001push the button and then you'll be live. When it's green, you're good to go. Perfect. And we don't need to move closer or anything. You're going to adjust the volume. Yeah. Ideally though, get like kind of stand Yeah, I will adjust the volume, but stand in front of it as much as you can. Okay. Yep. Cool. Uh, All right, thank you for joining the board of education this evening. Please go ahead and mute your cell phones as we begin this meeting. Today is Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025, and this meeting is now called to order at 6:31 p.m. For those attending this meeting in person, live captions are available on the TV, in the boardroom, and in the lobby. To access the live captions in a language other than English on your own device, please scan
002the QR code on the screen or on the table near an entrance and select the language of your choice. The live stream of this meeting is also available in English and Spanish on YouTube. For links to these live streams, please visit the board of education page of the PSD website or PSDTV on demand on YouTube. So, would any board members like to make changes to the agenda? I can. It's in the email. Yeah. Okay. Go ahead, Kevin. I move that the board amend the agenda to include an executive session on negotiations at the conclusion or the end of the meeting. Okay. Can I get a second, Jim? Thank you. All right. No, that's okay. That's okay. That will work. Excellent. All right. All set. We need to take the vote for that. Go ahead. Jim
003Brokish. Hi, Kristen Draper. Hi, Connor Duffy. Hi, Kevin Havda. Hi, Carolyn Reed. Hi, Scott Shoenbower. Hi, Jessica Zamora. Hi. Motion passes 70. Okay, thank you. We will move on to 3.0 action items. Resolution in support of National Volunteer Appreciation Week. Can I get a motion? Good, Carla. Thank you. I move that the board approve the resolution in support of National Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 20th through the 26, 2025. Excellent. Can I get a second? Thank you, Kevin. All right. Um, and then, uh, Dr. Hooton, we have a special guest today, don't we? We do. Joining us this evening to speak to National Volunteer Appreciation Week is volunteer and partnership coordinator Don Fight. Welcome, Don. remember my educators as well as my volunteers that helped me succeed throughout my little um life through high school and
004all that good stuff. Um, volunteer appreciation week is an important time because we get to showcase our valuable volunteers who support Pter School District in many, many ways. Volunteers support nursing staff, educators, nutrition staff, facilities, athletics, alternative programs, language, culture, equity, early childhood. That's just to name a few. Um each and every volunteer brings their expertise to pter school district and we greatly appreciate that and you are seen in pter school district. I want volunteers to know that. Um our volunteers provide educational opportunities to enrich our students learning and reinforce lessons taught within the classroom. Without our volunteers, we wouldn't be able to give those kiddos those opportunities. I can't emphasize enough how important a volunteer in our schools. We have over 15,000 registered volunteers here in our community. 15,000. That's amazing. Um, out of
005that 15,000, we have a total amount of just shy of 85,000 volunteer hours. So, that's kudos to those volunteers. Today, I have Miss Becky Sammons here with me. She has contributed 616 hours and that's just beginning in August. She's been volunteering for over 10 years, but those are some pretty phenomenal numbers. Um, and it's just volunteerism at its finest here. So, I'd like you to welcome Becky. Thank you. I'm Becky Johnson Sammons. I represent Putnham Elementary School. My goal as a volunteer is to make the life of teachers easier. last year at Putinham won the center of excellence award for the fourth time and I know we're very proud of that. I know that I and other volunteers have had a part in Putinham being able to achieve that award. Laurel School on Laurel Street
006started my education. My Lincoln Junior High class was the last one until recently to attend junior high as sixth graders and last to attend Fort Collins High School as a freshman. and I graduated in 1963. After receiving my degree in uh history education at CSU, I spent four years teaching social studies in Holio, Colorado. My daughter Sarah Davis was an early childhood parah for seven years and she was at lots of the schools. In 2015, after earning her degree at Western Governor's University, she was hired by Steve Apadaka at Putnham. We often laughed that Steve got two for one as I am Sarah's free parah and I like the freedom of not being paid. I can show up when I want and you know I just have to tell her I'm not coming. In 2015,
007the we uh Sarah Oh, next. Sarah was a fourth generation teacher as her greatgrandfather taught math and coached basketball ball at CLP 110 years ago. So, we go back that far at Pter School District. her uh her grandfather taught at CHU chemistry and I taught in Holio and now she's teaching in Putnham. I come all day every day to volunteer at Putinham. In Sarah's class, I help with individual student make copies, keep the library organized. As you know, as kids put books back in, they don't go back in. And whatever else is needed in the classroom. I also try to keep the teachers lounge organized and I put seasonal decorations on the tables and keep the dishes washed and keep the place looking nice because I know from experience that the teachers lounge is a
008place to share and relax and your mind is not on there. It's back in the classroom and what's going to be needed to be done next. During specialists time, I spend time each day in the library helping return books to the shelves, repair them, and uh label the new books in there. In addition to daily volunteering, I have accomplished a few what I consider major projects. In the summer of 2015, as Sarah and I began to fill her classroom with a student reading library, all the needed med educational tools, we looked out her window at the courtyard and said, "H, there's a big tree, lots of weeds, and tall grass." We were told a grant was in place to concrete the area and add pots. Being gardeners, we said please no and were granted permission
009to restore the garden. With the help of a few volunteers and donations, the courtyard now has stepping stone paths, a rock garden, a fake river of rocks, and is full of flowers and shrubs. And if you've been to Putinham, you probably have seen it. Plus, in 2017, I transformed the area on both sides of the front door of flowers and a shrub garden. Also, the garden by the U flag pole is now a pink garden with only pink flowers and a big pink metal ribbon to honor Amy How, a former first grade teacher with breast cancer. During the summer, I come weekly to dead head and weed the garden. facilities takes care of the sprinkler system. And I signed a contract saying that I would maintain the gardens and if I didn't, they would go
010back to natural, which I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to do this, but I hope for a long time. Last year, I completed a two-year project to find the AR grade level and point system of every book in our library. Now all the books have a color-coded label on the spine so that the teachers and students can easily know the reading level of every book and they really appreciate that. Why do I volunteer? Well, teaching is in my DNA and has been modeled my entire life. We as a family owe a huge debt to Pter School District. both my parents and all their siblings, my husband and all his siblings, all my siblings, and my children and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins all received an excellent education from Pter School District. We
011thank you all. Thank you. I just wanted to say one more thing. Um Becky's hours during the summertime are not counted because we have the Raptor system. so she doesn't actually check in. So that's more than 600 and some hours. Um so thank you Becky. One last reminder to make sure that you thank those unsung heroes that are out there volunteering at the classrooms um in cafeterias, all that good stuff because without them we wouldn't be able to do our job. So thank you Becky. before you go, we just have to say thank you so much. Um I'm exhausted just hearing your list. Like I don't know how you do that all that's just amazing. So thank you. You can tell that it's coming from here. So just want to say thank you so much.
012Does anybody else want to say anything? All right. Go ahead, Jess. Just going to say like I think that's our charge. Like that's our future. Anybody else needs like a retirement role? One one thing, Becky, actually. Do you mind staying just at the end of the um resolutions? We're going to do a picture. Would you mind staying for that? All right. Thank you. Definitely add it to your volunteer hours. Go ahead, Kevin. Um thank you and thank you, Becky. I'm I'm not going to say anything as eloquently as you did. Um I was thinking about this resolution tonight, and it really hits near and dear to me. Um, a lot of the formative experiences of my own life were shaped by volunteering. Um, from a young age, I volunteered to do a program called Service
013to the South, where we spent a month um, touring around, sleeping on YMCA floors, doing some community service, and it was really character building, but eye opening. Um, and I I think I really latched on to the notion of service at a young age. And I'm looking at some decorated members of our military who are going to honor soon. So, I think it's a good theme for tonight is that, and in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, anybody can be great because anybody can serve. And so I think it's a it's a nice reminder, especially in the moment we're finding ourselves in nationally where we're being pulled apart, is to look for the helpers and look for those that are in the classroom spending what little free time they have pitching in to help
014a teacher out who's overwhelmed with a lot of kids and a lot of them are share my last name. Um, I I I'm also reminded that the board of education is also this is a volunteer position. And I think a lot of people sometimes forget that. And so, like you, I'm motivated by the debt that I owe to PSD for how it's taking care of my family and my kids. And this is my small way of giving back. And I look at the thousands and thousands of people that show up every day and I'm reminded of how good our community is and how many good people we have in it. And that's helpful to remember. And I really like to celebrate that. So, thank you. Although I don't think we get to show up when
015we want to for our volunteer obligations. Sometimes I wish we could. All right. Anybody else? All right. Thank you so much. And and thank you for the reminder to look for the helpers because we have thousands of them in our school district. So, thank you. Till can you call a vote? Jim Brogish. Hi. Kristen Draper. I. Connor Duffy. Hi. Kevin Havda. Hi. Carolyn Reed. Hi. Scott Shoenbower I Jessica Zamora I motion passes 70. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Next up we have resolution in support of mental health and awareness month. Can I get a motion? Go ahead, Carolyn. Thank you. I move that the board approve the resolution in support of mental health awareness month May 2025. Can I get a second? Thank you, Scott. All right. And Dr. Hutton, we have
016another special guest, don't we? Yes. Tonight, we are honored to be joined by mental health and prevention coordinator Sarah Mauer Wilkins and counseling coordinator Beth Green, who will speak to the resolution in support of mental health awareness month. Welcome. And it is a very big group. Thank you, Board of Education, Superintendent Kingsley, and Cabinet for helping our community acknowledge and celebrate mental health awareness month. I'm Sarah Matter Wilkins, and I'm Beth Green. As you are aware, mental health awareness month is celebrated each May, and we are grateful to celebrate with you all. Tonight, we are joined by some of our community partners and colleagues that we will highlight shortly. School staff play a critical role in supporting student mental health, creating a safe and nurturing environment that promotes emotional well-being and resilience. Some PSD staff
017who specifically support student mental health are school counselors, our mental health specialists, school psychologists, and school social workers. Together, these dedicated professionals collaborate to identify signs of distress, provide resources, and engage families, making schools a cornerstone of mental health support for all of our students. All PSD staff in every role contribute daily to fostering positive relationships and providing inclusive environments where students feel a sense of safety, connection, and belonging. Our most recent Healthy Kids Colorado survey shows positive trends in students self-reported mental health measures. While these trends are encouraging, we recognize that some of our PSD students are not experiencing these positive outcomes at the same rates. We remain committed to and focused on supporting all of our PSD students. We at PSD believe that collaboration with community partners is essential to the overall well-being
018and success of our students and families. A few years ago, Superintendent Kingsley prioritized a focus on working collaboratively with our community partners to enhance and increase our PSD partnerships, supporting students mental health and belonging. If you were in a PSD school today, you might have seen a few of the ways in which PSD students benefit from our community partnerships, including but not limited to working with a therapy dog to build their confidence and find their voice. Connecting with a mentor over lunch, meeting with a social worker intern when they are upset or need someone to talk to, knowing how to support their friends who are struggling after engaging in suicide prevention training. For students, bringing home food to their family so they have something to eat this evening. learning from their peers in a SAR
019peers presentation about healthy boundaries and relationships. These presentations have been occurring as a result of a strong and longlasting community partnership with Saba and as a result we see our student outcomes improving. We are proud tonight to highlight a few of our community partnerships and describe a successful new project that demonstrates the value of collaboration. Joining us tonight are the Health District of Northern Lamur County and specifically Kayak, which serves our youth, Summitstone, Sava, and Lamur County Behavioral Health Services, and colleagues from PS's IT department. Superintendent Kingsley spoke at the last board meeting highlighting a community partnership between the Health District of Northern Lur County, Kayak, and Summitstone Health Partners. Together, we engaged in a two-year collaboration stemming from two state behavioral health administration awards granted to local community partners to support PSD students and
020families. This initiative streamlines the process of connecting students and families to community-based mental and behavioral health resources through an online referral system developed by PSD's IT department that creates a seamless pathway from school to community support services and coordinated efforts that ensure students and families receive timely access to the resources they need. Together, we've aligned our shared values to connect our students and families to resources, removing barriers and creating a collaborative support network that truly serves our community. We extend a heartfelt t thank you to Whitney Benar, assistant director of student services, for being a leader in this project. And to all of our community partners, both those present tonight and the many others who collaborate with PSD daily. Your partnership helps enhance our existing services and improve access to mental health and belonging, ultimately
021enabling our students and families to thrive. Thank [Applause] you. Thank you so much. This is incredible. I'm so glad that all of you could be here tonight to share in this moment. And I just want to say just how exciting this is um to have this portal so that it is a seamless transition for students and families who need this. Um so thank you all for the hard work um for sticking with it for two years um and for being there to um catch our families. So we really truly appreciate it. Carolyn, did you have something? Well, I was really hoping I know it might take a minute, but I would like it if everybody could step up to the podium and just introduce yourself and say where you're from. It would really mean a
022lot, I think, to everybody in the community to know who's here. I think that would be wonderful. Yes. If you would love to go up, that would be fantastic. Don't be scared. Don't be scared. Hello. Good evening. Uh, Andrea Straer, director of outpatient services at Summitstone Health Partners. I'm Abby Callen, program manager at Summitstone Health Partners. My name is Kaylee. I'm Hadley. And I'm Miranda. And we all work with this officer. and I'm also hired here at PSD as the sexual assault resource team coordinator. Hi there, I'm Shaunie Wild. I work with Summit Stone Health Partners as our care coordination program supervisor for our community based team where this program is housed and also at our Long View Acute Care facility. Good evening. Amy Martonus, she her. I serve as the director of behavioral health
023for Lmer County. Hello, I'm Carrie List and I am a program supervisor for our community-based family therapy team at Summitstone Health Partners. Hi, I'm Dana Turner. I'm the health services director at the Health District. Um, kayak and connections are under my purview. Hi, I'm Katie Mattis. I am the health services project strategist at the health district. My name is Jessica Shannon and I support the executive level projects at the health district. My name is LeangAngelon. I'm the director of the Health District of Northern Lamur County. And I really just cannot thank you all enough for the opportunity to work with your team. And thank you to our team for and Summit Stone and your IT team for doing this. We're really looking forward to the impact that we're going to have doing this work together.
024So, thank you. Good evening. My name is Amy Walker. I'm one of the couple of software engineers that worked on this from PSD. And I'm John Laguardia, IT project coordinator and Sarah Ciple, director of software development and support. And we're representing a whole team of IT folks that made this happen. So, thank you. [Applause] Thank you so much. Jill, can you call the vote? Jim Brokish, I. Kristen Draper, I. Connor Duffy, I. Kevin Havda, I. Carolyn Reed, I. Scott Shoenbower, I. Jessica Zamora, I. Motion passes 70. Thank you. And then I'm hoping that we can do a picture with you all at the end too if that's okay. Yeah. Great. All right. So, our next resolution is in support of military appreciation month. Can I get a motion? Thank you, Connor. I move that the
025board approve the resolution in support of Military Appreciation Month, May 2025. Can I get a second? Thank you, Jessica. All right. And Dr. Hen, we have other more special guests. Joining us this evening to speak to the resolution in support of military appreciation month are Captain Roby and Sergeant First Class Kushki to speak to the month. So, [Applause] welcome. So, good good evening uh chief of staff uh superintendent um assistant superintendent board members and special guests. So, I'm Captain Roby. I'm the PA school district JRTC instructor for the senior army instructor and this is Sergeant First Class Krushki. We're both retired with about 45 years of service. And I'd like to actually um have our cadet major come in. He is a junior at uh Pter High School. He serves on the National Honors Society.
026He's on Ambassadors. He's the captain of uh cross country and he's also on track. This is Garrison Wear. [Applause] Good afternoon board members, special and and special guests. I am Garrison Wear, a member of Pter High School's JOTC program and a junior at Pter High School. I'd like to first thank you for the opportunity to express on behalf of Powder Battalion our appreciation for your support of the JOTC program within the Pter School District. Of course, in speaking to this distinguished group who serve this Pter school district community, I know you already understand what it means to serve a large group of people, many of whom you'll never meet and probably many of whom will never truly appreciate the extent of your sacrifices. Yet, you still choose to serve in this capacity. I know in
027speaking to this group, I don't need to explain the calling to serve a cause or purpose that is greater than oneself. Your presence here tonight, your work in these positions, illustrates, you know only too well the value of contributing to something meaningful and enduring. But what you may not know is that my generation, the generation currently attending classes throughout Pter School District, as much as we've probably earned a reputation for selfishness, entitlement, and instant gratification, many of us also have a deep drive to be a part of something greater than ourselves. Many of us want our lives to be spent in service towards a greater purpose. The JOTC program is offering us the opportunity to do just that. JOTC has taken the lessons we learned in our government, civics, and history classes, and transformed them
028from accounts of events from the past, disconnected from ourselves into an unfinished foundation on which we're expected to build. It takes those lessons of the past and personalizes them into our reality today. The JOTC program has helped us understand that it is an opportunity and a responsibility to be a part of that continued and noble effort to preserve, maintain, protect, and extend freedom, liberty, and justice in our nation through military service. It has shown us that although the freedoms we all enjoy were given to us as gifts, they still must be earned if they are to be passed down to those who will come after us. And all this leads me to address the main reason we're here tonight. I'd like to express Powder Battalion's sincere appreciation for your observance and support of Military Appreciation
029Month. The United States military has been able to maintain its status as the world's most formidable fighting and peacekeeping force for decades. Staffed solely by an all volunteer force. This means that despite differences in background, creeds, and opinions, a large portion of our population finds consensus on the value of military service. It means that whether our fellow citizens served 30 years or 30 months, at some point in time, no matter what their differences, they were united in their defense of our country. It also means that during that service, whether 30 years or 30 months, all those American citizens made great sacrifices for our country. And what that period of service and when that period of service came to a close, many of those veterans didn't stop their service, but instead took the knowledge, skills, character,
030and work ethic they gained from that experience and reinvested it back into our community so we could once again benefit from their service. And of course, many others made the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives in full and final service of our nation. These veterans, whether they served 30 years or 30 months, are an often unseen but absolutely invaluable part of our community. Their service may be ongoing or it may have come to a close. But one thing is for certain, their sacrifice and the sacrifice of the family, friends, and communities that supported them through their service is very worthy of honor, remembrance, and celebration. In closing, Powder Battalion appreciates the Puda School District Board of Education support for military appreciation month as it honors the sacrifice of those who have served before. as celebrates
031the contribution of those who serve today and it inspires this generation drive to be worthy of our nation's many gifts by endeavoring to serve tomorrow. Thank you. So that speech was all he he came up with that speech on his own and this is kind of what the program does. is to get individuals up here for public speaking and just to talk about some of the service learning projects and stuff we do. But this is what the future looks like. So thank you so much. And if this is what the future looks like, our future is very bright. Thank you. I I want to thank you for your service. I want to thank you for um being willing to to step up um and just, you know, be of service to others. That is just
032an incredible thing. And yes, Caroline, you had something. Um Cadet Major Wear, thank you for coming and speaking to us tonight about your service, but not only about your service, about the service of everybody that's come before you. I I really felt connected to your speech. I think that um like you talking about the people who were forgotten that made the ultimate sacrifice. I mean it really hit with me and so thank you for reminding us of what it means to be of service to the community. I think it was really a beautiful speech. Thanks. Thank you. Go ahead, Jim. Really one of the best speeches about service I think I've ever heard. Thank you so much. And you just show a wisdom beyond your years. Thank you. Go ahead, Scott. Yeah, I totally agree,
033Garrison. That was I'm ready to run through a wall, man. That was amazing. Where do I sign up? That's that's what I want to know. So, well done. That halfway through, I was like, I think he wrote this like this amazing amazing job. So, congratulations. You got a bright future. All right, Jill, can we call the vote? Jim Brokish. I Kristen Draper. I Connor Duffy. I Kevin Havda. I Carolyn Reed. I Scott Shoenbower. Hi Jessica Zamora. Hi. Motion passes. 70. All right. And I think what we're going to do since we have such a large group is we're going to do our photo over here. So, um, if you all want to come on over here and we'll get arranged. Okay, that was just amazing. What a great way to start the meeting. I love
034it. Uh, moving on, we will now go ahead to the superintendent report. And so, Chief of Staff Lauren Hooton, Dr. Lauren Hutton, will now make remarks to the board of education and the community. So, thank you for the opportunity to briefly address you all and the community this evening. Unfortunately, our superintendent, Brian Kingsley, is under the weather today, so he's not able to join us tonight. So, thank you for affording me the opportunity to address you all in his absence. Uh, we are entering a time of celebration for the district. We're excited to recognize the hard work and the dedication of our employees at the PSD celebrates event next week. We will also soon be celebrating the graduates of the class of 2025 with their families and the staff who have supported them throughout their
035PSD careers. As we look forward to these celebrations, we are delighted to share the trailer for our Grads at a Glance series. Grads at a Glance highlights seniors from each of our high schools who share their individual stories and connect with each other around common interests. From powerful reflections to bold dreams for the future, these seniors are inspiring and we are excited to share a glimpse of these stories with you this evening. So, Matt, if you could please play the video. Do we look good? [Music] This is quite the setup they have, isn't it? Who has impacted and supported you the most throughout your high school journey? I'm going to ask you some questions in a lightning round, so quick. My high school experience has been really great wrestling. One of my favorite memories is
036qualifying for state this year. My first years of high school, I got really close with this group of friends. Do you have any advice for me? Yeah, I say follow your dreams and don't let anybody put you down, please. [Music] Yeah. Shake your hand and we can Yeah, let's get out of here. Let's do a high five. Bam. It was good meeting you, man. You, too. Yeah. All right, guys. We're done. Bye. So, as mentioned in that video, additional episodes of Grad at a Grads at a Glance will be dropping soon. So, keep an eye out on our social media channels, on our website, and on YouTube for those upcoming releases. Uh, tonight also, our finance team will present the district's preliminary budget for the 2526 school year. As we've shared with the board and
037the community, we are continuing to monitor fiscal developments at the state and federal levels and their possible impacts on our budgets. As you will see tonight, we're diligently planning for the next school year and beyond. We also want to take this opportunity to again thank our voters for their support of the debtfree millie override or 4A. This funding is transformative for our district and we are grateful for the community's support. We also know that there are still financial challenges ahead and we look forward to sharing more about how we are navigating these challenges with you this evening. Thank you. Thank you very much. We will go ahead and now move on to the community comment portion. So, welcome to the community comment portion of the board meeting. The board desires to hear the viewpoints of
038all stakeholders, including students, employees, parents, guardians, and community members. Public comment is designed to address issues, not personalities, or personnel matters. Please keep your concerns and comments focused upon the district and appropriate for a K12 audience. Please note that the board does not generally respond to remarks made during community comment. Our lack of response should not be construed to mean that we agree or disagree with what is said or with the description or interpretation of events as presented by any speaker. Further, even if some remarks may be factually inaccurate, we generally choose not to respond to correct the record here because formal board meetings are not the time or place for back and forth dialogue. As we begin this community comment session, let us model for our entire community how to listen and how to
039interact respectfully, even with those with whom we disagree, for we all have the students best interests at heart. So this opportunity for public comment is for members of the community who registered to speak by the designated deadline. Those people will be called upon to make remarks in the order that they signed up and each speaker will be allowed three minutes to address the board. So first up we have Shandra Bird. Welcome Good evening. I'm here tonight to share my disappointment with the leadership of our district. My name is Chanda Bird and I have taught for 21 years. 11 of those in PSD at Preston Middle School. As many of you know, over those 11 years, many things have changed at Preston. From the size of our student body and staff to being named as a
040campus that could possibly be closed last year to the most recent change in the loss of our principal. However, one thing that has not changed over those years, the dedication of the staff, excuse me, and educators in the building to educate every student every day. That resolve comes from building leaders that have kept our boat afloat and on course, strong and steady every day. Be present, be safe, be kind. Those are the words of our students that we share with our students every day. That is our building mantra. When Present recently faced hard times with our principal's resignation, we were asked to share what our community needed in the next leader of Preston. The resounding feedback from parents and staff was to please not make big changes at Preston to allow us time to heal
041and move forward after this latest storm. We were told that the district was not looking to make major changes. We thought we would be listened to, our input valued, and that we could rest assured that our ship would make it to the next port. We, the staffing community, wanted Bill Saint. Bill has been an amazing leader when the days were long and felt uncertain. His open communication, genuine interest, care, and concern for our staff and students has always been heartfelt. His commitment to our school and our community has always been evident in his decision-making. To name him as our not to not name him as our next principal felt like another attack on our community. So I ask, why were we not heard? Why is the district continuing to bring chaos and uncertainty to our
042community instead of a climate of listening and trust building? Although my disappointment, or rather our disappointment is evident, as we move forward, we will stand strong, united in doing what is best for the Preston community. We will support our new principal, and we will continue to be present, be safe, and be kind. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Shondaanda. Next up, we have Anna Burnhard. Welcome. Thank you PSD board for your service to PSD and by extension our northern Colorado community. I think PSD is a fantastic district. Sorry. And I'm proud to have two elementary age kids here and a husband who teaches at Fort Collins High School. Tonight I'm following up on my email to voice my support for a belltobell phone free policy at PSD. I appreciate the direction the district is going. While
043we haven't updated our policy in 15 years and it includes stuff like pagers and zooms, I recognize the district administrators and principles collaborated last year to implement a more consistent enforcement of the policy at the elementary and middle school level. Still, I believe now is the time to build momentum following the passage of House Bill 1135 at the Colorado level, which would require school districts to develop policies by 2026. I want to see an updated policy that creates a personal um that creates a personal electronic devicefree school environment, prioritizes student learning, focus, social development, and emotional well-being. I believe that perhaps the biggest predictor of an adolescent's mental health is a positive relationship with an adult. Could be a coach, could be a teacher, could be a counselor. And I know that educators in our
044district try to make that positive relationship right from the start. But if the first words out of your mouth are, give me your phone or uh put your phone away, they've lost that chance. I want this to be a district-wide policy, not a teacher watchdog or school to school. I don't want to see the impetus to be on miners to keep their phones out of sight and ignore the endless notifications that we struggle with as adults. Um, devices should be turned off, securely locked away, and inaccessible during school hours under the supervision of an employee of the school district or district related program. I do want to underscore that there is plenty of Oh, sorry. There's plenty of educational technology which is not going anywhere. What I'm arguing for is the personal devices and I
045also believe there can be exceptions for students who have documented medical needs or special education plans. There's a number of other districts within Colorado including um Boulder who did Belleto bell this fall and I'm asking that we join them um at this time and think really deeply about this because it's moving across the nation and there's been I think 160 bills filed from 38 states and Washington DC. Thank you so much. [Applause] Thank you Anna. Next up, we have Haley Alexander. Welcome. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Haley Alexander. I am a proud educator in PSD and a concerned community member here to speak about the 2024 4A mil levy funding. Many of my colleagues were hesitant to support this mill levy in the fall due to prior misallocation of funds with the 2019 mill
046levy when at least $400,000 was directed to administrative staff instead of to licensed and classified staff as intended. An oversight that is just now being corrected. After being given assurances that this time would be different, many licensed staff came together, knocked doors, and spoke to neighbors and colleagues doing the work to pass this ballot issue. Article one of the employee agreement states, "It is our belief that shared decision-making should be the predominant process in Pter school district. Yet, a small school's planning team was assembled consisting solely of cabinet and select small schools building administrators. With this limited perspective at the table, it is unsurprising that they decided that a wise solution was to allocate approximately a million dollars to centrally fund assistant administrators at their schools. Unfortunately, this decision comes at a time when specialist
047teachers, music, art, PE, etc. are being devastated by cuts and having their jobs peacemeal together. It is unclear how this decision helps to keep our neighborhood schools open, which was the goal of these funds to begin with. This decision also leaves our largest elementary schools in the district as some of the only ones without this centrally funded position. In December, when a colleague asked directly about the work of this planning team, they were told by a member of the group that it did not exist. When they followed up and asked directly to be included in the work of this planning team, they were not even given a response. This process has been fundamentally flawed in many aspects. But let me be clear. This is not just about process. It's about trust. It's about ensuring that
048the people closest to our students are helping shape the decisions and budgets that affect them most. When decisions are made in silos without our voices at the table, you risk making choices that lack staff support, community buyin, and ultimately erode the trust of those working hardest to hold our schools together. We need better. We were promised better on this mill levy by directors on this board. I am asking you now urgently to step in and ensure that these decisions are made openly, collaboratively, and with the full involvement of licensed educators, classified staff, and community voices. Thank [Applause] you. Thank you, Haley. Next up, we have Kaitlyn Corkerin. [Applause] Welcome to the members of the board. Good evening. My name is Caitlyn Corkran and I am a current teacher at Preston Middle School. Tonight I am
049here to speak not as a teacher but as a concerned taxpayer and want to speak directly to the wider PSD community. Preston has faced its fair share of struggles these past years. District zoning with the opening of a new school caused Preston's numbers to be cut in half. Last year, with low student numbers caused by past district decisions, Preston was put on the closure list. And now a clear candidate to become the next leader of the school, Bill Saint was passed over for the position of Preston principal. And as a concerned citizen, I have to ask why. Why is Preston's strongest advocate, an individual who has committed nearly 10 years of his life to this community, not going to be the next leader of this school? Last year, the community began asking important questions about
050the direction district leadership is taking our schools and the impact those decisions will have on the wider community. You, the community, all asked important questions about motivations for school closures. You all asked, "What is motivating the decisions and calls being made?" questioned why things were rolled out the way they were. Today, I ask that you stay informed on district-wide events. I call on you to continue to ask the hard questions. Why would someone who had the overwhelming backing from staff and parents in the hiring process not be seen as worthy of leading Preston? Why would a man who has consistently put his heart and soul into bettering the Preston community for nearly a decade, who has always fought for what was best for the students, why would he be passed over for the position? Why
051would they not choose someone who is aware of the district's climate and can help support the Preston community through these uncertain times? Bill Saint didn't want to lead just any school. He wanted to lead our school. What could have made the district go against such a strong leader like Bill Saint as an observant citizen? These are red flags and concerns I see at Preston. And this is where I bring it to you, the community. It is the community the district ultimately listens to when there are concerns. It is you, the students, the parents, the advocates. Now is not a time for you to become complacent, but to continue to advocate for the needs of your students and your schools. It is through your voice that your schools can continue to be the strong communities that
052they are. Show up at listening sessions. Make statements at community comment. Reach out directly to those who make the decisions. Stay informed. You need to ask questions. Today it was Preston. Who will it be tomorrow? Thank you. Thank you, Caitlyn. Next up, we have Evan Barker. [Applause] Welcome. Good evening. My name is Evan Barker and I'm one of the social studies teachers at Preston Middle School. I've been an educator for eight years for the last three year being at Preston. My purpose here tonight is twofold. First, I'd like to acknowledge the positive influence Mr. Bill Saint has on the staff at Preston. And second, I'd like to address the recent changes in my administration of my school. I want to state that this is not an indictment of any person or persons, but rather just
053a statement from a teacher who wants the best for his students and his school. When I graduated from CSU, I wanted nothing more than to be employed at PSD. This is a destination district and the best teachers I know work here. I first found employment, however, in Greley at a middle school that was struggling with student attendance, behaviors, graduation rate. While at the school, I endured five principal changes. Every year brought new faces, new problems. I observed administrators acting selfishly to enhance their own careers. We were a stepping stone school and new administrators could not always be counted on for student support, educator guidance, or even just the encouragement. During a pandemic, when I asked for any kind of help, my words would fall upon deaf ears. I felt ignored and alone all of the
054time. I wanted change. I found that change at Preston. My first day at Preston, I knew things would be different. Bill Saint was different. Mr. Saint and former principal Amy Kirby built a staff of people who are willing to work tirelessly for each other. At Preston, I don't just have co-workers, I have friends. I wholeheartedly believe this is because of a culture that was built over time. Mr. Saint has been a stalwart at Preston and has cultivated a staff that truly feels like family. When Miss Kirby resigned, there was a hole in my heart. I couldn't help but think, here we go again. But Mr. Saint rose to the occasion and in no and in ways no one thought possible, he continues to lead us in a positive direction. He cares for us. He fights
055for us and he listens to us. He's the best leader I know. And it seems our school and the community think so as well. My school has been through a tremendous amount of change over the last few years. None of it at the behest of the Preston staff or community. And I understand that there will always be change, but it should never come at the expense of not listening to those who need the support the most. Thanks for your [Applause] time. Thank you, Evan. Next up, we have Tori Papus. Welcome, [Applause] Good evening. I'm Tori Papis. Thank you for the opportunity to speak this this evening. I have a few topics I'd like to address. I'm on the debtfree mill levy oversight committee and I'm here to respectfully share my concern about the use of
056funding from the debtfree mill levy override that was meant for supporting supporting small neighborhood schools. The ballot language was clear and compelling. It spoke directly to the value of small neighborhood schools in providing students with individual attention and a strong sense of community. That framing describes a specific type of school, one that is both small and neighborhood. That language resonated with voters, and I believe it played a key role in building the public trust needed to pass the measure. However, in reviewing the preliminary budget and other materials, I've noticed that the term neighborhood has been dropped and even small is referenced inconsistently. It seems that some of these funds may be allocated to schools that are not considered small and neighborhood based on PSD's own definitions. I understand these decisions are complex and I appreciate
057the district's efforts to involve school leaders. At the same time, it's essential that the implementation aligns with what was communicated to voters. Even a perceived misalignment could unintentionally impact community trust. As a member of the oversight committee, I welcome continued conversation about how we can ensure transparency, accountability, and alignment with voter intent. Second, I think a boundary review with meaningful collaboration from city planners should be prioritized as soon as possible. I think it can and should be completed sooner than three years. Finally, I believe remote community comment should be available at these meetings to allow for broader participation. Thanks again for your time and all of your continued commitment to our district. [Applause] Thank you, Tori. Next up, we have Kate Bedford. Welcome, [Applause] Hi, it's good to see you all again. Uh my name
058is Kate Bedford. I have two children in the district. Uh they're both at Batty Elementary School. I'm here today to talk about a great opportunity that I see to address funding issues. Um, within our PSD district boundary, there's a substantial tax increment finance or tiff district which takes advantage of a grandfathered version of state legislation to shelter property tax revenue from funding public amenities. Uh, the largest percentage of that revenue is intended to help fund schools. So according to Lamur County records, this specific tiff district, now about 20 years old, has withheld approximately 60 million from PSD since its inception in 2004. Uh with the same growth over the remaining five years, another almost 60 million uh could be withheld. This withheld funding is said to be backfilled by the state, though PSD staff will
059explain that this has not been the case until very recently. Additionally, backfilling this loss with state education funds means that one, state taxpayers across the state are subsidizing the tiff's tiff district's growth with and accumulated wealth and two, overall per pupil funding is being reduced. Furthermore, this TIFF district, which was farmland just 20 years ago, benefits from three brand new schools built in or around its boundary. District resources or funds have been channeled to support this subsidized growth. While the larger district has had to make sacrifices, deferring maintenance to existing facilities, a roof on a school building in an established neighborhood, which was in need of replacement, say, 5 years ago, is only replaced when the rain leaks into the classrooms. This tiff district, created via legislation set forth to help solve urban blight, is
060essentially causing it. Discussing this matter with the town manager and finance director that are knowledgeable of this district. I asked if the authority governing it would be willing to consider making an agreement to give some of the excess tax excess tax income withheld back to the school district. There's a precedent for this. Larammer County receives a rebate as does Pter Fire Authority. That's how they got their fire station. Uh the town manager informed me that the Pter school district has never asked for that rebate. They said the conversation could begin with a school district simply sending a formal request. I've educated myself on this issue. I've engaged state lawmakers, county officials, and many of you individually. Um I'm coming to here here because I feel like this is urgent. So I'd ask you to just
061please put your attention to this now. Ask questions. Lean on those knowledgeable about the matter to understand it. Begin conversations with the authority, please, and send that formal request for the rebate. Don't let this opportunity slip away. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Kate. Next up, we have Kristen Olsen. Welcome, Hi, good evening everyone. I'm Kristen Olsen. Everybody calls me KO. Um, and I'm here tonight actually just to issue an invitation. Um, I'd like to invite the board to consider attending part or all of negotiations on Friday. It's something that, um, I feel really passionate about. I'm a classroom teacher. I'm at Rocky Mountain and I didn't know a lot about how our contract was made or any of those things and I was invited to attend negotiations and it's just incredible. It's so interesting.
062I never thought that I would find something like that so fascinating and it is incredible to come here and see a lot of the people who are uh sitting at this circle also sitting at that circle and um bringing forth issues that are affecting everyone in our district in different ways and really working to problem solve. Uh this Friday they're talking about um options for a few different things. One of them is student behavior. They're also going to start talking about compensation for this upcoming year. And that's one of my favorite parts is when they start bringing in options. They have groups that go out, they come back and they share information. Y'all might know this already, but um I would love to see some of you all there. I'll be there with snacks all
063day this Friday. Um, and I just think that it's a really good opportunity to kind of see um, our colleagues in a different light and see a different way that they really advocate for um, our district and for each other. So, thank you so much everyone. Have a good [Applause] night. Thank you, Kristen. Next up, we have Danny Lawrence. Welcome. Clap it up front. I like it. Okay. Uh, two weeks ago, I watched the director of integrated services convey a new DEI philosophy in the district by lumping all disability children into a week called exceptional child week. I remained flabbergasted that anyone would think that that was being more inclusive. After leaving here, I looked at comparison school districts and I don't see any of them doing that. It makes no sense that students who
064have an IEP, an individual education plan, will no longer be regarded as individuals by PSD. At a time when nationally the disability community is clearly under fire, I feel like you all took the first opportunity possible to distance yourself from the most vulnerable population. Parents are talking about it and it's made a negative impact. And so I'm left wondering with regard to the DEI stance, when when do we live the every child every day and when do we not? In the case of Hispanic immigrant students, we require it in hopes of protecting them. But if it's the LGBTQAI community, we give 10-minute speeches and we create multiple affirming resolutions of support in public. And if it's disabled students, we marginalize them and their experiences altogether, further isolating them into a week where we barely mention
065them. On the receiving end, it feels like the Hunger Games of protected classes and disability is clearly the last priority. In my opinion, we lost ground as a school district on your watch two weeks ago with this new practice. Previously, I have mentioned that in my professional training, I when I questioned these DEI issues, I am trained and inter in educated to interchange protected classes in my thought process. And I would ask you to apply that here. For example, would we ever have a brownskinned child week in PSD where we celebrate Hispanic, indigenous, and Indian races merged together and call that inclusion? How about World Religion Week where we had Christian, Jewish, and Islamic religions all observed in the same week. The practice would be 1 million% offensive. It's not inclusive, and it's a violation
066of your mission statement. So, please don't just do it ex exclusively to disabled children. It feels wrong. It's arguably discrimination. And I don't think any of you want to be reputably associated with that. Decisions made by staff that are a drastic philosophic change from the norm need to be vetted in public spaces or at least in handpicked committees for feedback opportunities and that wasn't done in this case. Additionally, when you all dropped the ball in reviewing your own board policies, you set a leadership example for the employees here to do the same. Recently, I learned that the ILS program guidelines and is best practices rubrics for the district are 13 years old. Imagine what has changed in the education of disabled students in the past 13 years. Maybe our declining graduation rates make a little
067more sense now. And since the district is no longer engaging in acquiring the free training that was offered to you all at the Casby winter meeting, I ask for your response to the written policy complaint that was submitted to the board on March 11th. Five parents took the time to write that and to be considered and should be shown the mutual respect of your reply. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Danny. Next up, we have Anna Labetta. [Applause] Welcome. Sorry. Good evening. I come to you this evening with a lot of mixed emotions. Over the past few weeks, I've been part of an effort to get legislation on board for universal dyslexia screening for every district in Colorado for grades K through three. This is something that a number of families have been fighting for since
0682019. And every step of the way, the state has backed off because of pressure from teachers unions and resistance from school districts. With Colorado being one of only seven states left that does not have legislation that provides guardrails around dyslexia, we were incredibly hopeful that this would be the year that the tide would turn. However, it appears that there has been a well-coordinated effort between legislators and educators that will more than likely result in Colorado technically passing dyslexia screening legislation this year, but a lastminute amendment will most likely mean that it won't go into effect for two and a half more years. This is unconscionable. This keeps me awake at night, makes me sick to my stomach, and it makes me cry. We're talking about teachers, unions, and districts who are fighting for kids to
069be kept in a learning environment for two and a half more years that will ensure social emotional harm and academic failure to thrive. Students will continue to bear the burden of adults not wanting perceived inconvenience. And my fear is that as long as legislation tracks in this direction, our district will continue to feel justified in keeping talk around dyslexia ambiguous. I am asking our district to use your district autonomy to create your own policy to do better if this happens. The interim assessments we currently use in our district are equipped with a dyslexia screener that simply needs to be toggled to the on physician. You also already have access to an embedded dyslexia toolkit for teachers and parents. I am asking this district to act on behalf of students and put an end to harmful
070ambiguity. Just because a child is identified does not mean that they will require remediation. But these kids deserve to know why they struggle more than their peers. Whether a student struggles minimally, moderately, or severely. Their perceived sense of self is significantly impacted. A child who understands why they struggle will benefit immensely with appropriate support at home. But this cannot happen if parents don't understand the district that data dance around in not identifying dyslexia. This is a life and death situation. And there have been some really difficult situations that have happened within the past couple of months that I'd be happy to talk to any of you about that have happened in school in our district on school property during the school day because of unrediated dyslexia. It is time that we like genuinely stand behind
071this and do something about it. We cannot be passive about this anymore. Like we we need act action and I'm afraid that our state is going to protect that not happening and I'm going to ask you guys to please stand against that. Thank [Applause] you. Thank you Anna. And thank you all to who's uh thank you all who spoke today. Really appreciate it. Um we are going on to board topics and committee reports. This um agenda item is an opportunity for board members to provide an update on committee work or speak to board topics. Do any board members have anything to report? Anyone? Oh, sorry. There you are, Kevin. Uh, I wanted to uh express my gratitude to all those who helped organize our community board engagement sessions. We had our last two for the
072school year this past week at Rice and Bethki. Um, I think every board member attended um either um so uh a big thank you to Dr. Hooton for getting this off the ground. Uh President Draper also being your brainchild, you get to enjoy the credit there. Um, and just really briefly, I think that we've already had an amazing board meeting with a lot of exchange from our community and um, the last community engagement session was interesting, the one that I attended at Bethki because I think we had about seven or eight people total in the room. So, it was a fairly intimate discussion which allowed for a lot more candid exchange of what was, you know, affecting the district and we, you know, we always leave these informal and we want our community to come
073in and talk to us genuinely about what they think is going on and things that they want to elevate. And so, one of the big themes that I think I've taken away from attending each of these sessions is the importance of discussion. And I think that again to highlight some of the comments I made earlier is that I think we're at a very fractured point in our nation and that we have lost the ability some of us to have a discussion with other people especially those with whom we disagree. Um, I thought it was really noble for the folks that took time out of their day at 5:30 on a Thursday from 5:30 to 7 to attend some of our wonderful schools. And it's another great way to showcase some of our great schools. And
074I know we're going to continue that next semester. But, um, you know, I I came in with an open mind on a couple of things. And I've been thinking about some of those thoughts that community members pressed me on and a lot of it was the charge of the the long the comprehensive long range planning committee. And one of the suggestions was we don't wait for the recommendation. Let's make the recommendation early and give our schools that may be impacted more lead time. And that thought has kind of marinated with me. And I know we're going to be talking about budget tonight. I know we're going to be talking about 4A schools. We've heard a little bit of it already. And so I'm thinking about all these coalescing. So just to kind of validate our
075community that keeps showing up at community comment at our committees and all the important work we do in our classrooms every single day. Those discussions matter and they matter to our community because it shows that you're you care about this community and you care so much that you're putting forth a thought that may be different, that may be bold, that may be in the minority. And so I just want to encourage our community to keep showing up. Keep showing up to have these discussions, to have these thoughtprovoking exchanges and community comment and our board of education engagement sessions. We're listening. And I don't have all the answers. I don't think any of us do. We're we're not perfect people and we're not a perfect board, but we're certainly willing to put in the hard work
076and think through difficult decisions and take things that you give to us and let it marinate and have those discussions in public because I think that's how we get better. And so I think it was a tremendous success. I hope that we keep doing it. I know that superintendent has also been on the um on the path doing his own engagement sessions and so we're getting a lot of data and input from our community at a time when I think we need as many smart dedicated people that we can. So, I just want to say thank you to everyone who participated. Thank you everyone that came. Thank you for those that organized it. And let's let's keep it up. Go ahead, Scott. Yeah, that was a amazing meeting. Uh amazing three meetings, I guess, that
077we've had. I missed the first one, but I've heard good things. Um, I wanted to bring up, um, at the Future Ready Center back on April 10th, there was a hiring fair and I was lucky enough to be able to go and, uh, Tanya and her team put together a great group of vendors at the mall. Um, this is for seniors, uh, ascent um, uh, people participating in the ascent program and then, uh, ACE students. Um and you know it ran the gamut from people working for uh the city um the school district but also there was a company hiring crane future crane operators and I mean it was amazing. So um really well done uh and something that I think is is super valuable. I won't tell you who told me this, but uh
078somebody said, "For our seniors who haven't made decisions about college, this fair is known as the oh crap fair. What am I going to do?" And it's not those words, but I'll uh watch my language, Kristen. So, um but it it is one of those things that helps students that maybe are having a difficult time deciding what they want to do next year make some decisions. So, um really glad the district is doing that. Thank you. Anyone else? I just want to echo what Kevin had said about our engagement sessions. Um, thank you so much for all those all those who came out um who shared and expressed themselves with us. Really appreciate that. We will be doing those again in the fall. Um, so we'll be figuring out dates and times and places. Um,
079so keep an eye out for that come fall again. So, thank you. Anything else? All right, we'll move on to the consent agenda. Would any board members like to pull anything from consent? Okay, seeing none, can I get a motion? I move the board approve and adopt the recommended actions for the items on the consent agenda. Thank you. Can I get a second? Thank you, Carolyn. All right. So, can you call the vote? Jim Brokish. Hi, Kristen Draper. I. Connor Duffy. Hi. Kevin Havda. I Carolyn Reed I Scott Shoenbower I Jessica Zamora I motion passes 70. All right. Thank you. We'll move on to action items uh 8.1 monitoring policy review EL 2.6 asset protection. Can I get a motion? Go ahead, Jim. Thank you. I move that the board determine that the superintendent has
080reasonably interpreted board of education policy EL2.6 six in his internal monitoring report dated April 22nd, 2025. And that the evidence presented supports the superintendent's conclusions stated in the internal monitoring report. Can I get a second? Thank you, Jessica. All right. And is there any discussion on this item? Go ahead, Kevin. One very quick passing note. Um, so of the policies that we're asked to interpret, whether the superintendent has interpreted reasonably, I want to draw our attention to policy two on page five. Allow, among other things, the superintendent shall not allow facilities and equipment to be subject to improper wear and tear or insufficient maintenance. Um, and then we we went through the interpretive guidelines for what those uh various terms mean. And again, I I do like to highlight, and this is a proud moment,
081where this may seem prefuncter in any other meeting, but I think that given the state of where we were facility-wise, maintenance-wise, even a year ago, um the evidence, and this is directly from Superintendent Kingsley's report, the district is incredibly thankful and honored that voters in the Pter School District approved a debtree mill levy override that will collect 49 million annually, increasing by the rate of inflation each year in perpetuity to maintain and improve schools and facilities to ensure secure, healthy and comprehensive learning environments by replacing outdated electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems and addressing repairs and renovations to extend the useful life of buildings. Um, again, it's just worth uh one more time thanking our community for their that vote and and truly there's more work to do and I know we're grappling with transparency and
082I know we heard some of those comments tonight, but the position that the district is in now and the schools that are getting the things that they absolutely dire need um before which there was no reserve. I I don't think it can be overstated enough and again this isn't an end- all beall but this is a tremendous platform from which we can modernize our schools and so that the inside of our buildings match the excellence that our teachers put into our students every single day. And so I I didn't want to miss an opportunity to say thank you again to our voters and the trust they have so that we can continue doing the excellent things our teachers and our staff can do the excellent things every single day. Thank you. Well said. Anyone else?
083Okay, Jill, can you call the vote? Jim Brogish, hi. Kristen Draper, I. Connor Duffy, I. Kevin Havda, I. Carolyn Reed, I. Scott Shoenbower, I. Jessica Zamora, I. Motion passes 70. Thank you. All right, we'll move on toformational reports and discussion items. 9.1 board consideration of revisions to policies DJ uh purchasing DJA purchasing authority and DJB purchasing procedures DDA federal procurement and fiscal requirements and DID fixed asset inventories. Dr. Hutton, I believe we have some guests for this. We do. Tonight we look forward to hearing about the finance policy updates from Chief Finance Officer Dave Mononttoya and general counsel Autumn Aspen. Welcome. Thank you, Dr. Hooton and good evening board. Um, as director Draper mentioned, we are discussing several policies tonight on fiscal management. Um, I'll see if this clicker works. So, the purpose for tonight
084is to discuss the current state of the policies. Uh, because there are several policies and there are a number of red lines. Wanted to make sure that the board is grounded in what the current policies say before we get into what those proposed revisions are. Um then also to discuss the intent of the revisions the the reason why we are bringing these changes to the board for consideration now and then to highlight the major proposed changes for each policy. Uh given the number of policies and the number of red lines within there we won't be able to go through you know line by line or page by page. So I wanted to make sure that we could highlight some of the major changes but also want to make sure that the board and the community
085are aware that all of the proposed changes are included in red line in the board packet for review. And then the the final thing for tonight is to answer any questions and then discuss any proposed changes from the board that you'd like to see before the second reading. Uh so just to mention again the the policies for review tonight are DDA which is on federal procurement and fiscal requirements, DID on fixed asset inventories, DJ on purchasing, DJA on purchasing authority and DJB on purchasing procedures. So the uh current state of the three policies DJ, DJA and DJB those are the policies that really focus on the procurement and purchasing process and the first policy DJ on purchasing. That one really establishes the p uh the purpose for the district purchasing procedures. The reason why we
086have these policies to ensure fair and equitable treatment of persons or entities in purchasing, maximize the value of PSD funds and to standardize the purchase procedure, foster full and fair open competition for the purchases. Uh the policy also defines what a purchase is and then also establishes some contracting requirements um notably whether there'd be a a PO terms and conditions or other written pol or contract when a purchase is made. uh the current version of DJA on purchasing authority. The purpose of that policy in its current state is to discuss the purchasing authority for the board's superintendent and chief finance officer. I'm here uh the the authority is anything that is over 250,000 would need to be approved by the board of education and that's the the current state of the policy and also this
087policy establishes the delegatory authority to employees in the finance department and other district employees. As the policy is currently written, uh the chief finance officer is able to delegate authority to certain individuals within the finance department up to $100,000. And then the how DJB is currently drafted as the policy existing now. This is on purchasing procedures. This policy establishes a procurement procedures, documented price quotes, competitive bidding process, competitive proposal process, and it also defines uh exceptions to the purchasing procedures or purchasing authority. These exceptions are things like uh cooperative purchasing agreements, sleource items, or anything that's done in an emergency situation. This policy also establishes the grievance process for vendors or potential vendors to protest a purchase or the purchasing procedure and establishes the thresholds that govern the type of competitive process. As the policy
088is currently drafted, those thresholds are anything under $5,000. There would be no requirement to do a competitive process. Anything from 5,000 to 50,000 would require three documented price quotes. And then anything 50,000 or higher would require the more formal competitive bidding or proposal process. And then before going on, I just wanted to let either um Dave Montoy or Carbon if you have anything to add on the current policies before moving into the intended changes. All right. The uh intent behind these revisions, there's a few reasons why we're bringing these changes today. Uh first is to revise policies to include um the authority, methods, and thresholds into one policy. The intent here is to provide some additional clarity in the system and to people outside the system as well as um just make it have all
089the information about the process in one place so it's easier to track without it being in different policies. And uh another intent is to create a policy that's specific to contracting. Uh the policy DJB has been combined with DJA in this uh proposed revision. So then DJB will now become a policy specific to the contracting side. the last step in the procurement process. And then one of the other major changes and requests is to update the thresholds which was just discussed in the previous slide. And some intent behind those threshold changes is to really ensure that the district staff can um get the best value out of the procurement process, ensure that they're uh putting the efforts where it would make the most um impact. Anything to add there? Okay. And then for the last
090two policies, DDA and DID, uh the intended changes here is just to provide some updates to conform with federal regulations. There are some changes in the federal regulations that allowed for an update in the thresholds. So the the proposed changes there is to align our thresholds in that policy which is also in alignment with uh or allowed under the current federal regulations and also to make some changes to provide more clarity on the reporting requirements for um capital assets. So the um now we're moving on to the proposed updates to the policy. So policy DJ would now become a policy on purchasing and contracting. There's not a lot of substantive changes within this policy that's proposed. Uh a few things that uh well the purpose of the policy would be to still define purchase and
091still state the goals. uh it would also now include not just purchasing goals but also contracting and to establish the finance department's role and responsibilities in the procurement process and the reason for these changes is to improve clarity in the purchasing and contracting process. So to highlight a few of the changes within this policy, uh the policy title will be changed to purchasing and contracting, not just purchasing. And there's a revised definition of purchase. Uh and that would be to uh as the policy is currently drafted, purchase really focuses more on like the actual transaction when money is exchanged. But like to ensure it's very clear in the system and just in our policy in general that a purchase is really when there's an obligation made for the district to at some point buy something.
092So it could happen a lot sooner than the actual transaction. So we'll make sure that the definition reflects that and some of the information has been rem removed if it's redundant. Uh specifically information on cooperative purchasing because that now appears in other policies. I think the JB and uh some other language on uh I believe on contracting because that's now within the contracting policy and the some other changes is to clarify that the finance department's role is to facilitate the district's compliance with purchasing and contracting policies. is not the finance department is not the decision maker but really there to help all the uh end users in other departments or schools with complying with the policy going through the process ensuring they are um able to go through that effectively and in a way that
093benefits them and is in compliance with how the policy is drafted. So I'll pause there and see if there's anything to add from either Dave or Cara or questions from the board or proposed changes to this policy before moving on to the other ones. Any questions? Dave, did you have something? Okay. Not yet. I think we're good. All right. Uh, so the next policy is now policy DJA, which has been revised to purchasing authority methods and thresholds. The purpose of this policy is to establish the authority limits for district staff. uh to describe the approved methods for engaging in competitive process for a purchase and to establish a thresholds for the type of competitive p um process and it would also be to identify exceptions to the purchasing authority methods and thresholds which is in
094the current DJ policy but there's been some revisions there and then to permit a grievance process for protests. Some of the reasons for the changes being brought for this policy is to combine DJA and DJB like I mentioned before so that it is more streamlined and all included in one policy and then that also opens up DJB to be a policy on contracting and then specifically to update the purchasing thresholds. So to highlight some changes within this policy, as I mentioned, the policy titles changed to purchasing authority methods and thresholds and it merges the current DJB into DJA with some additional edits made as well. The grievance appeal process has been updated to allow some more specific layers of review. So in the proposed changes, the CFO would appoint an investigator if there's a a
095complaint or protest made who would then do the investigation, provide a report to the um executive director of finance who would make the first level decision that could then be appealed to the CFO and then the superintendent and for purchases over 250,000 there's the opportunity for the board to then hear the matter if that gets appealed that many levels. And I think one of the more substantive changes within this policy is those thresholds. So you'll see on the slide that there's the current thresholds which is in our current policy and then the proposed thresholds which are different. So in for anything now under $10,000 there would be no requirement for a formal competitive process or any competitive process. That's not to say that that process wouldn't happen. There's still the opportunity. This just provides the
096minimum requirements and then there could be additional things that somebody may choose to do depending on the type of purchase. And then from 10,000 to 100,000, the requirement would be to get three documented price quotes. As we'll see before, that threshold was between 5,000 and 50,000. And then for anything over 100,000, that would now require the formal process, whether that's a proposal or bid. And I would add at this point that these at least the two thresholds that the thresholds that we're looking at here are very similar to our comparable districts. Right. And just some additional changes within this policy. In the current version of DJ B, which is on the purchasing process, the there's authority delegation for of purchasing cards up to $5,000. And the proposed edit here is to increase that number to
097$10,000 to align with the thresholds as they are proposed in the policy. want anything on that one? So, a couple of things I want to add about this. Sorry, not next to me. Um, I want to make it clear that this doesn't mean that everybody that has a purchasing card automatically gets a $10,000 purchasing card limit. So, I know that that that's something that kind of looks like that on the surface when you look at this policy, but really what this says is we will go through a process, an application process and approval process. And when we assign purchasing cards, we give the lowest amount possible for the end user to achieve what they need to achieve. And so, a lot of our purchasing cards are at schools. Most of those purchasing cards have a
098$2,500 limit at this point um because that's what they need to do the work that they do. in our operations department. I anticipate having some of the cards up to $10,000 because that's where we're really going to see those types of purchases and the value ad of increasing that threshold, which really allows our operations staff to be nimble and respond quickly to the needs that they have throughout the district for those maintenances and repairs without having to go through that drawn out process. One thing I'll also add about these policies is throughout um all three of the policies there there are a lot of references to administrative guidelines that either are currently in existence and will be updated or policies that um or administrative guidelines that will be created. So if it's not in policy
099maybe because it's too in the weeds to be in policy but there's still a lot of other guidelines and documents that will be uh in place for these changed policies. Another change that is new in this policy would be uh the addition of the opportunity for the district to consider local preference as a factor in the competitive process. As the policy is currently worded, uh it's not a requirement. It allows for that option if there are some specific administrative guidelines adopted in place to ensure that there's legal compliance, also compliance with the policy, and to ensure that there's still fair and competitive practices. So the the policy language as it's worded would give open the door to seeing that as a possibility without requiring a decision be made at this point of whether that actually
100would be in place. And then the policy also removes certain exceptions to the purchasing methods and thresholds that don't really need to be in policy. Some of those were we had exceptions in there for like postage costs which isn't really something that the district can control. The cost of the stamp is what it is. Uh, and then some other things like licensing fees again where it's not really anything that would be subject to a competitive bidding process. So, those have been removed from the policy. And with that, I'll turn it over to board to see if there's any questions or proposed edits to this policy or to Dave and Cara to add anything else on the proposed changes. Any questions if Okay, go ahead. Well, one of the Okay, I'll I'll go first. And one
101of the things that I was hoping you could speak to is just um when we talk about um that 5,000 to 10,000 range that in um we are not asking people to do the three um search for three uh sorry bids. Bids thank you that would be the word. Um and I I just car if you could speak to the fact that how much time that is going to save finance and and what that means we can do with that than time. Thank you for the question. and I appreciate the opportunity to speak to it because this is a the piece of this is really near and dear to my heart. Um we have we are set up with an incredibly strong sourcing and contracting team right now. A lot of potential for this group
102to really do some change and make some good in the district and really do what we want to do which is increase value and get more time in the hands of everyone that needs it. As we know we're struggling with limited resources and we need to do more with less. So, by increasing this threshold from $5,000 to $10,000 to get competitive quotes, what that does for us is it eliminates the burden of a lot of paperwork, not only for us in the finance department, but for the people that are out doing the work, taking the time to gather those quotes. One of the things that we see as we look at the quotes within that range, primarily between $5,000 and $10,000, is we're not getting a lot of price variance. So the effort that we're
103putting into getting these quotes and going through the process to issue the PO and do everything that goes along with it, we're not seeing quantifiable results in in dollars saved as a direct result of that process because the competition is so slim in that area that it's not really adding the the value we we'd like. There's so much value we can add by doing proactive work in the district related to how we do our purchasing and contracting. And right now our staff and the people on the ground that are submitting the requests to our staff are kind of drowning in that reactive situation. And one of the things I'm really excited about is is the increase in these thresholds really allowing us to do that value add proactive work that we're really itching to get
104in and to do. So I I appreciate the consideration for the change. Thank you much. Kevin, go ahead. That actually dubtales into one question I talked to you both about in some of our initial exchanges. I'm going to direct our attention to DJA, which is the purchasing authority methods and thresholds. Um, specifically, I've got um two questions and then a comment. Um, the first one, and I think we we touched on this, Autumn, so I appreciate it. But to help contextualize the threshold of $250,000 that requires board approval. And as I'm thinking about this and I was thinking about these revisions, um, one thought that I had was that, uh, initially as a public entity with a public board, um, we're dealing with public money. And so there comes with that the responsibility of some
105oversight. And so that to put it plainly, the the voters understand the value of the things that they're being asked to pay for. The tension though that I that I've been thinking about as you've eloquently just said Kira which is I think the transaction cost right so in the the in the normal corporate governance um we could call board meeting whenever we wanted to do any kind of major purchase so as to not affect the timeline of the needs that that higher price is and so I think we're we're burdened a little bit by the bureaucratic nature of being a public board that we meet every two weeks they appear on our consent agenda as a package and that doesn't reveal all the work that's gone in between. So, the reason I bring that up
106is that I think that there are it's it's it's an appropriate number based on my understanding in our conversations. I wonder if you could elucidate just a bit as to how that threshold is reached and are we suffering from any transaction costs and not increasing that threshold right now? And then I've got a followup to that, too. So, we did some analysis on the $250,000 threshold, and really most of the the items that fall above that threshold are are the types of things that Autumn alluded to that really aren't things we can do competition for anyway. So, think about our charter flow through payments, our self- insurance claims expenditures, things of that nature where we don't really have have control to make those types of decisions. So, the majority of the expenditures over that threshold
107are in that first category. When we talk about things coming to the board of education for approval over $250,000, um first of all, that threshold of $250,000 is kind of in the middle of the road when we look at our comparison districts. We have some districts who are much much lower. Um we have some districts that are much much higher. If you take DPS, I think they were at a million dollars, but obviously they're a lot larger district than we are. So, we saw a lot of evidence of districts that are probably more ours size moving a little bit more towards the $500,000 threshold. Um, but again, I think you have to evaluate not only the dollar amount and the the quantitative amount, but the qualitative amount of what those types of expenditures are. For
108us, those are really our large construction contracts and projects. Um, I think most of those would still come to the board even if we did increase that threshold to $500,000. What our analysis showed us is that if we changed that threshold from $250,000 to $500,000, what that would give us is about a 3% decrease in the total dollar spend that would come through the board. So from our perspective, that's not a huge difference. Um, and really I think you hit on the key reason why I think I personally would advocate for a higher range, and that really is the timing. When we're talking about being able to get through some of these projects, the procurement process itself takes a little while, but really what takes us the longest amount of time is the contracting process,
109um the red lines and the negotiations with the vendors. And we have control of the procurement process timeline, but we don't have complete control over the contracting process deadlines because the vendor is what's driving that. Do they agree with our changes? Do they have changes they want us to look at? And what we find is a lot of times we are running right up to that board deadline for that packet for the two weeks to be able to get in those contracts for approval. And if we don't make that meeting, what that means is two more weeks before we can get that in and then go through the administrative paperwork process to issue POS before that work can even be started. So that's probably our our biggest struggle with that is that delay in timing.
110Thank you. Actually answered the second question too, which is where do we fall comparatively to some of our sister districts. And so it's it's it feels like a good spot, but I think it may be a subject that we need to revisit. Um, and I made this joke, but it's true. With inflation, tariffs, uh, a quarter of a million dollars ain't what it used to be. Um, I think you illustrate that nicely. And I, so I'll end with a comment on local preference. I've given this some thought, too. And all things being equal, if we're looking at competitive bidding, um, I do like the idea of a local preference. I do like, um, you know, giving opportunities to our local industries and our local businesses. But one step further than that, I think what really
111moves the needle to me, and I don't know what the feasibility of this would be, but if we can identify all things being equal to a local preference that may have PSD graduates within those companies, within those those vendors, that get that would move my needle. So, I just want to put that out in the in the room. Other thoughts? Go ahead, Scott. I'm glad you brought this up, Kevin, because that was the one uh we did a review of this just so everybody knows this is very detailed. um work that was put into this and and thank you for the team for meeting with us prior to this meeting. So it was uh kind of understood. One of the notes I made was the discussion of moving from 250 to 500. And I definitely
112think um that we need to stick with 250 because of the um fiduciary responsibility that we have and the current um I guess feelings in the uh in our with our voters to really manage the the 4A money. Uh but also uh with the talk of consolidations and all that sort of thing, we need to really that that fine tooth comb that we've talked about, we need to really be focused on that. And um the 250,000 uh is is a number I'm comfortable with and I don't think it's time to change to 500. Um, even though I do know the timelines, but I think the the one thing I've learned in business is when you're about to land a big contract, the buyer is always right. So, if they need a little bit more time
113to get it signed, we give them a little bit more time. So, that's just my two cents on that. Go ahead, Caroline. So, just kind of piggybacking off of your thing as opposed to the 250 as opposed to the 500. um what would the um difference be in what we would have to approve between if we if it was 250 are we going to be approving a hundreds and if it's 500,000 we're going to be approving a fraction of that so what are what is the balance there so I I can't give you exact numbers what I looked at and analyzed was the spend by vendor and as you know with one vendor we might spend let's say $750,000 through the course of the year but that might be comprised of several different contracts tax
114for several different projects, but I can tell you it's about 3% um of a change or 3% less that you would look at if you were at $500,000, which equates to about just a little over a million dollars, $1.5 million less that would come before the board um in in aggregated spend. I did some please if I'm wrong, when you have an attorney trying math, it usually doesn't go well. I think that's a helpful point, but also to contextualize further. We're about to move into our budget discussion. And so I did some quick numbers and 250,000 equates to less than a half a percent of a percent of our entire budget if I've done the math right. I think that's also helpful context. I'm not saying anything you said is is incorrect, but I also
115think big picture transaction costs. I like the knowing what that delta would be. What what more could we get with a higher or lower? Um I I personally feel comfortable with 250 now. I don't think we need to change it unless there's compelling reasons what that we're losing out or we're losing value. But I think what I'm hearing here and maybe you are as well is that the thresholds right now are are good and um as inflation and everything else uh kicks in that we may want to be looking at that 250 threshold in a couple of years and reevaluating. So, I think it's just put, you know, that just put that in the back of our minds as um these are those thresholds we we'll probably want to take another look at in another
116year or two. Yeah. Yeah. Other questions. Oh, fantastic. All right. So, moving along. So, policy DJ is now policy on contracting. Um purpose of this policy is really to outline the requirements for contract types, execution, essential terms and conditions for contracts as well as who's signing. We haven't had a policy specifically on contracting before. So this is really a new policy just to outline all things contracting within the district and um some of the highlighted change oh not so much changes but just what would be in this policy is that it is policy now on contracting and it would specify that a contract's required for any service provided to the district that may create liability unless exempted by administrative guidelines. So the intent is really anytime that there is a service being provided there's most
117likely inherent risk there and that's why we want to make sure that we have a contract for that but realizing also that there are times where we probably wouldn't need a contract. So uh the intent is to have administrative guidelines drafted that would then um allow for some exceptions that are specified within that guideline. The uh policy also defines terms including the types of district contracts that we have identifies certain requirements for district contracts and also establishes a matrix for signing authority for contracts. Um just one note here in our policies we've been talking about the authority and that's the authority for either the board or certain district staff to actually make the purchase. But within the purchasing process and with the contract, there's also other employees within the district that have more of the
118subject matter expertise and the ones who are actually the um you know deciding factor of what the purchases whether it's goods or services. So then the matrix reflects other staff who should also be signing that contract just to show that there's been other review. it's by other departments or schools and uh that matrix is different depending on either the the dollar amount of those contracts. So any questions that it's on the contracting policy. All right. Uh the next policy is DDA on federal procurement and fiscal requirements. This policy really specifies the requirements for purchases paid with federal funds. And the main reason for these changes is to update the thresholds based on the changes in the federal regulations which allowed for um increasing the thresholds and we ours now align with uh the thresholds for
119our other purchases that are not using federal funds. And then just to clean up some language for and update for clarity. I don't know if you'd have anything to add in this one, Cara. Okay. Uh so just as an example of some of the changes, we added some definitions into the policy and then updated those thresholds and then added some more specific information on recordkeeping which is just language taken from the federal regulations. Questions or edits for this policy. Right. So the last policy we're bringing today and the first reading is DID which is on fixed assets inventories. And uh this policy is to specify requirements for the district to maintain a list of capital assets for financial reporting. And the reason for these changes is to really provide some more information and clarity on
120what's actually required for the financial reporting to be a little bit more specific in the policy. It was a pretty short policy prior to these proposed changes and to provide more information regarding a property control system to protect all district property. Uh so the policy title has been changed to capital assets. It defines the term capital assets and then as I mentioned it clarifies uh the different roles between either the finance department or operations department to establish and maintain a detailed list of capital assets and then for operations to establish and maintain a complete property control system to protect district property. And this is really intended for financial reporting requirements. And I'll see if there's anything for you to add here. Okay. No. Any uh questions or edits on this last policy? Anything on this
121one? Okay. So, just uh really quickly uh just the timeline for how the this policy changes uh will move along. So, the first reading is tonight. Uh we'll bring back the policies for a second reading on May 13th. And in the interim between now and the end of June, district staff in finance, legal, operations, and IT, as well as probably some other departments, will work to either um update administrative guidelines that are in place if needed or draft new administrative guidelines per the policy language. And then the intent is to have those guidelines finalized by the end of June and have the policies with the updates go into effect July 1st just to align with the new fiscal year. Okay, questions? Thank you so much for all the work. I know that um yeah, this
122was a um kind of a quick um overview, but we I know you have to put a lot of work into that and a lot of work went into sharing what was uh what the changes are. So, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Oh, yeah. Caroline, go ahead. In the sec in the last slide, it said something about asset protection program or something to um includes. Let's see here. No, that there's like supposed to be an asset control program or or so the information. So, how is it that we are controlling our assets? I guess is what I'm trying to ask. So, do we have a computer like program that we're scanning things and and we're tracking our assets? Yeah. Is that done? So, uh, at a prior meeting, uh, Bud Hunt came and
123talked about the Service Now implementation. One of the aspects of Service Now is that it does have an asset system in it. And so, we are currently bringing that online. It's it's it's going to take us a little time to get it there, but our full intention would be to monitor these assets in that system going forward. Um there's complexity in bringing old data in and things like that that we're working through, but that's that's going to be the system of record. Okay, great. I think that yeah, that's something that maybe a lot of people don't think about. I know it's something that maybe I didn't think about before is about an organization this big, how it controls its assets is really important. It's hard hard to keep track of everything. So, it's good to
124know that we have something in place. Yeah. And this is a really good opportunity for us to make some really good improvements in that area as we bring the system on. Great. Thank you. Any other questions? All right. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Quick run. All right. So, we will now move on to 9.1 prelim preliminary budget uh fiscal year 2526 uh revenue focused. Yes. Joining us this evening to discuss the preliminary budget for the 2526 school year, Chief Finance Officer Dave Mononttoya and budget director Brian Gustoson. Welcome. budget document that's in your packets. We'll hit on some of the highlights um and then of course open it up for for questions uh that you may have. Remember this is a draft, right? So you've got a cover page and then you've got
125an assumption sheet in that budget. And that assumption sheet, page one, identifies these these highlights. This is a draft budget, right? This is an early look, a very preliminary look and it's focused primarily and our conversation will be focused primarily on the general fund and specifically general fund revenue. Uh it in th those assumptions we identify the per pupil rate that is driving uh the the revenue in this budget. We identify the funded pupil count and I'll talk about these as we get going. Uh we also identify estimates for charter school funding that flows through the district and to our district charters. And then ultimately um we'll get to talk about what is the amount the difference the delta that we see between the revenue identified and um expenditures as we know them now. Basically
126the current fiscal year expenditures. That's the amount really available that we're working with to close the gap here in the next month or so when developing a proposed budget. All right. So, additionally in that budget document, just as you're navigating through there, you're looking you see a variety of columns. Uh you're going to see a previous year actual column. Hey, that's fiscal year 24. That's last year. Hey, I keep getting mixed up. What is this year? I talk about this year is already 2026 in my brain but last year is fiscal year 24 23 24 the current year 2425 that budget the revised budget that was passed in January is identified in the document as well as estimated actual figures um that were generated at the end of the third quarter of the fiscal year
127the end of March. Additionally, now we've got a column for next year, the preliminary budget for fiscal year 26. That's the 2025-26 budget. And that fiscal year starts on July 1st. Hey, the funds. What funds are in there? Well, remember a couple weeks ago, we talked we we started to talk about more of the other funds. We felt the other funds were being left out from time to time. Okay, they're in there. They're in there. We probably won't hit on them a lot unless there are questions. Uh there are some adjustments there, but primarily we're looking at the general fund which is on pages two through five and summarized again on page 14 of your document. Those other funds are identified throughout pages 6 through1 13 and they should also reflect the same same fiscal
128years uh the previous the actual from 24 the current budget and estimated actual as well as a preliminary look at next year's fiscal year 26 budget. All right. So, let's uh talk about the revenue picture. The revenue picture. And this is page two, I believe, of your document. This is a screenshot that you have on on the screen uh that shows the overall summary of the district general fund revenue. And it's important to remember that um we're look we're going to look now at 100% of the general fund revenue. And I'll talk about different uh breakouts of of what makes up up that revenue. But we're going to focus on that far right column primarily. That's the 2025-26 preliminary budget. And the assumption uh that we're building this budget on is the same as a
129couple weeks ago at 28,613.9 funded pupils. And we talked about what funded pupils mean a couple weeks ago. This is an averaged count. It's based on four years of averaging and it does include district charter schools. Right below that, uh this would be line two uh before state reductions. This is the per pupil rate, $11,160. This is slightly different than we presented a couple weeks ago. And there's an important reason for that. In the in the the period that has passed, we learned about changes to ascent funding and the changes to ascent funding will modify our per pupil rate a little bit. So ascent students um ascent is a concurrent enrollment program, fifth year um basically fifth year high school type program has been funded at a similar rate in previous years to the rest
130of our our program. The projection is for next year, and it's still pretty early, uh, for getting this this really hopefully closely dialed in, is that that might drop by about $3,000 per pupil next year. So, that's going to impact our per pupil rate. Now, I'm going to talk about that more and I'm going to show you what we estimate that that to be. Um, so $11,160 and change per pupil. Lines five, six, and seven detail the uh combination of our total program. We've talked about total program a lot, and I'm going to show you it in probably a few different ways here tonight. Line five is state equalization. That's the back fill and and we've heard that term used at various times throughout the budgeting process. The formula is designed in 1994 is supposed
131to generate funding for schools out of property taxes. Property taxes in most districts cannot accommodate the totality of the formula. So, the state must equalize or backfill dollars to make the formula whole. That 163 million, that's the state equalization number that we're anticipating uh to make the formula whole next year. Hey, we anticipate that the formula will um drive 147.2 million of property tax into the system and another 8.8 eight, a specific ownership tax. Remember specific ownership tax, those are those are the the taxes on licensing vehicles and and um boats and those kinds of things. Okay, so line eight, line eight details our total state formula, also known as the total program. Total program, $319.3 million. That's about 73% of this general fund revenue. We focus heavily on that when we talk about the
132budget because it's threearters of of the budget. It's the big deal. Um and and we'll talk about, you know, where where are we with our certainty of that number uh here shortly. Below that, we get into some other revenue items, local revenue, $84.5 million. that is primarily mil levy overrides from various years including um not not including the 2024 mil levy override because that's in a separate fund but um most recently the 2019 mil levby override that grows by the rate of inflation. Other state revenue is in line 12 primarily that's driven by categorical funding and we talked about that last time a little bit as well. extra funding for specifically focused on like transportation or special education, vocational education, those items. And then line 13, the uh anticipated federal revenue in our general fund,
133about $3 million primarily. That's Medicaid reimbursements. So, it's not really new money. It's really reimbursing programming that we've already taken on. So, at the very bottom right of that visual, uh, 434,351,987, uh, the anticipated preliminary general fund revenue and that's 9 million or so greater than the current year, fiscal year 25. Okay, so I pointed these numbers out. Uh, line 14 has those operational revenues. Line 16 also indicates our beginning balance of reserves that has an asterisk by it. Without all of the expenditures plugged in, really the the reserve summary is incomplete until we get calculations including all of the reserves or all of the expenditures plugged in there. But if you'd like to look into more detail of the res the revenues or reserves, those are on pages four and page five. So more
134assumptions. Okay. What's behind especially that total program number that $319 million? Uh we've talked about this uh before the 2.3% inflation rate is driving the school finance act. Uh, additionally for the second consecutive fiscal year, there is not scheduled to be a budget stabilization factor in the formula and uh, the phase in of the new school finance act itself with some changes in how um, some of the factors are calculated and implemented is is uh, producing that change in revenue primarily. Remember that now we're looking at a four-year funded pupil count averaging mechanism as opposed to the previous five-year mechanism. and also as opposed to what was initially proposed as a zeroyear average. So, uh, as as as we're looking at that, remember also that we're anticipating and expecting that this is a tiered averaging
135mechanism in the the new formula that's supposed to move to a three-year averaging the next year, then two, and then work its way out of the school finance formula. Right now, if uh we were to compare that per pupil rate range, hey, we're up about $381.80 over fiscal year 25's uh value. And that funded pupil count, again, this includes district charters down 235.2 funded pupils. Now, I talked a little bit about um ascent, and it's important to note that that that change we think is going to impact both sides of our revenue and expenditures by about $700,000. Okay? Fewer ascent revenues coming in because of a a lower per pupil ascent rate, but then conversely, then we'll have fewer ascent expenditures going out. So, um, that that has impacted that change in the per pupil
136rate compared to what you saw a couple weeks ago. We are still awaiting some information. I understand that the the long bill, which is the appropriation of the budget for the state, was passed late last night. Uh, the school finance act, if you were to look at it, I a little bit ago I looked, still says under consideration. So, that means the dollars have been they're there. Now they're figuring out exactly are are we satisfied with where we want them to be and go. Um so as that sorts itself out, we continue to await then the the fiscal runs that come from CDE that give us a pretty clear idea of whether our planning is on track or we need to modify that a little bit. Uh late last week I understood from some CDE
137finance folks that there might still be some modifications in that charter school institute uh multi-dist online impact and we talked about that a couple weeks ago kind of an unknown still for us right now it's an unknown until we can see this formula with those um hopefully removed from some of the size factor calculation but um still to be known from our perspective. So, a different way to look at it. This is similar to a graphic showed you a couple weeks ago. Excuse me. We've got columns there that compare fiscal year 24 25 and on the farther right slightly highlighted 26. We anticipate that that funded pupil count is down by about8% and that per pupil funding rate of $11,160 up about 3 and a.5% due to the new formula and the 2.3% inflation rate
138embedded in there. Okay. Overall uh an increase in total program by about 2.7%. Now you'll see a slightly different number here in the total program 319.3 and it's slightly different than what's in the calculations in the actual budget. That's because the embedded table in this slide doesn't quite do the same level of rounding, right? So it's just slightly different. This is a this is part of the presentation. The document portion would be the actual number. It's slight slight variation still rounds ultimately to the same number. uh the fiscal year 25 to 26 change. This includes our district charters. This is less than we showed you last last uh presentation because of that change in the ascent funding. Okay. So I went ahead and factored that in to the um the per pupil funding rate. So
139what we see here is overall just that change about $ 8.4 million of increased funding. However, the charter uh flowthroughs also a different number than uh we looked at a couple weeks ago. As we have received the proposed budgets for each of our indist charter schools, it's apparent that their enrollment projections are higher than what uh we initially anticipated up about 136 in district charters. That would equate to about 2.6 6 almost $2.7 million of float through. When you remove those, we've got an increase in program funding to the district of about $5.7 million that we're anticipating in this preliminary budget. Going to keep slicing this different ways, show you kind of different ways to look at it. This is actually a view of a a worksheet that that we try and go through. It's
140just kind of a real highlevel planning look at our preliminary budget. And this was shared with our budget design team or and our budget advisory committee. That top line in this table total program 8.4 million. Really, this just summarized um what I showed you in the previous slide. What we didn't incorporate quite yet into the previous or in that previous slide were these two highlighted lines. The 2019 mil levby override, which you'll find on page five, line 16. We anticipate that to increase by a half a million dollars. That's the one of our mil levy overrides that grows by the rate of inflation. So 2.3% we will certify a number that's 2.3% higher uh in December than we did this year to generate that additional $500,000. The state categorical numbers again at the time we
141put this together that was estimated to grow by about that rate of inflation. those uh combined about a $400,000 increase. Now that the long bill has passed, we can start to dig into that and and they're they're hidden in there a little bit. You got to go find them and we'll find those actual appropriations and update this for the proposed budget um for those changes, but we anticipate that they consistently stay about that rate of inflation with increases. Okay. When you add those together, you've got a $9.3 million uh shared revenue increase. And then again, you take those charters out, 2.7. Now, we're talking about overall a revenue change of about $6.6 million in the um program funding and then adding in mill levies and state categoricals. Now, we're talking overall revenue. Okay. So on
142the other side and a couple weeks ago we prepped you of really we're not going to adjust much on the other side yet and really haven't but there are a few um either high level assumptions or knowns that are included on the other side so that we can get them in there now and and start planning accordingly. We do know that staff benefits on the health side of things are slated to go up again next year. Uh pretty consistent theme 5% about $1.6 $6 million to the district side of things. Utilities and insurance cost increases. We're pretty confident in the utilities um amount of about $500,000. The on the risk side of things are those insurance premiums. We really don't get a lot of that data till early May. Um so we've got an estimate
143in there and we'll modify that as we get some of that information. Then uh on the what early childhood non-federal share is this $ 1.3 million is a budget we must set aside um really to u illustrate our part of our funding of our early childhood programs. Okay. When we have Head Start in the mix and and last time, you know, Cara talked through a lot about uh grants and and those interactivities with the general fund. And this is one of those things where we do have to set aside dollars in our general fund uh to to make sure we're satisfying the programming for early childhood um programs. Okay. So, um, typically we've we've in in previous years used some restricted dollars to to make sure that happens. What we want to make sure we
144do and highlight now, especially with changes and potential changes that may or may not come, is we want to really make sure we call this out in the budget. We've got that set aside uh so we can take care of our early childhood program. Hey, other um on the expenditure side of things, other items. Hey, we've got some uh departmental budget uh cuts, reductions at central levels to the tune of about $1.7 million. That ascent expenditure I talked about, remember we're going to reduce um revenue by about $700,000 also then would reduce expenditures at the same rate. And then school budgets, we've we've uh compared really fiscal year 26 budgets that are rolled out at and fiscal year 25. So taking fiscical year 25's enrollment at the fiscal year 26 rates and when you compare
145those and analyze our our funding of um the size factor and those kinds of things, really about a $5.3 million reduction. However, uh as as I think was mentioned earlier, it's an infusion of $4 million from the debtfree mill levy in there for small school support in various forms. And we detailed that last time with foundational funding, zerobased funding um and size support funding and then supporting SBB student based budgets at the schools. Okay. When we factor all that in, those are really the changes you're going to see on the expenditure side. We factor all of that in, you get to page three, line 53, right? And real simple slide and and somebody in budget design team told me this a couple weeks ago, right? Just tell me the number. What's the number? Right? Okay.
146So, right now, that's the number we're we're looking at. uh when you look at the operational or or the total overall revenue in the general fund versus those known and our current expenditure level about $10.3 million available okay to work to work with and when I say to work with I'm talking about okay we've got a negotiations process ongoing to analyze compensation okay other uh budget priorities other critical needs that may or may not uh emerge here as we wrap up the legislative session and the end of the fiscal year. So really that's the number we're working with as as we know it right now. Okay. So what's next? As I mentioned, uh the long bill is passed. The school finance act now is should be pretty much done. We just we need to see
147the numbers. We need to see the formula. negotiations are are moving along and we'll start to really tackle the compensation side of things here as they um finalize things throughout the year. Again, uh if there are additional critical needs or budget priorities that need to be inserted in the budget or discussed or evaluated through um budget design team or budget advisory committee, then those um would have to be factored in as well with an anticipated proposed budget date presentation of May 27th, 2025. And then budget adoption no later than June 30th, but right now scheduled for June 10th of this year. So again, a build off of of two weeks ago. Um, but what questions, comments do you have that we can um talk about and then answer? Brian, could I ask for just clarification
148on the the mention of charter school growth? As I understand it, the primary driver there is that one of our district sponsored charter schools is opening a middle school next year, not growth necessarily across all of those charters. Is that correct? Correct. really see the uh the the growth in the projected enrollment growth is in one specific. Yeah, that the bulk of it for sure. In fact, one other one's projecting slight declines and kind of nets out another one. Thank you for that clarification. Are there questions? Go ahead, Carolyn. So, um I'm reading this week that um that they um a push to eliminate early head or Head Start programming at the federal level. And I saw you say that we're going to have to set aside $1.3 million for Head Start as our contribution
149to our part of it. If they were to end funding for Early Head Start, what was the Fed's part of that? What part would we be missing if that happened? Yeah, great uh question. I'm racking my brain. 2 point do you know $5.8 million. So that's early Head Start and Head Start. That's the federal portion in addition to our oneish million dollars. Thank you. Okay. So, and I guess I would just like us all to kind of think about that and keep our heads wrapped around that because if that funding does go away, I would think as a district and a community, we'd have to decide what are our priorities and values around keeping head start if if we lose federal funding. I think it's something that we have to think about. And to that
150end, Caroline, I think there's also um we need to be thinking about Title One. Um there's there's been talk about a 20% reduction in Title One overall. Um and then title um three was it title three and four probably being possibly being eliminated. So I think those those are all things that we need to be aware of. And so when we talk about having the $10 million we need to be aware that this is right now and what may be coming in the future may be very very different. So thinking about those rainy days they may be coming. Yeah. Yeah. I would say um having been through this almost 19 years now of different budgets, this is definitely a budget cycle as we go into the future that we want to be a little more
151thoughtful about how we're stepping into things. Um like you mentioned, uh any of the federal programs if they were to change, we're going to have to have some hard conversations as a district around prioritization and and what what are those things that are important and how how might we be able to do that? But it's there we probably would be very wise to maintain a good reserve balance going forward. Go ahead Kevin. Did you want to go? Did you have a question? I think so. I think this dovtales into the next steps question that I had. It was a larger one. So next steps is finalizing critical needs and budget priorities. You've already identified one. I think a few that I've heard. So looking at our timeline, proposed budget May 27th, 2025. budget adoption June
15210th, 2025. This may be an unfair question, but at what level of certainty are we going to have come June 10th and building up to that, the board meetings in between, what opportunities are we going to need to have those some of those frank discussions? And I'll add another one in there, too. We've heard a little bit tonight, is I think going a little more granular, the devil is going to be in the details as far as identifying this small school support measure, too. Um, I'm I'm still wrapping my head around some of that. Um, I have some thoughts that are somewhat um unfinished at this time, but more importantly, I wanted to make sure that we've got the opportunity to discuss some of these things before we're adopting a budget. So, can anyone articulate
153what those next steps would look like? Are we going to have agenda items for this so we can have robust conversations? Because I think we're going to be grappling with some very difficult questions and not knowing with certainty what the answers may be. So, so as I I forecast and think ahead, um, negotiations is a big part of it and so getting some understanding of where negotiations is going to fall and finalized is going to be a big piece of of that puzzle. Um yeah, I I think that um the other pieces as we as we talk about the federal funds and and all of those other pieces uh as far as the track that we're going to have to go, I'm not anticipating that we're going to have any new news by that time
154for those. Um the other pieces as far as the small school um piece from debtree milvy just in having conversations tonight I've got some ideas I'd like to go and work on a little bit to to see if there's a different way to think about that. Um and so th those would be the timelines I guess. Uh the negotiations is the really big one. Um but we will also be because when when we do negotiations we also have to I this is where budget development and negotiations kind of have to dovetail in the end is that for negotiations to finalize we need to understand what the critical needs are as well and so it's kind of a hand inand that those those are really the last pieces as you named them. It's the critical needs
155it's the and that's the compensation. One other item to to answer that question. Statutoily, we got to deliver a proposed budget to you by May 31st. Statutoily, we've got to adopt a budget by June 30th. But also statutoily, we may revise our budget by January 31st to 2026. And that's the acknowledgment that none of these timelines line up um ideally. And so we're going to do the best we can certainly in the next, you know, month and a half to to have something as as best as we know in front of you through discussions, through our budget design, budget advisory, those things. But knowing that we can continue to monitor and adjust is is helpful. One quick thought on that. Sorry. I was just going to add add one more thing Kevin and that is
156that the legislative session has to end by May 7th unless they go ahead and um you know propose something longer but um so we should have final numbers and I don't think there's any indication from anyone that this is going to go in excess of that um they can call to call a special session um so we should have actual numbers from the state by May 7th which will help with all of this too. Does that does that sound about right? Yeah, that that's that's absolutely and we we probably will get those numbers a little before that. It's it's really when the school finance act is done. And I just ask that the next meeting you all bring your collective finance team crystal balls, please. Um and the reason I just want to put this
157in the room is that I'm I'm thinking about the community engagement sessions that we've had. I'm thinking about listening feedback from our community from our community as we're now interpreting and wrestling with the ballot language of 4A and what it now is going to mean and make sure that we can deliver on some of the promises that we all made. Um I want to be mindful of that and also give space so that we can get the feedback and get the iterative feedback loops that we need from our community, from constituents, from negotiations and all that. Um, I think as I'm framing some of the challenges that we're going to be grappling with as a board and as a governance team is um, and I'll say this as delicately and indelicately as I as I
158can, but I think that from some of the conversations we had at our last engagement session that really stuck out with me is I'm now framing this conversation around small schools as as we're looking at the future, looking at our budget, what is the cost of closing a school in three to five years if trends dip and we we can't um rebound as as I think that we we still probably can with a lot of hard work. What's the cost of closing a school versus what's the cost of keeping it open and diving deeper into that? What is the cost of expanding that definition of a a small neighborhood school too wide? Because $4 million may seem like a drop in our overall budget, but that those expenditures to local schools and this goes back
159to the conversation we had about how schools set their budgets. Um I think that's an important discussion. I think we heard some of that tonight and and this is anecdotal, but I think we need to dive deeply into what that will mean and what those definitional criteria are going to be for small schools. Um because I think that will also the impact of those decisions that we make are going to echo in the years to come as we're grappling with declining enrollment and some of our population trends. So, I just want to put that out there and that's how I'm framing some of the the thinking now. And and so I I know there was some conversation at the dinner session around what's a small school and what isn't. And so I'm sorry I was
160late and so I didn't get to to to hear your answers, but I do think it's important to talk about this out here in public so people are here and people are listening can hear how we defined a small school. And then uh I did have a constituent ask me like how a choice school choice school, you know, that's all choice doesn't have a boundary could could be a small neighborhood school. And so I think that we need to kind of be talking out loud about what the answers are to that. You know, what how did we define a small school and how did we decide where the money would go? like how did we decide that one million would be spent on you know um AP support or so I guess how was that
161decided how is a a non-boundary school considered a neighborhood school and I can't remember what the I asked but you know I guess we I just want people to see how we how we did it. Thanks for that question. So um we did talk a little in session and So just to start with the what defined a small school. Okay. And so um the committee decided to adopt the same criteria that the um steering committee was using in the spring which is a 4700 um threshold of what was a small school and so started to look at that. Just could I get you to clarify 400 grade school 700 for a middle school. Right. 400 Yeah. 400 students in an elementary school. So anything below 400 and then anything below 700 at a middle school.
162And so that was the first type of criteria that we used. And so then in the um group that was studying and looking at like what would we do if 4A passed, we started by looking at what were the current current state and what was not available in terms of programming and services at those schools and what is needed to fill the gap. And so that group of principles, you know, identified here's the areas where we are experiencing a loss of programming or loss of services. And so using that sort of needs-based approach is how we identified then um the the modeling that we went through. And so we went through various different stages of modeling of like what if we you know applied this much to this group etc. And so how that then
163aligned with what they identified were the needs. And so then that led the group to identify those three levels of programming based on what had been the gap in needs that they were currently experiencing. And so the team also talked about that neighborhood component and really have gotten good fair feedback about you know is it small and neighborhood? Is it small neighborhood? Like what are we using for that ballot language? And the group did align around that the small school criteria of 4700 was the priority to the group and not as much like are you a choice school, are you a neighborhood school? Okay. And so that was a conversation that the group did have and ultimately decided that you know what everybody who has a gap in what their programming is feeling like it
164needs to be to be optimal and what we would consider a PSD promise that's the group that we should try and serve and I think it was a very um conscious approach to making that consideration. Not to say that that can't be amended, you know, based on wanting to have integrity, but the group really did um look at that and wanted to have integrity toward that ballot language. And so, um determined then that three- tiered approach that we talked about and at the time when we were talking about it, it was hypothetical like we think approximately a million dollars will need to go into this tier. We think approximately two million will need to go into this tier. And we think approximately a million dollars will need to go into this tier. And then um
165just in the last week or so we were able to define like where did those actually land in terms of dollar amounts. And so it wasn't quite in those hypothetical buckets. And so I think you know through conversations and feedback we're like okay now that we see the actual numbers what might we need to adjust and do differently? the the next level of work that the committee identified that needed to be done was in the size factor adjustment which is what I would consider the fourth bucket that has been applied to um schools for um several years now that there's been a size factor adjustment. The committee identified that that needs to be looked at again and and needs to be updated to reflect the current state. So that was another factor in consideration. The
166other piece that was in consideration is whatever we do within these three tiered buckets, we need to look out five years into the future and where will the $4 million take us? You know, will it last five years? And so that was another piece in the consideration. And so that group then um made a recommendation to apply that three- tiered approach to this year's budget cycle for schools to um receive that benefit in their school um based budget. Okay. So, if we were like saying um we were looking at the 400 for an elementary school, but the elementary school could only hold 400 kids. It would still be 100% enrolled. So, did you look at percentage of enrollment in the schools? Like, like I wonder about some of these schools. I look in here and
167I see that they are really small buildings. And so, I'm wondering what is the percent of enrollment? I've got the hard numbers up for enrollment, but I don't know what percentage enrollment they have. Did you look at that at the percent enrollment? So, if a school is 80% enrolled, would we still give be giving it it help even if it came in under the 400? Yes. Yeah. So, that size factor, the size factor that has been in place for many years has been applied universally to on a sliding scale just about enrollment. has nothing to do with utilization and capacity. And so that same approach was was not applied in terms of utilization when we looked at those three tiers. And and one of the reasons by that is that the majority of these budgets
168go to staff. So when you think about what resources are needed, it's really what number of staff are did with the number of kids. and and yes, the the capacity does come into play a little bit, but I think it's more driven by how many how many teachers and pairs do we need to serve this number of kids? Go ahead, Kevin. Sorry, I have another one. Um, and again, I think this is I'm going to echo this one more time that I I think we need to potentially re-evaluate our definitional criteria because I'm with you, Caroline. it it doesn't sit well with me because again when I'm knocking on doors and I was going to engagement sessions to pass 4A I know what I had in my head as far as what a small neighborhood
169school meant and for a lot of the community I believe so there's two charges here there's that is I think we need to be more intentional with how we're defining a small neighborhood school I don't want to speak into the room utilization rates again but I think that's what we're we're edging towards is a capacity ratio so a school that may be teetering on a 400 but has 398 kids is still receiving that factor size adjustment which I I I I I'm kind of I don't know if the wisdom is still there especially as 4A gets stretched out it's only going to do so much for a 5-year forecast etc. So shrinking that pot to who's available to receive it is going to do more good for the schools likely that need it more right
170now. The second charge is not for just us in this room, but I think I want to dispel the notion. I've said this in a lot of our engagement sessions is how I'm thinking about it is that this 4 this $4 million small school band-aid is not the end all beall. I think we're seeing that in our numbers now. I think we're doing a nice job forecasting kind of where we're going to be. So I I don't want the our community to fall asleep at the wheel, so to speak. I think that it's not, you know, it it as far as what's our locus of control. I'm very interested in looking at population trends in certain sectors, especially in district B because, you know, that's where I'm from in the southwest part of town. Why
171are enrollment trends going that way and what can we do about it? And I think there has to be a reimagining of how we're branding our schools. I'm looking at John Coat behind us is doing an excellent job with Choose PSD. And I think that what we what we discussed, I got some really good insights from our board engagement session on last Thursday about how different schools the the thought being there was a more competitive market 20 years ago as far as each school had to have a brand. Each school had to have an identif identifiable program that separates it disting distinguish itself from another school in close geographic proximity. I don't think that's the wisest thing to do and I think last year's exercise exacerbated that and that it became a a system of
172thieftdoms that was saying we're better than everyone else. Come choose us. So I do want to challenge some of the notions of having too much choice in our programming. And again, this isn't my jurisdiction to say that, but I think we need to start thinking more boldly in some of our schools and what what we're choosing to do. And having programs that don't correlate to a high school feeder in any discernable way that I can find, I think it's just another way of paralyzing parents who are looking at the system saying, "Where do we go?" I think the neighborhoods, if if I were king, neighborhood schools, it wouldn't matter what the program offered. There is choice still in that program. So, if I want to avail myself of that and go elsewhere because I know
173my kid better, there's that option. but your neighborhood school is going to hit all the bells and whistles and you're not forcing principles to make a program choice between can I afford another special or do I really need to buttress my um specials or or special ed teachers or things like that. So that's not a conversation we can handle tonight but I think it's an important one for our community to start grappling with and to not be asleep at the wheel and I've I've heard the word urgency a lot tonight. This is another urgent request. I think we need to start being bold about how we're thinking about our neighborhood schools and what we're going to offer and how we're going to start doing putting rolling up our sleeves to address some of the enrollment
174trends because it can't just be central office. It can't just be our district that's or a marketing campaign that's going to solve our ills. So I don't have the answer but I think that's an important part of the conversation. I think one of the things I want to point out um yes what what this is showing you are correct um is that um for a as every school gets smaller um the funds can do less and less um because we need more and more of them and we are stuck at the 4 million mark. Um what I will counterargue is first of all if you look at the ballot language which the seven of us um went through um we tested it, we marketed it um we made revisions and then we approved it has
175a comma in it. It says small neighborhood schools. The comma makes a difference. Let's eat grandma is different than let's eat grandma. So we need to be aware that that makes a vast difference. Okay. So, sorry, it's the librarian in me. Um, but it makes a big difference and we need to be aware of that and we also need to be aware that when we were knocking doors last year, we were talking about a PCA. We talked about them a lot and if we're going to remove them from a small school as a small school, um, I think we're going to have people knocking on our doors again. So just be aware that as we you know it it's unfortunately what I feel like this is doing is bringing back that fighting um against each
176other and I want us to be very aware of that that we don't as a board especially bring back that thought process of it's we lose if they win and they win if we lose. So we all have to be doing this together. we all have to be figuring out how can we make the most of this for all of our kids. Um, and I think there are definitely discussions that need to be had and I just want people to be very thoughtful about that um, when we are talking because when we start talking about winners and losers that can be um, very detrimental to all of our kids. So just being aware of that. Anything else before we go ahead? I would just say I agree with you Christian. And we don't want to
177have winners or losers, but we also want to be sure to have thoughtful comment or thoughtful and constructive conversations in public so that everybody knows what the board is thinking, knows what the board is up against, knows that the board is taking um community feedback seriously. So when you write to us or you call us and you ask us questions, we are having a lot of conversations around that. And I think it's really important to have this conversation in public. Agreed. Go ahead, Jess. It pains me a little bit to say it, but I also think there's a difference between a comma, between a verb and a noun and two adjectives, but I'm just going to throw that out there. Um, that's not really my question, but I couldn't help it because you are the
178librarian and I am the mathematician and that seems I had to poke. Anyway, my real question is, can you explain how the science factor came to be? how it's like I just need a I need to wrap my head around what that actually means um and how we calculate it because it's applied to pretty much every school. I mean or mo the vast majority of our schools all but the high school. Yeah. So I just want to understand like because in my mind size factor feels like it shouldn't be all schools. So I just want to understand like what that where that came from. Sure. Um I get the job of being the historian often. So, let's let's go through it. Um, when we first moved to studentbased budgeting almost 19 years ago, um, we
179moved off of an FTE model into a weighted formula model. And when we did that, we identified a number of factors that we were considering like at risk and at that time we were thinking of free lunch. Uh, we also looked at language proficiency, that was another one. GT was another piece. And so, that's where we started moving in that direction. But what we did at that time and this was again 19 years ago when we were doing this is we were running models to say okay this is where you are and this is where you're going to be and what we realized the first year is that there was a big missing piece because of size and so what we did at that time is we hired a firm um they're called Augen Blick
180Pick and Associates they do a lot of adequacy work at the state level they came in and helped us look at size and there's actually I could probably find the size study or the the report that we did from back then. And what we did is they they led us through an exercise where we built prototypical models. And what that meant is we started at a school of like 600 and we said staff that and so we had principles folk I can't remember all the people that were in there like 19 years ago but we had good representation across the district and we talked about what are the needs at those different levels. And so you you define a staffing model for for the the larger school and then what the way the the the
181approach was is you start ratcheting it down. So you say, okay, if there's a hundred fewer kids in that school, what does that look like? What does that staffing model look like? And what we found is that there was high variability um based on teachers in Paris. So as schools like that that was very variable variable where it really got sticky is and then this is why we're talking about it again is when schools get smaller the specials and the other pieces that are not necessarily driven by like a student count purely start getting sticky and the best example and I know it's not the greatest example because we really want to focus on instruction but think of an office manager the wisdom at that time with that small school study was we have to
182have somebody monitoring people coming in out of the door regardless how big we are. We can't have a halftime person there. They they need to be there full-time. So, what that does is it creates a fixed cost and something that we're trying to apply a variable formula to. The way we compensated for that is we created a size adjustment. And the size adjustment was trying to compensate things for things like being able to continue to have a full-time office manager or somebody at the door to monitor people coming in in and out. It also started coming into specials as well. Um so that's 19 years ago. That's where it started. Um we did not we we really didn't change studentbased budgeting a lot. There were a couple modifications around around English language and stuff like
183that where we pulled some out and and didn't do that. But um it wasn't until it was actually COVID, the first year of COVID, that there was a desire at that time um to relook at the entire formula. And so we convened a committee again. Um I did not hire Augen Pelican and Associates again because I saw what they did last time and it wasn't that hard. Um and so we did it again and we had a room full of principles. There was some teachers in that group as well and we and I I kind of facilitated but they they led me through building prototypical models again. And so we started at 500 and then we started moving down and we started looking at what are the what are those costs that are fixed in
184nature that we need to adjust for size and then what are those that are purely variable and what we did is we just built staffing plans for all these prototypical models and then we can cost those out. we can come up with a dollar amount and what you what you find in that analysis is those fixed costs are what generate the need for a size. Um so we did revisit that uh I I can't remember exactly what when was co 2020 um that was that year that we actually started doing that work. It was 20 through 20 it was the fiscal year 21 when we did it. Um and we did make some changes to the size adjustment. We also made some other fairly large changes to studentbased budgeting at that time. Um, prior to
185that, we used to have one base unit for elementary, middle school, and high school. Um, based on the work and the prototypical models and and the way we approached it, we realized that we don't need that as much of that. And so that was that was another piece. The the prototypical models just yielded that. So it was it was an interesting journey on this. Um, I think that I think again as as Dr. guy had mentioned as we were going through the small school discussion, it it came up again to say, should we be looking at the size factor? Um, that's where it came from and that's what it's trying to do. Um, and it really comes back again to trying to compensate for those costs that are more fixed and not variable. Okay. And
186I'm I guess I'm still confused because that would imply to me that if a school like if an elementary school was above the 400 that they wouldn't need that or they wouldn't get that. So I'm confused why like our elementary schools that are above 400 or middle schools that are above 700, wouldn't they be fully funded? So So we we built the elementary prototypical model. We started at the high end at a four round school and then what we were doing is dropping the enrollments and building staffing plans against that. So even at the the higher level as you decline your funding is declined by that same amount. So you're theoretically your office manager and those specials and everything else is needing to decline as well. And so as you go as you go away
187from that higherend model down lower there is like a continuum. So it's like a curve and as you go down further and closer and closer to getting smaller the curve starts kicking up exponentially. And that was the challenge that we had is that we knew that with declining enrollment that because of the exponential nature of that size curve that the size adjustment was going to need to keep growing and growing and growing as we got smaller and smaller. Understand? So, another way of saying that too, Dave, correct me if I'm wrong, is that as I was wrestling with this too, and how I understand it is that that formula is basically set regardless of those those thresholds of 400 700, meaning that if there is a delta one way or another with that school beyond
188a certain point, it's still going to reconcile or account for that dip based on that formula. And I think I understand some of that too would be that a larger school is then going to start budgeting for more staff and then all of a sudden have fewer kids but still have the same fixed cost more or less of that staff to adjust for that. So that buffer would then appropriate be appropriate in that situation. I think what I'm getting at and I think I don't want to speak for you Jess but I think the concern there being is that if we're using those 400 700 thresholds to define what is a small school and therefore apply the band-aid there. I think that it seems inappropriate to me to then um apply that same or the
189the different factor to schools that are already exceeding that threshold almost at the expense of what we could be giving to a smaller school if you were to reappropriate that back into the funding. Does that make sense? Because you lost me along the way. I I think I think I caught most of that. I think it does make sense. I again I I think the um the wisdom right now is that we do need to come back and look at the size adjustment again. And just one thing to add, it's not a consistent size factor from school to school to school to school to school. Every school has a different population. It's a graduated scale. So whether you have 280, 275, that size factor changes. So it is it's not the same number for each
190school. It is relative to the uh enrollment and it increases exponentially as it that's what Brian's talking about is it starts out small and then as you get smaller it starts to come in even heavier. Go ahead. Um, does this include like does the size factor adjust for like you mentioned English language learners? I assume no. Like that's not No, that the size factor was really focusing on those costs that are not variable or not purely variable. So again, the office manager is the best example, but you could apply that to specials, you could apply that to counseling, you could apply that mental health is different. We require the full-time mental health, but when you're funding based on number of students as you decline, you're not able to buy 100% of that. And so what
191happens is to be able to maintain that, the schools are cutting paras and other things like that to keep those specials and those things full. And the size factor was trying to come in and compensate for that so that we weren't taking away from the teachers and parasite to fund fixed costs. And that that's why it was generated. So that would make me expect that a school that has fewer students would have a larger size factor than a school with more students. But that's not what this table tells me. You don't have the size factor in front of you. You have the change in the size factor. The size factor is much bigger. I think one more thing. Can you um I I think there was some misinformation earlier today about um the last part
192of that too, the the um AP support um and so I don't know if we can um just go over what that is. That was part of my other question. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. So um the AP support has always been tied to enrollment. So x num x number of students equals a central allocation of AP support. And so in the the process of that committee and determining what were those three tiers, what was a gap that principles have not noted was that a large portion of their SPB was going to pay for those other AP costs. So our formula for allocating out APS was all typically a partial like a lot of schools were getting a half-time allocation and so then they were backfilling the other halfime of that administrative support um from their
193studentbased budget. Therefore it was not you know allowing them to put it toward other resources in the in the school like licensed staff in Paris. And so the thinking in the committee is if that central allocation were then um increased for for that um particular funding source, it would free up the SBB so schools then could really and truly apply that to licensed and paraprofessional staff. And um and so that formula was adjusted to reflect the ability to free up resources within um their studentbased budget. So, all the all the schools have an AP either part-time or full-time, right? I mean, all of them, right? That's not a site that's not a site decision. That's That's correct. Nearly all of them do have that with the exception of the Mountain Schools. Okay. Other questions? Yeah.
194Go ahead, Scott. Um, appreciate this conversation. And I think it is really important uh as Caroline was saying to have this in in public. Um I think we all learned our lesson last year and how how engaged our community is. I I am always amazed when we get emails uh how well thought out and how much time people spend writing these emails to us. So I think we owe it to them to spend the same amount of time talking about it in public and behind the scenes to to really get to the right answer. So, I appreciate all this. I appreciate the work that's been done on the budget. I know from my own personal experience after putting a ton of work into it to then say, "Hey, go back to the drawing board is
195one of the most frustrating things ever." We're not necessarily saying completely go back to the drawing board, but I think we have legitimate questions to to be answered and addressed. So, um, I I want to encourage you guys that we're not pulling the rug out from on you, but we are just asking the questions that the community is asking. Um, on a totally separate subject, uh, for Brian, whose legs are really tired right now, pretty much, um, on on the ascent, uh, the $700,000 reduction, what percent reduction is that compared to what we've done in the past? It looks like uh what was proposed in one of those amendments, I haven't done the exact math on about 30%. Okay. Of a reduction in that per pupil rate and we were hearing during the leg earlier
196in the legislative session that ascent might go away completely. So, we kind of thought that was a good place to land. Yeah, I think that's good. I think I want to make sure the community knows that our elected officials heard you. uh because I've I've heard that um that there was a big push back on that because a lot of people plan for a couple years to be a part of ascent. I think it will be important for us to get communication out as quickly as possible about that for this year and what the implications are for next year because I've heard that might be gone completely next year. So, um which would just be a travesty. But, uh anyhow, hard decisions have to be made. So, um, I appreciate that information. Thank you. Can
197I make one final comment? Yeah, absolutely. Kind of on that note, too, there's this also there's a sense of uncertainty and people are very nervous about everything. Um, depending on how you're going to be affected by some of the national trends, and the state trends, at least from my vantage, I'm looking at the professionals across this table and behind me and in this room, and I I feel a level of calm and comfort that we have analyzed scrutinized. We don't have all the answers. We don't have we can't project certainty as much as it would mllify some of the concerns of our community. But I feel very good about where we are. The experts in the room having been through this and the historical piece that you that you add to this. And so I
198just want to project my own calm to our community that we've got some really dedicated, incredibly talented, smart people that are looking at this. Yes, we're going to have hard conversations. No, it's not going to be perfect. And yes, there are going to be some unhappy people at the end of any budgetary cycle. Um, and I'm not I don't want to minimize the importance of those concerns, but I do think I feel very confident going into the next couple of months that we've got our arms around the problems that we can identify, that we can control, and we'll make some tough decisions together. So, I want to thank you again for all the work and making me feel calm. This process is not opaque or as less opaque as it can be, and that um
199we're armed with information. That's all we can ask. Yeah, I Yeah, go ahead. I just I just want to echo what you what you said, Kevin. And I think it it is um a level of transparency and calm and um knowing what we are looking at here um and being able to have those discussions um I think is is huge. And so um I just want to say thank you for that. Um and you know I I think one of the best things about this uh this group here is that we can agree to disagree sometimes, right? So I think that's one of our um our strong suits. Um, but the fact that we can have those tough discussions and we can go ahead and and um be confident in the information I think is
200huge. So, I just want to again echo that. Thank you. I'm going to jump on this train because I was thinking earlier in my three years, we've had really hard conversations about budgets between COVID consolidation and all the things happening this year. Like, it hasn't been an easy cycle yet. and I know you've been doing this a long time. Um, and while we've had hard conversations, we've had frustration, I also have never had to lose sleep wondering if we're doing the best we possibly can for our students and our district and our community. So, I just want to throw out the thank you of as far as we're going to continue to have hard conversations and hard questions and push back as we should. Like, that's our job. But also, I just want you and
201your team to know how much If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't feel comfortable pushing back, right? It would be different. So, the fact that we can push back and we can have the hard conversation publicly and still know that we're going to come out on a good place when we're done, I really appreciate the comfort that I feel and I think the community feels with that. I feel like that that's how we come to better solutions in the end is when we are challenged and we and we have that dialogue back and forth. I really want to thank you for that. I I know that uh pretty much twothirds of my team is here hearing that directly right now of the leadership team and and uh so I I do really appreciate that a
202lot. All right. Thank you. Thanks for the conversation and questions. Jim Jim, did you have something? You had your hand up a minute. I guess I would say ditto. No. Of of the three of the three comments here, huge level of trust. Thank you for everything. I just want to add, you know, uh pretty soon three of us won't be here, you know, come November. And it's nice to know that when you step away that, um there's still going to be really great staff here to support the next board of directors. That's such a comfort I think for every um board of director who's who's left the board that you know it's being left in really good hands and that the staff has always been great about supporting me for 11 years and I've had
203some great um great relationships with the staff here and I just appreciate all of you. I know I'm getting ready to cry. I know. All right. Well, once again, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Um, and so with that, we're gonna not go to adjournment, but go to our Yes. Oh, sorry. Go ahead. I move that the board enter executive session to develop the strategy of the school district for negotiations relating to the 2025 2026 collective bargaining agreement or employment contracts as authorized by CRS 24-6-424E3. Individuals invited to join the board in executive session are superintendent Brian Kingsley, chief of staff, Dr. Lauren Hooton, lead assistant superintendent Dr. Tracy Guile, chief finance officer Dave Montoya, and general counsel Autumn Aspen. Can I get a second? Kevin, thank you. All right, Jo, you want to
204call the vote? Jim Brokish. Hi. Kristen Draper, hi. Connor Duffy. Hi. Kevin Havda. Hi. Carolyn Reed. Hi, Scott Shoenbower. Hi, Jessica Zamora. I motion passes 70. And now is the time when I say something to the effect of we will now go into executive session. Uh the only time we will be back is to close the meeting to for adjournment. So have a great night.