked time and time again and they want your child to be forced to attend a school Under the Union's Master agreement even if that school is underperforming additionally not all of teachers CCA dues stay local as we've heard portions are sent to the state level Union the CA and other portion to the dues a ghost of the Nea the National Education Association I even learned that last week we had an Nea representative here to help with the cda's display outside last week these two organizations do not care about rd11 teachers or students like this board and future boards will instead these two parent organizations have voted and approved pushing CRT the 1619 project
122and defeating Colorado bills that expand educational choice and parental rights just last year the ca passed a resolution condemning capitalism I know because I uh urge the board to pass a resolution against their resolution uh because it was just Bonkers thinking a system built upon an individual's freedom to choose H we can't have that can we especially when it comes to education and even more devastating to our district was the cea's opposition to Senate Bill 22039 if a few years back this would bill would have fully funded education to the tune of an additional 500 million but because that bill also provided a measly 67 million toward school choice the union could not support sending half a billion dollars to public schools that they claim are starving for funds in just that last election we
123had the union was also so against parents rights to choose that they came out strongly against amendment 80 which would a further guaranteed school choice in our state constitution so some might ask why didn't we have why don't we consider another Master agreement or we heard tonight why don't you come to the bargain table to deal with these issues and my sentiment personally is that it would never be good enough for the CA and that's because of past experiences you see we even when the ca has gone back to the good faith excuse me even the ca has gone back on good faith negotiations while I've served on this board a few years back we bargained to have the ca handle their own members dues opting to not have our taxpayer funded HR talent to
124handle The Duce deductions sending dollars to a third party private organization so in good faith we came to the conclusion that the practice would stop and CSA would e either handle their own dues or at least pay our d11 team to take take care of that for them not two months later I remember a grievance came from the ca stating that it's been common practice and it should remain as same way and at that time the superintendent succumbed to that grievance and just said okay we'll go back to the way it's always been so I wonder when you tell me why don't you go to the negotiation table and fix this why don't you make a a why don't you bring a different Master agreement the answer is it would never be good enough and
125it hasn't been good enough because there's only two issues that you can bring and they usually get swatted down or in this case we bring one to the table it gets approved and then they come back and grieve it there's basically it's hard for them to be accepting of anything other than what they currently have and they won a master agreement with a multi-year contract with little accountability so for those asking what will protect teachers I think we've heard that tonight I'll I'll skip this section we will not leave teachers unprotected and the law won't either so for the number of rumors and fear inducing sentiments that are going around our schools it's not healthy or accurate as you heard from director Hayley doesn't help us take care of students or their families the ca
126is not a form of public government as you heard it's a non-elected private Corporation and do not support having our hands forced by a private Corporation in the form of this Union Master agreement we've been bargaining away the authority of our local control for over 50 years I am ready for that to come to an end this evening it's why I ran for reelection and why you put me on this dis this is our choice to make as a school board it's the reason we were elected and I know that we will be held accountable by our voters in our community and we will take care of things as we move forward thank you thank you director Art thank you um first I want to thank all of our speakers who came up to speak
127tonight it does take a little bit of Courage quite often um and I wouldn't want to be on your spot myself so thanks for being engaged with the Board of Education um and I will echo my fellow board members who are asking for everyone to stick to the facts um that's incredibly important the rumors just check in with us if you have if you hear something that doesn't sound right that said I am disappointed and dismayed with the motion and it will come as no surprise to probably anyone who pays attention to um our board and um politics I believe that this motion and the ending of the master agreement for starters is a distraction from our focus on students and I don't think we will gain anything sufficient um by ending the master agreement
128with this motion I believe the board's not taking the opportunity to discuss concerns with the Union uh with our employees that we might find significant and want to change we're not renegotiating the entire agreement and the a handbook has been mentioned uh we are not even saying we want to negotiate a partial agreement uh while we replace a majority of of the contract with a handbook I will keep an open mind about the development of a handbook but I think we all recognize that handbooks are not contracts there's no guarantees no promises and I've already noted with some of you that I do have concerns about our adherence to existing handbooks and unfortunately we know we don't even have this year's ESP and EXA Pro handbooks compiled and published they are I will note sticking
129to facts they are last year's are listed on our website and then oh by the way here are the agreements they have not been combined um so that that complicates things I think for representation of our ESP and exec Pros so when I talk to employees currently I I would say fear is already part of our culture uh fear that if someone speaks up they can lose their job a contract would assuage that fear and some employees I'm sticking to the facts again some employees believe they can't even write a letter to the board right now so education support professionals that may have heard that I want to assure you that you can and should address the board if you have concerns although be careful if you decide to do a walk out because that
130is not covered while teachers have some protections through state law many have spoken to the fact that they come to the district because of this contract so they must feel that there is a benefit and I'm choosing to believe them a majority of the teachers belong to the union it's been noted by some that this is costly um yet they persist suggesting that they find Value and representation and a master agreement I appreciate that one teacher by the way reached out with um some studies and data regarding the benefits of unions um and I was looking for that information myself being a data fan um so thank you for sending that I have yet to hear of anyone leaving the district because of our contract with the Union so if even one or two teachers
131are coming here because of that Master agreement I figure we have an advantage in Recruitment and Retention and I'm all for that in uh in a world where we are not growing enough teachers they are not growing on trees so we certainly want to encourage it encourage a culture of crust trust and respect and part of that according to them is a master agreement further it's bringing clear and consistent guidelines for the district for the teachers in seven years on this board I've never felt decisions were held back because of teachers rather I believe teacher representation has enriched and informed our conversation I want to note as far as politics we're all nonpartisan representatives in theory and that said I know the union has supported Republicans Democrats and unaffiliated candidates so when people go throwing
132um the union under the bus for only supporting the far-left well my Republican former fellow board members are going to be really surprised to hear that suddenly they've been categorized as such and probably deny such um affiliations with the far-left so several of us met with CCA Representatives last week that was mentioned earlier I thought it was an easygoing and fruitful conversation I know I wasn't the only board member who learned something and I appreciated those who took their time on a school night to meet with us and again all of you who are here on a school night I believe we need more of that and not less listening to our employees all of them truly hearing their concerns and moving forward in a collaborative discussion which hasn't really been a word up here
133tonight but a collaboration to create the positive culture where everyone wins especially our students um also last week we recognized an increased number of schools with a rating of accreditation with distinction and performance that number is growing board president Mel pacam noted that the district performance framework has risen student outcomes have improved that's certainly for a lot of reasons additional Federal funding intervention support for students and teacher and principal supports and professional development have made a difference our teachers and staff are the ones improving student outcomes and it's happening while we have a master agreement while the agreement has required employees to be part of the conversation about Innovation it has not stopped Innovation schools or waivers for Innovation within uh existing schools so I believe that academic Improvement nimbleness Innovation are all achievable with
134an agreement and teacher collaboration and other staff collaboration I also believe that a positive culture for staff makes for a great learning environment for our students so I'm here to support students and teachers are here to support students so if a contract supports them and and feeling secure to help our students than I'm listening and I believe that we all claim and I believe many of us honestly feel that we want to invest in our staff and we want invested staff but I don't think um ending this contract is a helpful or constructive way of showing that so I will be voting no on this motion thank you thank you director K thank you president Mel pacam um I'd like to take a moment to just try to explain where my head is at and
135then also hopefully close with some words of reassurance I want to start by reading from the very beginning of the master agreement this agreement is made and entered into by and between the Board of Education of Colorado Springs District 11 in the county of El Paso county in the state of Colorado that would be us here and after called the board and the Colorado Springs Education Association a Colorado Corporation not for profit here and after called The Association on behalf of itself and the teachers of the district I think one of the central points of dispute here is kind of a conflation between teachers and the corporation that is the teacher Union and I'll I'll get to this piece a little bit later but I really want to emphasize at least in my mind the
136point of dispute here is a contract with a corporation that's what the master agreement is it's a signed contract between your public elected officials and a not not for-profit Corporation and it's not required to have a collective bargaining agreement of this nature there is no state or federal statute that requires us to sign a contract like this as several board members have mentioned we are the only District in the county that has an agreement of this nature every other District handles questions of employee compensation or working conditions or what have you with an employee handbook that again as others have mentioned treats all staff uh equally and equitably and the point that I would want to make here is questions of authority responsibility and accountability have to be linked in any way well functioning system
137especially in any public system and we as your elected board members we are held accountable in the form of Elections those are run every other year there will be another one in less than a year from now which is a little bit frightening in some ways CCA again as a corporation is not accountable to the public there is no mechanism for holding CCA accountable to the public there is no mechanism for the voters weighing in on whether they approve of what CA is doing or the direction in which CCA wants to go the only signal that voters can send is in The Ballot Box and in the most recent election every csca endorsed candidate lost my view therefore is it's simply not appropriate to sign a contract with a corporation that signs over taxpayer resources
138and decision-making Authority and to the question of can we fix this in negotiations I would say we tried this already last year one of our two negotiated issues was the question of csca use of taxpayer resources and we got stonewalled we didn't get anywhere the purpose of this decision is to return Authority in the public system to the elected officials that's supportive of a public institution to my mind now the second half of what I want to say here and the superintendent says this on average a handful of times every single board meeting the number one way to student achievement is access to highquality instruction a majority of this board are current or former teachers we know what it means when we say high quality instruction what that means is access to good teachers access
139to teachers who come to a district in the hopes of good pay good working conditions making a difference in the lives of students teachers who have professional development that helps you know know achieve the next level of their game that helps them do the best they can for students we we know full well that an excellent working environment is a precondition a necessary precondition to high quality instruction the majority of the board are teachers we understand this very well and so to Echo what director well excuse me what vice president hafley said at the beginning of her comments this board is going to protect planning time it's going to protect questions of salary benefits retirement leave duty-free lunch we want our teachers to have an excellent working environment we're teachers ourselves my judgment though is
140that the master agreement is not the correct mechanism for ensuring that and I will be voting to allow the master agreement to expire so that we can move to what every other District in this County does and return the questions of authority to those in the system who are actually accountable to the voting public thank you any further comments or feedback from the board before I wrap it up and call for a vote on this issue I don't see any other board members talking so I will wrap it up with my comments um I appreciate um the spirited and diverse opinions shared by all our board members um and speaking for the board um um all of us fully understand the gravity of the subject matter that is being discussed and that there are people
141that are passionate and emotional about this topic that is being discussed on both sides of this issue and as you saw every board member entered into this discussion this evening with atut most seriousness I know that board members this has been weighing on several board members and personally this topic has been weighing on my mind heavily for the past several weeks um uh so much so it talk it it starts taking a toll after a while mentally emotionally and spiritually uh leading up to today it's been a stressful several weeks and today is certainly a challenging day and I want to um um acknowledge that um uh when I was sworn in to serve in this nonpartisan capacity which director art mentioned on the school board my promise was always to listen respectfully to all
142perspectives without bias or preconceived agenda we the various options objectively and arrive at decisions that are always always in the best interest of our students for people that know me you know that students come first for me improving student outcomes as captured on the board priorities Banner to my right that is the norstar are for this board and for me every decision however challenging must be looked through that lens and by prioritizing a workplace culture that puts students first we will take care of the adults in the system our our teachers our staff they go hand inand when students Thrive teachers benefit last week I shared with the community D during my board member report the current upward trajectory of the district and the successes we have achieved over the last couple of years thanks
143to our incredible staff most importantly our teachers I encourage you to please check out that report if you have not already done so even though we have achieved unprecedent academic unprecedented academic growth and accomplishment in the past couple of years we have roughly 65% of our students that are not yet at grade level proficiency that is alarming and frankly unacceptable for us to be for us to continue to be relevant and to be the destination of choice in Colorado Springs we must be nimble we must be Innovative and we must prioritize teaching and learning our singular mission is to educate our students and prepare them for future success our future vision is a thriving School District rooted in excellence every child that enters through our school doors matter it is our moral obligation and shared
144responsibility to set that child up for success and that job does not stop tomorrow because of adult conflicts I want to take a couple of minutes and speak to the teachers and the audience and in our community this past week I had the opportunity to attend the professional development conference for school board members one of the keynote speakers at that conference compared teachers to First Responders and I wholeheartedly agree especially in public schools just like First Responders teachers never know what situation you are going to encounter when you arrive at your jobs students are going to show up at school tomorrow with their own set of problems and needs some of them looking at you as their one constant source of support the one adult in their life that they can trust thank you for
145caring supporting teaching and lifting our students up day in and day out personally I am what I am today because of the teachers in my life I have shared my story with people people in the community I grew up in poverty struggled where my family struggled to put food on the table public education and teachers albe it in a different country is what opened doors and where I am today is because of the teachers I have the utmost respect for teachers just about everyone in this room can fondly look back to a teacher that made a difference in our lives and without that influence our lives would look very different so I want to communicate to our teachers that you are valued you are respected and you form the backbone of District Lev irrespective of
146what is decided this evening you already heard the Assurance from several board members the current teacher salary schedule benefit s leaves stipend working condition plan time professional development and training post employment benefits will remain in place and if anything we will strive to improve it and make it better this board will continue to provide staff with the best best working condition and the most competitive compensation and benefits package in the Pikes speak region we are committed to instruction in the classroom and investing money as close to students as possible some concern was expressed earlier today about teacher voice it is critical and it will continue to guide decision making going forward as you heard this board has several teachers on it it is Pro Staff it is pro teacher and most importantly we are pro
147student you don't have to take my word for it just look at our track record over the past three years the last three years have seen the highest pay increases in the history of District 11 we have provided robust health care benefits and that was introduced by the board the classroom support that director hafley already talked about prohibiting cell phone use in our classrooms it was after teacher feedback that the board responded quickly and swiftly preserving teaching positions last year while making cuts at Central Administration for the tune of 4 and a half million and for our students academic Choice apprenticeship in internship opportunities for our students P speak promise scholarship and I can go on and on all that has transpired over the past three years and our track record speaks for itself and
148that is going to continue going forward I've always said hold me and hold this board accountable to ensure we deliver for our teachers staff and most importantly students hold us accountable and there is a democratic process in place to hold elected officials accountable if we do not deliver on our promises looking ahead our goal is to improve academic outcomes for our students our destination is excellence and we will continue to support our teachers and Pay Teachers more to address the teacher shortages and staff hard to fill position the goal is to create a workplace culture grounded in trust and opportunity I heard director art mention that there is a culture of fear and I understand that I have been in your classrooms I have talked to you and I fully understand that right now that
149there is a gap in trust and the only way to bridge that Gap is so that we communicate with each other I'm proud of our Collective accomplishments over the past couple of years and we are just beginning but we must must continue to put students first the future for District 11 is bright the trajectory that we are moving towards us upwards and I talked about that Gap in trust when there is a gap in Trust it is natural for us to fear the worst and believe the worst rumors and speculation start filling those gaps and Civility and sound judgment sometimes takes a backseat I cannot promise that I will be able to close the trust gra trust Gap but what I can promise you is my time I'm available I'm available to listen to engage
150and connect with you I cannot remember refusing an offer to meet or visit with a d stakeholder in my term on the board I'm sure every other board member would be available to engage with you as well and to listen to the feedback and concerns that you bring to the table we may agree we may disagree but I can promise promise you that it will be a civil and respectful discourse rooted in facts so please reach out to us directly and let us work together for a brighter future for our students our students deserve nothing less that's my end of comments and um with no further comments from the board members there is a motion on the floor and I'm going to call roll call on that motion that is on the floor M uh
151and I'll read the motion again the motion that was read by vice president hefle was I moved that the that pursuant to Article 19 of the master agreement with the Colorado Springs School District 11 the Board of Education not extend the master agreement beyond the June 30 2025 expiration date and that motion was moved and seconded Miss Olson Road call director fras I director krie hi director hyley hi director jensson I director Mal pacam I director Nelson I director o n the motion passes and um staff and Community you will receive communication from the board and superintendent G in the next 24 hours thank you for being here and I will take a minute for the people in the audience to disperse okay thank you so you will receive clear communication from the board and
152superintendent call in the next 24 hours the followup the next steps and I will again reiterate um uh what one of the uh School Board director said up here from the Das CCA will still be a presence in school district 11 they will be invited to be present at the table as we figure out the next steps superintendent G you heard the board uh uh board members talk about uh the uh need to pursue next steps that would be to pursue an employee handbook so if you can um put a team together and uh get that process and the calendar and the schedule worked out the next steps regarding that okay yes thank you okay so there is a second item on the agenda director Nelson can you please make the motion for action item
153B2 guest teacher compensation I move that the Board of Education authorize the superintendent through and including June 30th 2025 to increase the daily pay rate for guest teachers and guest special service providers up to an amount equal to double their current daily pay rate if in his discretion he deems it necessary to cover teacher and special service provider shortages second so moved and seconded uh this motion provides superintendent call and the District administration the ability to do what is required to ensure that there is no interruption to the student learning environment um board members uh any thoughts or discussion on this before before I call for a rooll call okay um no uh discussion uh superintendent G and to the community tomorrow kids will show up to schools okay and we want to make sure
154that the disagreement or the conflict between adults do not impact student learning in the classroom and uh uh superintendent G the director from the board is to ensure that um the interruption to the learning environment is not happening and make sure that our student learning um takes place as expected and this provision will uh provide you uh the necessary support to uh ensure that that is happening in our schools uh I will turn it over to you to see if you have any thoughts uh well we'll uh do everything we can as uh we've been planning uh to ensure that our schools remain open uh I do have some comments after the vote on this motion that I'd like to end with okay roll call please director bz hi director Carrie I director Hayley hi
155director jensson hi director Mel pacam hi director nson I director I I the I have it the uh motion that was on the floor was approved by the board uh superintendent go over to you for some comments yeah to uh to our board to our community to our staff and most importantly to our students uh the Colorado Springs School District 11 is prepared to develop an employee handbook as directed this evening by the Board of Education we will present the board a project plan of that handbook and January 15th work session the handbook will offer all staff the supports they need to ensure we continue to deliver on the shared Vision the number one way to student achievement is access to high quality instruction we are a learned institution instruction is singularly Paramount to what
156we do for our students every ounce of our shared vision and purpose will and must remain on students thank you thank you appreciate um uh your comments on this so again to our community I want to assure you that student learning is our top priority and we will ensure as we go through this process over the next several weeks and months months that teacher voice and CCA is also at the table in developing that employee handbook seeing no further business if there are no objections this meeting will adjourn at 6:34 p.m. [Music]