001I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Uh Vicki, would you do the pledge of allegiance for us, please? Thank you. and justice for all. >> Amy, you want to roll call? >> Mr. Chavez >> here. >> Mrs. Cole >> here. >> Mrs. Evansson >> here. >> Mrs. Heights >> here. >> Mrs. Switz. >> Thank you. Can I have a motion and a second for approval of the agenda? >> Motion to approve this evening's agenda. >> Second. >> Mr. Chavez, >> approved. >> Mrs. Cole, >> here. Approve. Sorry. There we go. Mrs. Evansson. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Heights? Yes. Mrs. Woods? >> Here. Next on the agenda is the meeting minutes and summary approval. Like to see if we have a motion and a second to approve the minutes of November 18th and November 21st.
002>> Motion to approve the minutes from November 18th and November 21st. >> Second the motion. >> Mr. Chavis, >> approved. >> Mrs. Cole, >> yes. Mrs. Evansson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Heights, >> yes. >> Mrs. Woods, >> yes. >> And we come to the part of the board meeting that's really um it it's really nice to have. We are going to do the recognitions. And please, if there's a large group of you that does the recognitions, uh Kelly or Sierra will end up having you go out in the lobby, take a picture or not, you'll have you be in front so we can take your photo also. So the first one is dinosaur ridge quiz bowl state winners. All right. Is this everybody? Okay. >> First and third. >> Is this Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
003Let's bring every Well, how about is this Are you guys first? the first. Okay. How about we have first here and then how about third go over on that side. Does that work? We'll just have everybody because I have all your names on one sheet. >> Sounds good. >> Okay. And then I think I can have all the but you can help me. Okay. Sounds good. All right. >> Um All right. Well, we already have you at the front of the room, so um so coaches Cody Shraftoft and Noah Schmidt and the Grand Junction High School academic teams, including the academic A team led by Eric Turllo. Is that right? Okay. With Neil Scott, Madison Schultz, Carter Reynolds, and Sean Prestankan. >> Pristangen. >> Okay. Along with academic JV team of Brian Pstankan, Eric Scott,
004Brook Foster, and Xavier Marks. The Dino Ridge Science Quiz Bowl brings together more than 20 high school teams from across Colorado to compete in challenging rounds of science knowledge, including geology, paleontology, biology, and astronomy. This year, the depth and strength of the Grand Junction High School academic teams were on full display with both the varsity and junior varsity teams earning top three finishes. This impressive outcome was made even more meaningful as both teams included siblings competing on different squads and the junior varsity team advanced to the finals after outperforming several highly competitive science programs from across the state. These results reflect the students dedication, perseverance, and passion for science. Their success, supported by hours of preparation, strong coaching, and teamwork, highlights the academic excellence of GJHS and continues the program's long tradition of statewide achievement.
005The board of education and superintendent Dr. Hill are proud to recognize these students and coaches for this achievement. We see the commitment you bring to your academics and extracurriculars, and this recognition is welld deserved. Congratulations and we look forward to your continued success as this year progresses. So well done. [applause] Okay. So Sean Sean. Okay. All right. Carter. Okay. All right. I'll give you the extras. Um Madison. All right. Good job, Neil. All right. Good job, Eric. Thank you. >> All right. Uh Brooke. Xavier. >> All right, Brian. All right, so sibling competition there. And then Eric. All right. And then we had a couple that. All right. We'll get you. >> Oh, okay. Oh, you guys are on the other one. Okay. Awesome. And then you guys, she'll get your picture outside, right? Because
006you guys Well, well done everybody. Let's give him another round of applause. [applause] All right, different. >> The next is the Colorado Quiz Bowl National Qualified Winners. >> Yes. So, if you were in the Colorado Quiz Bowl National Qualifier First Place Team, come on up. Do you want me to read the names so you know there's only four? Okay. Okay. All right. So, under the leadership of coaches Shakra and Schmidt, the Grand Junction High School academic team continues its strong tradition of excellence, most recently earning a first place finish at the Colorado Quizbowl National Qualifier. This year's victory secured the team spot in the high school national championship tournament, which will take place over Memorial Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. The win was especially memorable as the GJ academic team defeated longtime rival Classical Academy
007in a sudden death tiebreaker during the final round. Classical Academy had previously placed second at the Dino Ridge Science Quiz Bowl and had defeated GJ GJHS earlier in the season, making this championship match a high pressure and hard-fought contest. These students spend countless hours in preparation of these tournaments and these results reflect the tremendous dedication and passion for academic competition as well as the steady guidance and leadership of their coaches. The board of education and superintendent Dr. Hill are proud to recognize the GJHS academic team coaches and its members for their continued success and wish them best of luck as they prepare to represent our district on the national stage. [applause] I have Carmen, Lincoln, Neils, and Eric's. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] Next is the recognition of performing schools. Hello everyone. What a great
008turnout. So, [clears throat] I'm going to name schools and persons. Excuse [clears throat] me. And if you could stand right where you're at uh until we're all finished, would the administrators from the following schools please stand and stay standing when your school is called? Appleton Elementary, Corey Hayy, Broadway Elementary, Brittany Westbrook, Chatfield Elementary, Sally Huddle, Chapida Elementary, Jamie Chairo, Dose Elementary, Cinnamon Kain, Dual Immersion Academy, Tyler Mclofflin, Fra Middle School, Jeremiah Johnston, represented by Dave Neil and Becky Strel. Fruit of Monument High School, New Close Meer, Grand Junction High School, Jory Sorenson, Independence Academy, Lisa Gonzalez, Juniper Ridge Community School, Maria Carris, Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary, Sha Mccur, Loma Elementary, Nicole Whimsat, Mesa Valley Community School, Laura Jean DS, Mesa View Elementary, Stacy Cohen, Monument Ridge Elementary. Lost my spot. Emily Larson represented by Beth
009Butterfield. Mount Garfield Middle School, Daniel Bagwell, New Emerson, Aubrey Hoffman, Orchard Avenue Elementary, Teal Maxwell Richards, Orchard Mesa Middle School, Danny Medv, Palisad High School. Dan Ballinger, Pear Park Elementary, Zachary Moore, Pomona Elementary, Bill Fafendorf, R5 High School, Nick Steinmets, Redlands Middle School, Scott Davis, Rimrock Elementary, Emily Curry, Shelley Elementary, Cammy Kidd, Taylor Elementary, Shaun Wilson, Thunder Mountain Elementary, Stephanie Williams, Taupe Elementary, Summer Kennedy and Windgate Elementary, Amy Schrader. Every school in District 51 works tirelessly to ensure that students have the tools, support, and opportunities they need to succeed. Each year, the Colorado Department of Education evaluates schools across the state through the school performance framework, which measures achievement, growth, and for high schools, post-secary, and workforce readiness. These results act as a school's annual report card and help guide planning for continuous improvement. This
010year marks a historic milestone for Mesa County School District 51. For the first time since the Colorado Department of Education introduced the school performance framework in 2010, 31 schools or 82% of District 51 schools achieved the highest possible designation of performance. Reaching this milestone means District 51 met a major academic goal set three years ago in our first three-year communitydriven strategic plan. It reflects the passion and commitment of our staff, the dedication of our students, and the steady work happening every day in classrooms across the district. Behind the district's overall results were strong gains at individual schools. Dose Rios Elementary, Fra Middle School, Grand Junction High School, Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary, and Thunder Mountain Elementary each advanced a full level, reaching the state's top academic rating of performance school. These results reflect the collective efforts
011of students, staff, school leaders, and families, and highlight the district's continued commitment to academic growth and student success. Tonight, the board of education and superintendent Dr. Hill want to recognize the educators and leaders whose dedication, passion, and commitment made this progress possible. If you are a staff member from one of our performance schools, please stand and be acknowledged alongside your school administrators. Thank you for the countless ways you support students every day and for all the ways you ensure that our students remain at the center of everything we do. [applause] All >> [applause] >> right, y'all can be seated, but I got a couple more things to say and I'm going to make y'all stand up again. So, um, so, uh, I want to say a few more things about these schools and if I
012call your school's name and you are a staff, family, or student at the school, please stand. Um, Fruta Middle School, Grand Junction High School, Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary, Thunder Mountain, uh, can y'all stand up, please? These schools are all back at the performance level. Fruta Middle School grew by seven points on their SPF. Lincoln Orchard Mace Elementary grew by 10 points on their SPF. And Thunder Mountain Elementary grew by 13 and a half points on their SPF. Can we give them a round of applause? [applause] Oh, y'all can sit. Sorry. Um, do Rios, where's Cinnamon? uh not only at performance this year but also for the first time in the school's history a lot of hard work at performance and grew by 13 and a half points on their SPF. Give them a round of
013applause. [applause] All right, if these schools could stand up if your staff again any part of the community Mesa Valley Community School, New Emerson, Orchard Mesa Middle School, Pear Park and R5. All of these schools earned the performance level for two years in a row. So, let's give them a round of applause for that. [applause] All right. Next up, can we have Independence Academy, Juniper Ridge, Mount Garfield Middle School, Palisade High School, and Shel Elementary all stand up. These are all three year in a row schools. Let's give them a round of applause. [applause] Next up, let's have Chatfield Elementary School, Chapida Elementary School, and Monument Ridge Elementary School. All of these schools earned a performance rating for four years in a row. Big round of applause for them. [applause] And I should say Chatfield
014grew by four points this year. Chapita grew by 4.6 and Monument Ridge Elementary grew by 13.4 points on their SPF. So, another round of applause for those schools. [applause] The lone sixear in a row school, Mesa View. Can Mesa View, if you're with me, can you stand up? six years in a row as a performance school. And I also want to give another shout out to Mesa View because of course they had Miss Fitzgerald who was a top eight finalist for teacher of the year for the state of Colorado. So another round of applause for Miss Fitzgerald. [applause] Next up, Loan School. Can we have LMA Elementary stand up? Seven years in a row for Loma Elementary School. [applause] This next set of schools, Pomona Elementary, Rimrock Elementary, and Steam at Taupe Elementary. Can y'all
015stand up? These are all eight year in a row performance schools. [applause] And Pomona grew by four points on their SPF. So, let's give them another round of applause for that. Can we have uh Fruta Monument High School, Redlands Middle School, Taylor Elementary, and Windgate Elementary representatives stand up? These are all schools that earned the performance level nine years in a row this year. Let's give them a round of applause for that. [applause] And I know we're uh missing Redlands right now, but Redlands Middle School was our top performing middle school in the district. And uh Fruta Monument High School was our highest performing high school in the district. Can we give them a round of applause for that? [applause] Dia, can we have representatives from Dia stand up? 12 years in a row as
016a performance school and grew by 9.3 points on their SPF this year. Round of applause for Dia. [applause] Uh let's have Orchard Avenue Elementary stand up. 14 years in a row as a performance school and grew by six points on their SPF as well. Let's give them a round of applause. And then can we have uh Appleton Elementary representatives and Broadway Elementary stand up? Um they've only been giving out performance ratings for 16 years and these two schools have earned that rating every single year for the last 16 years. Let's give them a round of applause as well. [applause] And I see principal Hayes in the back. They grew by 8.6 points this year. And Broadway Elementary was our highest scoring elementary school and also our highest scoring school in the entire district at 88.5
017points on their SPF. So let's give them a round of applause for that as well. [applause] So I'll end with this. Just a reminder of why this is important. These ratings are basically the report cards for our schools. We had 38 schools who could earn a rating. Of those 38, 18 schools increased on their overall SPF. five schools that were mentioned earlier, Dos Rios, Grand Mesa Middle School, Lincoln Orchard Mesa, Monument Ridge Elementary, and Thunder Mountain Elementary School posted double-digit gains on their SPF. And then, I know they're not here because they're an improvement school, but Graham Mesa Middle School jumped from the lowest level in the state to the second highest level in one year. If we can give Principal Foster and his team a big round of applause for that. [applause] Um, also
018of those 38 schools that received ratings, 31 of them received the top rating. As was mentioned before, that's 82% of our schools and 38 of the 38 academically scored in the top two levels at 100%, both all-time highs for our district. Let's give them a round of applause for that as well. [applause] Um, we have great things happening in D51 and it's because of the great work of our teachers, staff, admin, central office support, families, community support, and our board leadership. This is a celebration for our entire community. And we're not done. We have even bigger goals in our next strategic plan. We want 90% of our schools at the highest academic level by 2030. I actually want 100%, but the plan says 90. Um, hint. And um, we want to continue increasing graduation rates
019for our students. We also had the highest graduation rate in the history of our district this year for the second year in a row. Let's give our schools a round of applause for that as well. [applause] And we can only achieve these lofty goals if we continue to stay hyperfocused on our strategic plan and the priority areas we've set and our community co-created strategic plan. And we can only achieve these lofty goals if we continue to have support from our community. I want to thank our great leadership at our schools and our central office for their hard work, great teachers and staff at schools for their hard work and great students and supportive family partners for their hard work. I'm super proud to work of the work happening in D51. I'm super proud to have
020the opportunity to serve alongside y'all as a superintendent. Congratulations. Y'all deserve all the credit and praise. One more round of applause for all of our schools that are in performance. [applause] >> Thank you all for all the work that you have done. Uh we are going to be going into um into the board report but before I want to mention that we have if you want to sign up to be able to give a comment please do uh and if everybody would like to leave you can leave the people that are want to stay please stay but those don't feel that you have to stay if you don't want to addition area. Sorry. You guys, we are going to take a picture of your Okay, you guys ready? >> Uh, next one is board reports.
021Do you have anything you want to talk about? Good things that have happened or committee and activity updates for anybody on the board? I have one thing. I want to make sure I'm on. Am I on? >> Okay. All right. Get closer. Uh I did want to just congratulate again. I saw in the D51 superintendence report uh the GR and their 39 students that reached 3.5 GPA or greater. uh for the community, it's a blended online school and I think it just shows um that we need to honor and recognize those that um have chosen a different pathway in their schools and I think it's just worth another recognition at the board. I would um we just got back from the Colorado Association of School Boards convention. Uh so it's a great time for us
022to break out uh different sessions and kind of learn um just different board I don't know just topics and uh so Dr. Hill and I got to do a couple panels together and then um then director Chavez, Dr. Hill and myself also got to do a panel on our strategic plan. Um so that was really good. So, I think Mesa County is um again kind of making strides um kind of across the state. So, that was really fun to do. And uh just networking with other um districts because sometimes just being able to um talk to their board members about how they're handling things in their district is uh sometimes very helpful. Um and then we just got to also we miss Casey um but she had a long planned vacation so that's important to
023do. Um, but as new board members came on, it's a great time for us to just get to know each other. So, that was really good as well. >> Um, a couple of weeks ago, Calie uh spoke about Parent Square, which is a new program that is being launched through the district, and I wasn't familiar with it. So, I had an opportunity to go in and sit down with her and really see how this is going to support our parents and our staff with [clears throat] two-way communication. Um, it's a really great program. I challenge anybody out there. It's going it's not so parent view is not going away. I know a lot of people were worried about that. This is kind of a support for parent view. Um but it's going to have a
024lot more in there. It's going to give more communication options between the the schools themselves, the parents with the schools with their own um teachers. If you have middle school, secondary school kids that have rotating classes and they have different teachers throughout the day, it's going to give you an opportunity to have conversations with those teachers um individually. if you need to and back and forth communication. So, it's a really good platform and uh I know change is uh always people are always kind of resistant to it and um when I had the opportunity to sit down and look at it, it's really easy to to just flow through it. And so, I think people are going to grab on to it really easy and I just like to thank Cali for taking the time
025to sit down with me in her day and go through that and make me feel comfortable with it as well. >> I have a few things. First, uh, congratulation to director Heights for once again getting getting reelected to the CASBY board. Congratulations. That's an important thing. Shouldn't forget about that. And then uh just to let just remind everybody on an activity that's starts Friday and all day Saturday is Central High Wrestling, the Warriors Class League. If you go out there and please uh support the wrestling teams, I would be most appreciative. Thank you. You want happenings and celebrations. >> Good evening board members. I'm Sierra Hawkins, communications and marketing specialist for District 51, and I want to extend a warm welcome to our newly elected board members, and we look forward to working alongside you.
026Tonight, I'm here to share the latest happenings and celebrations from across District 51. I'm excited to celebrate our most recent Golden Apple Award winner. Congratulations, Mandy Beielman. Mandy is an English teacher at Central High School and was recognized for her heart, purpose, and unwavering commitment to students. She goes out of her way as a mentor, motivator, and trusted adult who empowers students to find their voice. As the adviser for yearbook and the newly revived student senate, Mandy works tirelessly to ensure every student feels seen, heard, and represented. Thank you, Mandy, for your leadership, compassion, and commitment to helping D51 students thrive. Grand River Academy hosted its annual academic awards lunchon to recognize students who have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. A total of 39 students were honored and received an academic jacket,
027letter, or pin celebrating their dedication, hard work, and commitment to academic excellence. Their achievements reflect many hours of persistence and determination, and they serve as a positive example for others across D51. Congratulations to all of Grand River Academyy's academic scholars on this welldeserved recognition. District 51 had an outstanding showing at the first Lego League state championships in Denver with seven teams representing their schools, our district, and the entire Western Slope. Out of 15 awards given statewide, Western Slope teams earned five, and four of those were D51 teams, including honors for the DIA brick Bobcats, Fra Middle School's Live Wires 3.0, O and Mesa View Elementary's Hawk Challengers and Chickenhawks who also earned an invitation to an invitational open event. We also celebrate Shel's Brick Rollers 2.0, Grand Mesa Middle School's Jurassic Cheese and the Hawkeyes
028Challenge Team for representing D-51 with pride. Congratulations to our students, coaches, and families for their creativity, teamwork, and commitment to excellence. Recently, schools across District 51 celebrated their annual toy run events, bringing the spirit of giving to life with help of the Harley Owners Group motorcycle riders. Students and staff collected toys for weeks to fill the hog toy barrels supporting children and families in need throughout the community. Schools, including Rimrock, Thunder Mountain, and Pear Park Elementary welcomed the writers for festive visits that included carols, high fives, and conversations about generosity. Thank you to our principles, staff, and community partners for continuing this meaningful tradition that models compassion, service, and community for our students. The District 51 Foundation awarded more than $10,000 in technology and innovation grants to eight educators across the district, supporting classroom tools,
029instructional technology, and innovative learning experiences for students. Funded through the foundation's White Ice Celebration and other fundraising efforts, these grants provide resources such as audio amplification systems to support early literacy, aqua sports to improve accessibility for students with special needs, and classroom technology that enhances hands-on instruction. Thank you to the D51 Foundation, its donors, and our educators for investing in meaningful learning experiences and strengthening support for students across District 51. Each year, the Grand Junction Police Department hosts Shop with a Cop, a meaningful community tradition that supports many district 51 students. Over the years, this program has expanded to serve 50 local fifth graders, giving students the opportunity to spend a meaningful day with officers from several law enforcement agencies through shopping, shared meals, and positive connections. This partnership provides students not only with holiday
030gifts, but also with positive relationships, reassurance, and a strong sense of community. We are grateful to the Grand Junction Police Department and all local partners for making this experience possible for our students. And that is all we have for our December happenings and celebrations. Be sure to catch up on all things C51 by following us on X, Twitter, and Instagram at D51 schools. and have a wonderful winter break. Thank you. >> Thank you. Superintendent report. >> Well, thank you. Uh so, first up on the Soups report, we have our uh legislative report and I think we have Amy Atwood on virtually. So, we'll get her pulled up and she wanted to just give an update on um mainly state and federal um budget discussions, but also if there's any other updates. So, Amy, are you
031on there? Oh, let me There we go. Is there any questions for anybody? >> Yeah, Amy, I think I have one. Um, I attended a town hall by Rick Tagert a little while ago and in the he he presented the governor's budget and in that part it didn't show really a a reduction to K12 spending other than possibly the continuing averaging, right? Um, are you saying that when you're feeling like there might be some additional reductions, is that in addition beyond the governor's budget proposal or where I'm just trying to clarify where that thought is possibly coming from are correct. His his budget did not show um any cuts. However, he also just by virtue of when he releases his first budget on November 1st, he doesn't have the enrollment data yet because the the
032statewide counts have just happened. So, there often is some movement within within his budget. I think he the governor is still committed to not to not having to cut K12. Um, but there are huge pressures on the budget from Medicaid and that is one of the big reasons why we have we have the state has the deficit it has. I just don't see how the legislature won't have to somehow dip into education. The three big budget areas for the state are Medicaid, healthcare policy and finance, K12 education, and higher ed. That takes up the vast majority. Those three take up the vast majority of the state budget. There just are not that many places to find $850 million. >> Thank you. I mean, I appreciate that. I just wanted to clarify for my own my
033own I mean, I understand things move around. I was just curious about the priorities and that kind of stuff. So, thank you for the in-depth explanation. >> So, real quick, because apparently the you were muted to the online viewer, so I'm going to try and recap what you said at the beginning. Basically, there's no money. There's no money and there's no um so uh the first thing you said there's a teacher evaluation bill. You're working with U. Nikki Jo, our chief human resource officer on that. And so, you're keeping an eye on that. the state has an $850 million hole they have to fill and it's probably going to impact K12 even though the governor's proposal didn't have that in it. And then the federal budget, there's two proposals put forward. Um the Senate proposal,
034which I know you didn't get into that detail, but the Senate proposal would keep federal funding kind of the the way it has been for this current year. The House proposal would cut um I think it's over four billion from um title one, two, and three, and that would impact us directly. So, I don't think that was a very short version of what you said at the beginning. Is there anything I left out, Amy? >> No, that's it. >> Is there any other questions for Amy? >> Amy, I don't think you're the only one who is struggling to find a silver lining um with this budget this year. So, I was concerned last year um just contemplating what this what this year's would be. So, um yeah, I'm hoping that uh we there are some
035things that we can come out unscathed on, but I don't know. I'm kind of hoping for the best but bracing for the worst. So, >> great. Well, thank you again for joining us and I know we'll have you back um for more updates uh in February. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Um so, the next item uh board is our audit report. So, I'll have Mel and the team come up and present that. Tonight's all budget. So, I'm bringing you all fun things this evening. Actually, this is a good one. Hello, I'm Janello Choa, the accounting supervisor, and I'm here with Melie and then Jen Pinkle, our district's um auditor. So, tonight I'm going to go over the district's annual comprehensive financial report or ACER along with a brief summary of the audit process
036and then going to be discussing the audit results for the fiscal year ended June 30th, 2025. So the acter is the district's official audited financial report for the fiscal year. It provides a complete picture of the district's financial position and activities including our financial statements, management discussion, analysis, and other required supplementary information. The report is designed to promote transparency and accountability and help users understand where the district's funding comes from and how it's spent. There are several key users of the ACTER. Internally, it's used by the district administration and staff. And then externally, it is used by the department of legislative audit, financial institutions, bond rating agencies, grantors, the Colorado Department of Education, and community members. And then also the district received the government finance officer association's certificate of achievement for financial or excellence in
037financial reporting for the 2024 ACTER [clears throat] marking our 31st consecutive year receiving this recognition and then we plan on submitting the 2025 ACER for to GFO at the end of this month as well. The acter is currently in draft form. A financial or a final version will be provided to the board by the end of December and then once finalized, it will be available on the district's website under the financial transparency section. The finance department will complete all the required filings on time um including submissions to the Colorado Department of Education, the Colorado State Auditor, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and the Federal Audit Clearing House. Um this slide outline out outlines the audit timeline for the fiscal year. There was preliminary planning and fieldwork that was done in June with the auditors and
038then final audit fieldwork took place in September with reporting and sending any additional information needed through November. And then this month um everything is being finalized and then we're filing the required filings and then in January a post audit review will occur. Now we'll turn it over to Jim Hinkle with Hinkle and Company, the district's independent auditor. This is their third year completing our audit and he'll go over this year's audit results. >> Thank you very much. My name is Jim Hinkle, Hinkle and Company CPAs, and we did do perform the audit of the financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2025. We started our audit during the interim procedures that was just outlined. That is where we update our understanding of the district's internal accounting controls. uh we are looking at a segregation
039of duties. Accounting transactions typically take three steps. The initiation, the approval, and the recording. And we do not want one person to do all three of those steps. We look at the cycles independently of each others, the cash dispersements, the cash receipts, and the payroll cycles. Uh to ensure that their segregation of duties do exist. We then select samples of transactions that occurred during the year and we test those against the control features within the internal controls. Things such as approval of invoices prior to payment, approval of account coding prior to posting to the general ledger. We do that to verify that the internal controls are operating as intended and that they can be relied upon. The end result of that is us determining whether there are any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the
040internal control structure. A significant deficiency is defined as a design flaw in the system of internal accounting controls that would allow an error to go undetected in the ordinary course of business. And a material weakness would be a significant deficiency that might result in a material misstatement to the financial statements as a whole. And based upon our analysis and all of our test work, we did not find any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the internal controls. That's the answer that you're looking for. We then turn our attention to the actual audit of the financial statements and that is done during the final fieldwork in September. And we primarily use what we call substantive testing, which is test of details and analytic review procedures. Test of details is pretty much what it sounds like. We
041drill down into account balances. We look at the underlying transactions. Then we compare those to supporting documents such as invoices, cash receipts, contracts, agreements to ensure that the accounting is done in accordance with general accepted accounting principles. the analytic review procedures as we compare the current year to the prior year revenues and expenses, the current year to budget and various relationships between the balance sheets in the income statements looking for relationships that we either didn't expect or can't explain. And if we find any of those, we do or test the details in those related accounts. The end result of that is your audit opinion. Yours is technically referred to as an unmodified opinion, but in layman's term, that's a clean opinion. States that the financial statements are prepared in accordance with general accepted accounting principles.
042And that's also the answer that you're wanting to hear. You all receive federal war uh funding. And so, because you receive and spend more than a million dollars, you're required to have what's called a single audit. uh that refers to the fact that the external auditors audit both federal compliance as well as the financial statements in one big single audit. We issue two opinions with respect to this single audit. The first is what is referred to as in compliance with government auditing standards. And that looks at the district as a whole and basically ask the question, does the district have the internal control structure in place to determine what federal awards it receives and what the compliance requirements are for each of all of those federal award programs. And while that sounds pretty simplistic, sometimes
043when when federal dollars are passed through the state, uh that's not always easy to determine. Uh also in that audit opinion, if we find any uh non-compliance with any federal award program through any of our audit procedures, we're required to disclose that in that report. That one is also an unmodified or clean report that you do have the internal controls in place and then we did not any instances of non-compliance during our audit work. The final and second audit report regarding the single audit is uh referred to as in compliance with uniform guidance and that is where we're required to select specific federal programs and test those in detail. We drill down deep into those programs. We sample test the dispersements and we test every instances of compliance requirements to ensure that the district is
044in compliance. This year we tested the child nutrition and the special edge programs and that audit report is also an unmodified opinion that the the internal controls are in place for those two programs and we did not have any instances of non-compliance with those two programs in the detailed testing. three audit reports, three clean unmodified opinions, and no internal control issues uh throughout any of our testing. Uh finally, we do uh in uh indicate any findings and question costs on our single audit and we had nothing to report. So, there was no findings or no questions. All in all, a very good report. Um I understand we have a couple of new members on the board. Congratulations. Welcome. Let me take just a brief moment because we are in the government industry and we have
045a little bit different financial statements than most businesses do. You have two sets of financial statements. The first one is referred to the governmentwide statements puts everything together in one big column and that is on what we call a full acrual basis. same basis as any other entity, Apple, Microsoft, General Electric, same basis of accounting that all of those public entities have. And that way you can compare your statements to other non-governmental entities. The big difference there is we have long-term assets and long-term liabilities. So all of the district's infrastructure is reflected as part of its capital assets and the debt that the district has is reflected as debt. The second set of financial statements is unique to governments and that's what referred to as the governmental funds statements where we break out each fund
046individually and it's referred to as a sources and uses statement. So we report as revenue all sources of income received during the year or immediately after the year and all expenditures of those sources during the year or immediately after the year. And the reason we pick up the immediately after the year accounts payable is pure cash is too easy to manipulate. Uh we can adjust our expenses by just not paying bills. Uh and and that wouldn't tell anybody anything. So that's why they pick up accounts receivable, accounts payable. But on those governmental funds, we do not report long-term assets, capital assets or long-term liabilities like debt. The debt payments are considered a use of funds. And so in that sources and uses statements, it's considered an expenditure. um if we borrowed money and and brought
047that funds into the district during a year that would be revenue as a source of funds. So the big difference is that we do not have those long-term assets and long-term liabilities. Those are considered inflows and outflows on that governmental funds modified acral statement. And then to make sure everything works out, we have a reconciliation between the two statements included in there so you can easily identify what those differences are. Um, all governments [clears throat] prepare this type of financial statement whether it's a city, a town, a school district, a charter school. Um, anybody in the government industry has these uh types of financial statements. So they're a little bit unique. Um, anybody that doesn't [clears throat] pay attention to governments uh doesn't see things like this. So it is unique to governments. Uh we'll
048also issue a required communication letter. We're required to communicate in writing if certain events occur in the course of the audit and we have nothing negative to say in that letter. We did not have any difficulties in the course of the audit. We did not have any disagreements with management and we did not make any audit adjustments where we found errors in the books and records that required to be adjusted to be in accordance with general accepted accounting principles. So that is also a letter and it'll be provided to you as well. All in all, uh it went very well. Management was extremely responsive. One of the most important things I like to communicate to those charged with governance is that we as auditors felt like we had open transparency. Everything that we asked for
049was provided in a timely fashion and we were never excluded or kept from any source documents that we requested. So we felt like we could ask for and receive whatever we needed to to be able to complete an independent uh external audit of the financial statements. So thank you very much to the entire staff. We are in addition to their daily jobs. We ask for a lot of information and you can tell when management has a strong uh belief in financial reporting that we're able to be able to come in and complete the audit and have the acer completed well in time for all of the deadlines. So, thank you for staff and thank you for working for us. If you have any questions about the audit, I am more than happy to answer. I
050will remind the board that is external auditors, we work for the board. We work with management. Um, and so if you ever have any questions at all about the audit process or the audit results, feel free to please reach out to us and we'll be happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you. >> Is there any questions? Just out of sheer curiosity, how do you guys select the two wine items that you're digging deep into where you selected sped and food services? >> Uh that is actually a a required process under the federal regulations. uh we look to what's called typea programs which are programs that exceed a certain threshold and all of those type A pro programs have to be audited at least once every three years. So we rotate through those type A
051programs. Type B programs are smaller programs. If we feel like there is a certain risk involved in a type B, we will audit those. We did not have any of those, but we are required to test the type A programs, which is a million dollars in expenditures or more, at least once every three years. If there has been findings in the past, we will audit them more frequently, but there has not been any. >> Thank you. Appreciate >> question. Any other questions? Thank you, sir. >> Thank you very much. All right. Thank you. And then Mel's gonna stay up here. >> Yeah. Um, so you heard from Amy about state and federal budget. Um, and then obviously was our audit report. So now we want to give you an update on just district 51's budget
052situation as we move into um, next school year. So I'll turn it over to Mel. >> So back in October, um, we did send out some preliminary budget update information to our staff and also to our families. just knowing that we're going into a tough budget year and so now we're a couple months removed from that. And so we just want to continue to put that information out there and also provide any ongoing updates that we have to share. This was part of the budget cuts. We had to get rid of being able to click through slides. Oh, it was on the last slide. That's why. [laughter] district is in a strong financial um position. Um that's true because of the very deliberate budget decisions that we've been making in recent years and some of
053those really tough decisions. Um coming into this year, we've already made $1.4 million over the last several years in cuts at central office level. Um we've also realized $5.8 million in annual savings from school closures. And so that puts our um annual expenditures at $7 million less than they would have been had we not gone through um some of these prior budget balancing measures. Um and so even with these reductions, this year's current uh adopted budget uses reserves primarily for one-time expenses. Um but without these decisions in the past, we would already be facing an ongoing multi-million dollar structural deficit coming into this really tough budget cycle. Um, as you know, school districts are funded based on our student counts. And so, uh, with our declining enrollment, um, having those steep enrollment declines, we're at
054about three times the statewide rate and percentage of decline since 201920. And so, we've been dealing this with this for a now a while now. We're now down over 2,700 students since 201920. Um, our October count this year was down 622 students. um preschool through 12th grade from last year. And it's primarily, you've heard our demographer present in the past, primarily driven by those smaller cohorts replacing um larger graduating classes. And locally, we just don't have the same number of families um that have uh school age children in the area and those that are having families are having fewer students. And so if there is a glimmer of hope, there's been a slight uptick in the last two years of birth data, but of course those babies are not yet in our school system and
055won't be for several years. And so we had also previously announced that we are pausing school closures for this year for the the following school year. Um, but it's something that we can't let go of watching and considering in the future, especially as these declines continue for the coming years. Um, so just to put this visually, our smaller cohorts of students are moving through the grades create that natural enrollment decline each year. And this graph here compares our 2019 number of students per grade compared to our 2025. And so you can see that the 12th grade is relatively close. Um, but especially in the elementary levels, our enrollment per grade are just much lower than they were in 2019. Um, so we had 1500 kindergarten students entering the system in 2019. This year we had
056about 1,200 students. And so those significantly smaller grades will continue to move through our system. Again, pulling from some of the information that our gemographer has presented for next year, he's projecting another decline of enrollment of about 400 students, uh, 397 on here and by 2030. So in his uh forecast there, he's anticipating a decline of another 1,300 students from where we are now. And so that would put our total preschool through 12th grade enrollment at just over 18,000 students. Um I mentioned birth rates. Again, this is just the visual of that. And so we had a peak number of births going back to about 2007, but since then a continual decline as the overall trend. and just those last two years, the 2023 and 2024 birth data slightly on the uptick, but not where
057we were in the past either. And so that's something that we'll continue to watch for and hope that that trend continues of the last couple years, but again, it's going to be several years of those lower birth years um that those are the students that are going to be in our school system. Um, so just I know Amy Atwood presented some of this information on our different funding pressures, but just to delve a little bit deeper into what some of those specific um things mean for us. So over the summer, we did have about $2 million of federal grants that were temporarily frozen. That was they were frozen after hiring had already taken place. And so we were getting to the point where we were really concerned and going to have to make some decisions
058when ultimately the funds were released. Uh but there has been a delay at the federal level this year in making the allocations that'll drive our budget awards for 2627. So for next year, those allocations haven't been set or those appropriations haven't been sent at the federal level. And there's two competing and very different proposals that are currently being considered for education funding. Uh the Senate version would provide flat funding, so not increases, but flat funding for key K12 grants and it would require that the funds be released by July 1st. So we wouldn't anticipate having any frozen funds or hold up of those dollars. Um which would be great. But the House version is very very different in that it proposes significant reductions to title one funding as Dr. Hill mentioned, $3.78 billion nationally being
059reduced from that program. the elimination of title two and three. Those were two of the programs that were uh their funds were frozen over the summer. And then worse is that it also calls for rescending some of those funds that were already budgeted for our current fiscal year and already being spent. So that one is definitely kind of the worst case scenario. Um but those are both being considered right now um federally. And just to go over why these uh federal grants are so critical and what they're used for, our Title One allocation is currently $4.6 million. Uh Title One funds support our schools with the highest needs with additional staff and resources. They promote increased family engagement and support the work of closing achievement gaps for students. Uh title two, our current allocation is
060$690,000. These funds support teacher and leader development, provide curriculum and mentoring support and without these funds, the training systems and development programs in place would have to be reduced um which reduces support for staff and ultimately ne negatively impacts student outcomes. Uh lastly, title three uh is uh current allocation of 69,000. This helps to support our multilingual learners uh working with their families and supporting educators that support those students. And again, without these funds, there aren't other funding sources to pick up these supports. And direct support for students, compliance, and professional development would be reduced. Um in general, grant opportunities are uh much more limited than they have been in the past. We're seeing several grant funding sources either dry up or have reduced funding available. Um there are other significant grants like Medicaid um
061that we're closely monitoring to for sustainability with potential reductions in funding levels there as well. >> Well, and and also just other grants that we've been able to go out for in the past at the state level because we're doing better academically. We don't qualify for them anymore. So we used to get a good chunk of money from like the easy grant from the state. Now we we don't have in act and when you're getting kids off read plans and then when you're schools are performing better we can't even go out for those dollars anymore >> and then we've talked about it but at the state level as well that $841 million budget shortfall. Um and so when I say that we would have to reduce um those programs on the previous slide it's because
062at the state level we also know that we're not going to have the additional funds in order to pick those up. And so that would be something that we would have to most likely consider. Um you've heard me say that when the state has a budget problem, we have a budget problem. And that's just what Amy Atwood was saying that the we're one of three major categories for the state's money. And so when there's a shortfall, there's only limited options of areas to take that. And so the governor's budget that was released at October, just to go over that again for everyone, um it's our first glimpse into what the legislature might ultimately pass or at least starting point and honestly we were a little bit relieved by his budget proposal. We were worrying that
063um it could have been worse than this and so the positive is that it did proposed to continue the new school finance act formula at a 30% phase uh phase in. Um on the negative side he was also suggesting to move from a four-year student count averaging to threeyear student count averaging which we had known that we're we're anticipating from the year before. And so what this means is that even if we see a slight increase in PPR, which is the amount that we receive in funding per student, the decrease in the number of funded students, both because of our continued enrollment declines, as well as the change to averaging is kind of a double whammy. And so the net result of that would be a likely budget decrease of about a million dollars. Um,
064so all of that we've been kind of anticipating and planning for, but now of course with what Amy Atwood provided the update for around some of the other budget balancing options that the JBC is already receiving recommendations for. I know she didn't go into too many of the specifics, but some of those were talking about that the new formula they were worried about that it's growing quicker than Taber limits would allow. um they were worried that they might need to talk about looking at a two-year averaging rather than three. And so there's some other changes that could still change um the governor's budget proposal um unfortunately for the worst for us. And so we'll just have to continue watching that and see how it shakes out in the spring. >> Now, when did did when
065are they supposed to give you all an update on the smoothing factor? Did you say they were sending something out >> soon? >> Yeah, I don't have a specific date. I think Colorado School Finance Project um at their next meeting in January, I would anticipate some kind of update probably. So, there was the uh committee that at the state level that's working on a smoothing factor that would replace student count averaging, but we don't know yet kind of what that'll look like and whether that'll be better for us or or worse for us. Um but it's certainly better than an outright elimination of student count averaging. Um, but whether that's better than where we're currently at or not, we'll have to uh calculate that out when we know more details. And so we know that
066even in good years, education in our state is underfunded as Colorado ranks 41st in school funding. Um, this is the graph that Dr. Hill loves to show of all the districts ranked in PPR funding from top to bottom. And of course, we are soundly towards the bottom as we have been uh for many years. Uh within our state, our district's funding ranks at 171 currently out of 178 school districts in PPR. Um so it's extra frustrating that adequacy studies were completed by the state just last year, putting that chronic underfunding at $3.5 billion dollars annually across our state. and then to have these budget challenges when we know exactly how underfunded schools are already. Um so a way that local communities can help provide predictable funding um for their school districts is through mill levy
067overrides which provide local tax dollars directly to school districts to support operational costs. Um in this area too unfortunately we're at a disadvantage compared to our peer districts. And so the peer districts that are shown here on the right are comparable to us and that the amount of PPR, the blue bar here, um is similar. Um we receive about $230 less per student than the average of these districts in PPR, but the real variation is in the green part of this graph. And that's the number of dollars that we receive per student in mill levy overrides. And so we are at the we are the lowest in amount that we receive per student in the levy override of these comparable districts. Um we receive over thous $1,000 less per student um than the average. And
068so together these numbers between PPR and our mill levy override support put us at about a $26 million annual disadvantage compared even to our like districts. And then this graph is is one thing alone where you can see that difference between the average but um this is one that Dr. he'll put together as well just calculating what that means in total dollars, right? And so if we were to have the amount of resources per student that these other districts have, um just to be at the average, we'd have $20 million more per year um in revenue. Um Colorado Springs 11 is actually receives the most. Um they're that tall one in the towards the middle there. And so at they receive over 55 we would receive over 55 and a.5 million dollars more if we
069had the same PPR and the levy rates per student that they do. And so those are really huge disparities and something that we'll have to continue looking at and discussing. Um so for now though we're being as proactive as possible in our planning for next year. Throughout the year so far, we've been reviewing all vacancies in central office positions and looking for savings through attrition when the opportunity arises. Uh we've identified $400,000 in savings from vacated positions so far this year and those will be included in the budget readdoption that's presented to you all next month. Um we're also continuing to work through our school staffing model process. >> [snorts] >> um a model that ties our school staffing to our student counts. And when there's decline in student counts, uh it means that fewer
070staffing positions will be assigned next year at schools where there are fewer students expected. So as of October count, um just looking at the staffing models, we put together kind of a baseline of where we're at based on October count and we already have significant overstaffing. um especially at the elementary level um we have we're over about 30 positions or three $3 million in over staffing and then based on those declines in enrollment we're estimating that next year that number will grow to 43 positions that will be over staffed at or at a cost of 4.3 million in unfunded positions. Um, so we're continuing to work through our staffing process for next year and bringing those staffing levels back into alignment with established ratios. Um, but this is something that we're we're used to being
071up against as we've been dealing with declining enrollment. And in years where we close schools, that's the way that we were able to address the bulk of those. And this year without that, um, we'll still need to uh not uh fall any further out of alignment with those established ratios. Um, so even in the absence of having an increase in revenues, there are some expenses that increase every year or continue to rise and can't be avoided. And so we have to plan for how we're going to cover those costs. And so some of the things we're planning for right now are employee health insurance will require an additional $1.4 million um to budget for next year to get us up to the 2026 current plan year rates. [snorts] um as well as any additional premium
072increases that'll be needed for the 2027 plan year. Um that plan year just started. Actually, it hasn't even started. It'll start January 1st based on the enrollment decisions that our staff made in open enrollment. And so, it's too early to say what that'll be, but we would expect to see continued health insurance increases. Um, another area of um, increase is our student transportation by contract that in uh, increases every year by 5%. So, we'll need to budget about $500,000 of increase there. And then our current adopted budget shortfall of $368,000 in ongoing costs, we'll need to cover that as well. And so if we're looking just at a base budget scenario for next year to cover costs and get to a balanced budget, uh we would need to identify about $2.3 million in cost-saving measures
073in order to do that. Um it's also a priority for us to return to step salary increases for staff, something we unfortunately weren't able to provide this year. Um but that does come at a significant cost. It's $3.3 million per step. um our COLA increases or cost of living increase uh is about 1.7 million per 1% of COLA adjustment. And so if we were to target a step increase as well as to cover those um contractual or required costs, that would need mean finding about 5.6 million in savings um will need to be identified in order to get us there. [snorts] And so one of the cost-saving strategies that we implemented last month and we've used successfully in the past is an early retirement incentive uh where we provide a one-time payment equal to 25%
074of base pay to eligible staff who are at least 50 years old and have at least 20 years of service with the district and haven't previously retired from PAR. Um, this is an opportunity for there's an opportunity is open for staff to submit a letter of intent through January 16th. It was announced to staff on November 7th. And as of this morning, we've had 30 staff that have submitted a letter of intent and another 23 staff that have reached out to HR and inquired but not yet formalized their decision. Um, so while we some savings can usually be expected when experienced staff retire and are replaced by newer staff, that's our normal attrition. Um, the greatest savings really comes from when positions that are not backfilled or are backfilled at a reduced um hour of
075days or rate. And so once the ERRI process closes, we'll be able to look at the vacancies and determine which positions must be filled and where other opportunities might be possible. Um but I mean just to be transparent if depending on um the ERRI participation, we might also be looking at additional position reductions above just the ERRI. Um so the last time the district offered a district-wide program was back in 2020. In recent years, we've offered the ERRI just to a select level that was impacted by school closures. But during that 2020, we were able to realize savings of about $950,000 in ongoing savings um through positions that were either modified or eliminated. Um but as positions have already been reduced over time, identifying additional savings becomes increasingly difficult and each of the positions um
076that will have to be considered is absolutely needed and valued. So these are the types of tough decisions that will have to be made to maintain a balanced budget and particularly as we prioritize step increases for staff. Um so as the planning for next year goes along uh we'll continue to provide updates. Um there are some upcoming processes that will help as we begin to formally plan for next year's budget. And the first of these is that next month in January at the business meeting, we'll bring a revised budget to the board for readtion. And that's really a midyear trueup point um where we can adjust our budget for our current year expected costs as well as our current year expected revenues once October account has been finalized. Um we'll continue to work through setting
077school and central office staffing levels in January and February. uh getting school staffing allocations out to principles after school of choice as well as letting any impacted central office staff know as soon as possible. Uh we'll continue to operate in the mindset of looking at all available opportunities to ensure that our future costs match our future revenues and what a district our size should look like and have. Uh we'll continue to work with our lobbyists and our elected representatives to ensure that there is strong advocacy for D51 at the state level as funding decisions are being made all while making sure that first and foremost the educational needs of our students are being met that we're compensating our staff well and can do these things for the long term in a sustainable way. questions >>
078and just to so that's a lot of information so thank you Mel and I should say how grateful we are for you and your team for um keeping the budget in the place that it is now because it could have been worse. So just a couple things I want to recap from that. So in order for us to get to a to get to get back to honoring a step and to take care of all the increased costs that we know are coming through health insurance and other things. That's 5.6 $6 million that we need to find in ongoing dollars. Right. So, >> at a minimum. >> And then, you know, I guess if you're looking for a silver lining, I don't really know where it's at, but um we it could have been worse,
079right? We we've already cut 1.4 million from central office staffing and then the school closure savings, which are tough, but they're savings. That's another 7.2 million. So, it could have been closer to 12.8 million um that we would be looking for. So, we're looking for 5.6. And on that slide before we said what we're we're um moving forward are the things that we're focused on. So I just want to be clear we're we're talking about one we've got to get back under control school staffing because um we're over staffing based on our formula um to the tune of three over $3 million right now and then it could grow to four. But also at the central office level like we will be making position reductions at the central office level as well. Like it has
080to be both but it can't be one or the other. like we can't central office cut our way out of this problem. Um because there's not enough staff to even do that. Um and just a reminder, we are one of the leanest um uh districts when it comes to that. I know that's hard for people to believe because what we always attack, but um CDE puts out a report every year and we're one of the leanest when it comes to administrator to student ratio. Um, but we are looking to make reductions at central office because we need to and we're also going to have to make adjustments at the school level for the staffing model that we've stuck with for years um to get these numbers under control. But we are trying to find $5.6
081million in ongoing costs so that we can honor that step and take care of the increased cost so we can get back to a balanced budget for next school year. Okay. But I do want to make that clear. January is going to be an important year for us or important month for us because of the um staffing sheets for the schools, but also at at the central office level. We've been meeting. I think we've had five meetings already. We're going to meet again and we're going we're coming through our central office budget to see where we might need to make reductions in positions. And as Mel mentioned, when positions do come open, uh we review all of them at the central office level to see if we actually need to replace um those positions or
082not. And then the same thing with the ERRI. if there's an ERRI, a retirement uh announcement made, we don't need to backfill that position. We won't do it. But there will be positions that we have to backfill because we actually uh need them. So, it's not a great position to be in, but we are being proactive and figuring out how we're going to find $5.6 million that we can honor um steps and balance our budget. >> Any other questions or comments for Mel? Don't be shy. >> It's just [clears throat] frustrating. You know, when um when I was at CASBY, I attended uh and I hate to even say this word, but a consolidation and closure class and they made it, excuse [clears throat] me, still dealing with this stuff. um very clear that uh
083and it was it was specifically Douglas County and they were talking about how they had a whole bunch of schools, you know, in one area, but they were just so underpopulated. And one of the things that they were finding the most is that they were losing because there were so few students over here, they were losing resources in order to maintain programs for kids. And so they had to look at that and figure out how they were going to consolidate these kids so that they could have more FTE in a building because they had more kids. But then, you know, they they had to and I just it just makes me sick because I know how hard it was for us and this entire community and the entire district to even think about that. But
084every time I see something else coming down from the governor's office or, you know, I just just makes me sick because I feel like we're just a second away from that game. >> Yeah, it's a it's a it's a good point. Um and you're not wrong to to think that way because you know where we're at currently, but really if you're looking at the projections that Mel shared from Shannon, you know, we're not a 22,000 plus student district anymore. And that's where we were in 2019. And if his projections are true, even if they're close to being true, we're going to be closer to an 18,000 student district. So we have to make adjustments. we can't function as we were when we were over 22,000 students and even when we were over 22,000 students. Um
085we still had schools that were underenrolled and we were trying to stretch dollars pretty far then. It's just gotten worse over time. So, um, nobody likes to talk about closures, but it is definitely something that we're going to have to continue to evaluate as a staff and as a board, um, in out years to see if, um, that's something that we're going to have to revisit, unfortunately, um, because we just we can't function, um, and we don't have, and that's why I'm glad that those slides were in there about, you know, our local budget itself. We don't have the flexibility that another district might. If we had 55 million more dollars, like Colorado Springs 11, maybe we could have some different conversations, but we don't. Um, and so that's why it's really important that we
086pass mill levy overrides and that we um um fund our schools with those local dollars at the same time that we're dealing with state budget cuts. So, >> um, so Mel, I I'm just curious. I know when when we're looking at um cuts, we obviously try to keep those as far away from the classroom as possible. So, um, going to the title funds, um, I know I know, you know, well, at least three of us on the board, and I don't want to assume new board members, but we've been very, very cautious with how we've wanted to use reserve funds. Um, mostly just because it's hard to replenish reserve funds, but it to me it would seem like that would be a good use of reserve funds because those title funds directly impact our kids
087and programming. Is that something that as we look at that um you you guys will be looking at um whether we get the funding for title funds and whether that will be you know recommendation. I mean to me that would be that's why we have reserve funds is in a time when we're not getting funds to use directly for students um you know for programming and that's what we need to use reserves for. Um obviously those title funds have been ongoing um and so we're going to have to figure out something if uh if those don't continue to be ongoing. Um, so I I guess you know to me I guess I'm just wondering I'm sure you're thinking about it. Um, obviously seeing that slide now I'm I'm starting to wonder. I know I know
088we have a little bit higher than what the board policy is on reserves, but that makes me feel a little bit better because it sounds like if the budget the state budget isn't okay and we're under the gun with increased, you know, we're trying to, you know, honor a step this year. um with increased costs and we might you know and we may not be getting title dollars, you know, we can't reserves doesn't fix everything and so the board is going to have to maybe make some tough decisions on how to use reserves. >> Yes. Yes. And yes. Um, so as you guys have heard me talk all along about reserves and why we have them and how we built them. We were only able to improve our reserves that were at um, honestly a
089ridiculously low level before COVID because of those COVID federal grant dollars. It wasn't that we were able to take our state money and save up some every year in order to get that. It was really that unique opportunity with those additional federal grant dollars that we were able to. And so that's why it's important when we talk about using reserves, we also have a sustainability plan for how we're going to stop using reserves. And so the easiest use of reserves um is for like a one-year type cost like how we're funding those um cola and loo payments for staff in December and May. We know we're spending out of reserves. We know that there's a definitive end to it and that we won't continually need to spend dip into reserves. But for some of these
090federal grant programs that do have a direct and significant impact if they were to be reduced for students in some of our programming. I mean, yeah, that's something we should look at and should consider. Um, but it can't be that we just continue doing everything that we're currently doing without the money on go in an ongoing way. Like, we'll still have to make adjustments and plan for how we'll work it into our budget over time to not also be depleting our reserves in the long term. That makes sense. >> Sorry, Andrew. Um, and you may not have this Maybe it might be better for Nikki too. Out of those title funds, how much is spent on staffing versus um like programs like I know on there and as a former title one school teacher, some
091of that money was used for like parent involvement night. So not always staffing, but I was also funded through a title one fund as like a staff member. So I'm curious. >> Yeah. So, we do limit our schools in the percentage that um they can spend on their title budgets in staff just because fluctuations in um the amount that they're allocated can change from year to year just based on their rank and order within our district. And so I think we limit them to 70% 75%. Um so there is a very significant portion of that title one dollars though that directly support additional staff out in schools. And so I wouldn't say that it's 75%. I don't think all of our schools are using up to the limits, but it is a very significant portion
092of it. >> And we have we have a master document that has kind of broken out at least for percent. We could do percentages from each of these title funds actually because it's not just title one. We've got staff in other areas as well that we can get to the board that says this percentage of it spent on people versus programs. >> Yeah, that was my next question about same with title two and title three because I remember talking with you over the summer about when the when the freeze happened. It's like these are people Mhm. >> Um most of most of the time these are like people. So I agree with um you know director heights that you know these are people and they are student facing and that's really where our priority is
093as a board when it comes to comes to budgeting. So I appreciate that. I did have one other question if it's okay. Um, and again, you might not have the answer, but I'm just I'm kind of curious when it comes to the um averaging. You we used to be on a five-year averaging, and I'm wondering if that averaging hadn't gone away or anything, would we be at that end of those five years since we've had a steady decline of student enrollment? um the end of that five years where we're kind of still getting a little bit boost from those prior years where we had more enrollment. I'm hoping that is making sense. >> Does make sense. And I was just flipping through my papers to see if I printed one and I didn't. >> Okay.
094>> Um but I do have kind of our look back of our five-year averaging. Um, what did I tell you the other day? That there's only one year that's over 19,000 students now that's still um calculated in our averaging because that's looking not at preschool through 12 like all these enrollment numbers are, but it's only looking at K12. And so I I if I remember correctly, it was about a $2 million hit for the change in averaging. And we are still receiving about seven and a half million dollars, I believe, with the four-year averaging. And so, um, definitely if we were at five years, it would be better than where we're at right now at four. But that's where that double whammy is, is that if we're expecting a decline of about 400 students, our
095decline in funded pupils has been about 600 instead because of that that additional amount dropping off. I just thought that would be really interesting to just see and for like our public to see and for everyone to understand like not only is it just the averaging that has cost us, but also the declining enrollment and like you said it's a double whammy and I was just curious of where we were in those last five years um that declining enrollment has really affected us >> also just in general. >> Yeah. No, thanks for bringing that up. It is something that I have calculated on out on a spreadsheet and so maybe I can just include that in our readopted budget presentation as well when I recap kind of our funded pupil counts. >> Yeah, I think
096it'd be interesting. >> The other thing that um we're actually we're in a meeting with um Secretary Heights and we're talking about mil levy overrides again, right? And um just as we're talking about, you know, wishing we had more money, um two of those milit overrides that have passed did not uh increase for inflation, right? So 96 is the only one that did. And I think we had Mel run the numbers to say if we had written the 2004 and 20174 mill rights to do the same thing the 96 one did where it increased by the rate of inflation, I think we'd have close to six million more dollars right now. So, it's another thing just for the board and all of us to be thinking about if we do end up having to go
097for a millibial ride in the future. When you don't let it adjust for the rate of inflation, the costs go up for the things we're paying for, but we don't get additional funds to cover those things. So, when we get $6.5 million from the 201724 mill override, the things that we're paying for out of that cost more they than they did back in 2017. And so just something to be mindful of too as we have that conversation is we could have six million more dollars right now if those mill overrides had adjusted for the inflationary rate. >> I know this is going on a while but this is uh very important for sure. Um, so a couple of things. I think I just have to say that I appreciate how quickly um the conversation goes
098toward uh central staff, central office staff being um cut or reduced. And I think it's important to also recognize that's a cost also. Um I think sometimes it's easy um for uh community or for us to say well we just we're we that's the place to go but that's a cost also. Um so I just I it's kind of he been heavy on my mind as we think about our budget cuts that we need to have. Um, so when I'm I just want to make sure I'm clear on the school staffing model and that those are big numbers in terms of um adjusting that and could you and and Mel you probably said this but could you reexlain or help me understand where we're at on for where we're at right now with um the
099school staffing model And could we realize a a large amount of savings there by year end? >> Um yes, absolutely. Um I think that because we most of our staff is at the school level, right? Um and in a school district budget, that's absolutely the way that it should be. But that's also means that it's our area where we can accumulate some of those savings just by staffing to our established ratio as those student counts continue to decline. So I think about like past budget reductions where the amount of um money that we were receiving per student with the budget stabilization factor was decreasing but we were still serving the same number of students and that's just not the case anymore where um we're serving significantly fewer students than we used to and that's why
100our staffing model needs to keep pace with that. um we've been uh trying to balance the levels as closely as possible and that's why when you see middle school and high school those counts have stabilized a little bit in recent years and so they're over a little bit. Um but it's really at the elementary level where we um closed three schools last year. Um really probably if we were thinking just financial impact could have closed two more. Um but that was where we were trying to avoid needing to do a riff in our um overall number of staff. reduction in force. Um and then just also being um of course cognizant of the impact of closing that many schools all at one time. And so that's where you see our elementary level continue to be
101out of balance is just that reality that there were areas in our across our valley that weren't impacted by the school closures. They didn't get additional students or some of the additional staffing. So they're continuing to have those declines. Um, and so that's how we've gotten to where we are right now with elementary. Um, and so we're looking really this next year to balance the levels out as closely as possible. Um, some years we've balanced them to within two FTE at each school plus or minus, but we ran some numbers and really when you start doing that, you're really impacting the level of uh, savings that you can get out of that and really just kind of pushing it down the road to next year. there's going to be more declines and then you're starting
102the year again in that hole of being over. And so this year we are looking as we move through the staffing model process to balance schools to as close as uh.5 plus or minus um as possible. And there's also some protections within the staffing model that the way we balance them is that we average their projected enrollment for next year from our demographer with their current January count. And so that current January count almost all instances is going to be higher. So that kind of provides almost like an averaging mechanism to our schools where we're we're graduating it down a little bit slower than just their true October projection for next year. Does that help? >> Thank you. >> Um and then the last is we haven't really I don't I'm not sure that came
103up but um can you update me on or help me understand where we're at with school funding and how that impacts this outlook. Um, yes, and it's also something that I'm taking a closer look at for readopted budget. So, I'll have a little bit better um information in the next month on it, but their accounts are down a little bit as well. Um, since UPK was started um a few years ago, um it has the funding that we received from that program has not pace with costs. And so most districts, if not all, across the state, have to supplement the UPK funding with general fund dollars. And so that's something that we're supplementing to the tune of $400,000 right now from our general fund through a transfer in order to support that. Um, but it's
104something that we're continuing to work on. And um just knowing that we might not be able to provide that level, but making sure that they're at least in a position where they're okay again, where they have a little bit of reserves um built up and a little bit of flexibility for when they do get students in the middle of the year. Some of those kind of mid-year fluctuations that can't be necessarily anticipated over the spring and summer when we're planning. Um they're also looking at some different programming options um as well just to increase the revenue that we're getting and also provide parents and more opportunities for kiddos now that we have the ECE uh childhood center at Nisley. Just to clarify on that staffing model, it's not a reduction at the schools to go
105below what they would be allocated based on their number of students. Like we're it's because they're over right now. So it's trying to get closer to what the actual number should be. And we can never get perfect on that. It's you're always going to have some over, but I just want to clarify like we're not trying to reduce their below the level that we should be um staffing schools. just trying to get close to that because every, you know, just as an example, I think every um the average teacher salary plus benefits is around 100,000. >> It's really close to 100. >> So every time you're over one FTE that that starts to add up and so um so to your point, yes, we need to get that closer. And um we're also looking at
106the central office reductions to try to couple that with other reductions in department budgets, things like that to get us to that 5.6 million. >> Well, I would I would just share that we're not the only district facing this. So, Dr. Hill shared a um article from the Denver Post and I don't know if anybody saw it, but you know, I mean, Jeff Co um you know, they have a much larger budget than they operate with us, but you know, they're looking they have to look for $45 million in savings and they just announced that they're going to cut 150 jobs. So, I mean, this is this is happening all over the state. We're not the only district. um you know so obviously it's all relative to the size of your district but um everybody
107um is looking at this. I think some districts are going to have to look at making greater strides because they didn't take um well they they they prolonged closing schools and so now they're having to make deeper cuts or make more drastic measures. And so um so just to know that again this is not unique to us um nor was like school closures. This is this is happening you know probably not just even in Colorado it's happening all over. So just to perspective >> yeah and I think the other one recently was a larger one was I think DPS was cutting like 25 million and remember Jeffco already closed close to 20 schools I think and then still had to do this. So, that's why it's got to be a combination of things. And then,
108you know, we've had questions before, why don't you just um why don't you just pass a mill levy overright to avoid having to adjust for declining enrollment? Well, there's some school districts that are a great example of why that doesn't work. I think Pter is one of I'm not trying to call out school districts here, but um they they went that route and they're already back at the table talking about school closures because that it doesn't keep pace with the amount of decline that you're seeing. So you have to have a conversation about tough decisions like school closures when you have to and reductions in staff and you need additional support from things like mill levy overrides especially when the state budget is the way it is and potentially these federal cuts also. So, you
109know, these are tough decisions, but um they're necessary when we're in the situations we're in. Um or else you start doing things like going into reserves for ongoing costs and then you're stuck like other districts that we have examples of in the state where their reserves are completely gone now and they're having to go out and ask for money to backfill that. So, um it's there's not an easy answer. Um and we're committed to making the decisions we need to make so that we can continue to provide a great education to the 19,000 students that we do have. That's that's where the focus is. >> Great. >> I would agree with everybody what what everybody said. I think it's true. We have to be real careful with what we do with our budget. When when
110uh director he talked about Jeffco, they were $60 million in the hole. And part of it was that they used all of their reserves. And I think when we look at how we're going to use our reserves, we have to be very mindful of the way to do it. I do like the idea that uh also what director height said is we focus on the support of students of of how are we going to help students and if we lose our title monies that's a good way to um do it but it is scary uh what we're looking at and part of what we've thought talked about in CASBY if you listen to we're all a team with with us and our community and we have to work together to try to figure out a
111resolution for this uh not just for short term but long term also and as always I'm always impressed by your uh presentations and your knowledge. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> So any other questions? I'll end the superintendent report. Let's just say some two positive things, right? One, we do have a great um CFO finance department who's kept us in the situation we're in. And I just want to one more shout out because we started with recognitions. Even in the midst of all this, we're still seeing academic gains that we haven't seen before as a district, and our schools are doing really great things with limited resources. So, we'll end on those two positive things that our school district's heading in the right direction. So, >> uh before we do audience comments, has
112everybody signed up who wants to speak? You're okay. Thank you. >> All right, we have one person here for public comment. Anna Elliott and I was going to tell you the ropes of you know how long you get and Miss Director Heights said you know the So >> yeah, I'm reading a letter from Family Research Council that I received in October. Um, most Americans don't give much thought to what happens when the Supreme Court gables into session each October. They only tend to pay attention when the court hands down its decisions in June. But as believers, now is the moment when we need to have our eyes opened to the spiritual battle at hand and be in prayer as Supreme Court justices hear oral arguments being um begin forming their opinions and start writing their
113decisions. Because as we've seen time and time again, these decisions affect life, marriage, religion, freedom, and the future of our children and can chart the moral course of our nation for generations to come. At the heart of the Supreme Court term is a case you need to know about, Charles versus Salazar. In this case, the state of Colorado is going after a Christian counselor named Ka Kaylee Childs for doing what every bibleelving counselor should, offering truth grounded in scripture to young people struggling with gender confusion. Colorado has labeled her council quote conversion therapy unquote and denied her any religious exemptions and is now trying to silence her voice and by extension yours and mine. Make no mistake, this isn't just about Colorado. If they succeed, it sets a precedent that threatens every pastor, counselor, youth
114leader, Christian parent in America, and I would say teachers. Speaking the truth in love could could soon become a punishable offense. Family research shows how leading professionals, psychological, and medical groups have embraced ideology over science and how many struggling with their gender identity are actually dealing with unresolved trauma. If the court rules in favor of the counselor, it will be a major step toward protecting free speech, defending religious freedom, and giving hurting people the opportunity to find true freedom in Christ. We know the court can get it wrong. Row versus Wade in 1973 has led to the murder of millions of unborn children. But we also know that when we intercede by praying, voting, and standing, the court can get it right and even correct past mistakes. These victories remind us of something important. The
115truth is still powerful. Even when opposed by media, government, corporate pressure, and academia, truth anchored in God's word prevails when God's people stand together. That's the hope into every battle. That's the light we refuse to hide. But we also know that laws alone cannot change hearts. Real transformation only happens when the truth of scripture is proclaimed with clarity, courage, courage, and compassion. When Christians are informed, engaged, and courageous, they can change history. We've seen it in pro-life movement, and by God's grace, we're seeing it now in the battles for parental rights, religious freedom, and biblical sexuality. We can always see that, too. But move forward with the budget. Next we move Next we move to uh consent agenda. Does anybody have any items that they would like to remove from the consent agenda? No. License
116and administration personnel actions. Everybody read that? Any questions or discussion on that? Cool. So, the gifts was a total of $62,427.92. And we also talked about grants. Um, hold on. Think I have a motion and a second to accept the consent agenda. >> Motion to approve the consent agenda. Second. Thank you all and thank you for your help, Mrs. Heights. Business items. >> Vote. >> I'm sorry. Jump. >> Mr. Chavez. >> Mrs. Cole. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Evansson. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Heights. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Woods. >> Yes. >> Business items. We have the adoption to adopt the school calendar for 2026 2027. We have a motion to to accept and adopt school calendar. >> Motion to accept the school calendar. Second >> vote. >> Oh, got discussion first. Any discussion? >> You don't
117have to. I thought we did that last week. >> Ask if there's discussion. >> Discussion. >> I think I just would say I think that the calendar was well presented. Um I think it's uh I think the the eb and flow that you guys have to go through to kind of you know the pressure points of pushing on one thing to do the other is great. And um I do look forward that if we can coordinate with CMU and get back to a a three-year adoption um is is well be well accepted. So I look forward to that. >> Yeah, I was I was thinking I appreciated the foresight into recognizing that partnership that we have with C CMU to make sure that our students and and even their siblings or family members that are
118attending CMU, they have that consistency. Um, so I appreciate that foresight and that partnership that we have so that we're not confusing our families. >> And I'm glad Jen had the opportunity to lead the calendar committee. Good job, Jen. >> And she said she want to do it every year. >> Do the vote. >> Mr. Thomas, >> Mrs. Cole, >> yes. >> Mrs. Evansson, yes. >> Mrs. Heights? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Woods? >> Yes. The next item is a resolution approving performance contract with Snyder Electric and Equipment Lease Purchase agreement with TD Equipment Facilities, Inc. We call for a motion. Accept that. >> Motion to approve uh the performance contract with Schneider Electric. Second. >> Is there any discussion? >> I would just say that I thought their presentation was great. Um I'm looking forward
119to just what they're going to be able to do with our schools and work with Clint and his team and um just and also the savings that we'll have. So um I also thought the presentation was great for just the learning environments and everything that will also help with student outcomes and help with our staff as well. So thank you guys very much. I think it's going to be awesome. I did appreciate the contract that was sent even though it was long to read [laughter] and uh but I did appreciate that and I did appreciate that uh legal took a look at it and and and it all passed. Uh and so if you guys would like to vote on that now there's no other discussion. >> Mr. Chavis >> approved. >> Mrs. Cole, >>
120yes. >> Mrs. Evansson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Heights, Mrs. Woods, >> yes. Next one is board announcements. >> I was going to say this earlier, but I forgot. It's nothing exciting, I promise. Um, it's more for the public. Um, we brought up in the celebrations um the Lego League and every once in a while they host scrimmages where they allow community members to come in and be a guest judge. And I did that once over the summer and it was the best experience I've ever had in my life. um you don't necessarily get to see the competition of the actual le Lego league, you get to see their uh their project on the back end and the amount of work and time that they put into that is incredible. So, um I believe the first
121first Lego coordinator guy, his name is Dallas, and if you want his contact information, I'm sure I can give that to you. And then the other thing was that White Ice is coming up and Pollock um the store downtown and D51 Foundation are partnering to do like a swap, like a clothing swap. Um so if you're looking for shiny things to wear at the White Ice, I you could go and there's some extra money that goes into the D51 Foundation. I thought that was a cool idea. >> Thank you. Is there any other announcements? >> Thank you. future meetings. Uh won't have another one till January 6th at 5 o'clock. It'll be a board work session and we'll have an executive session at 4:00 at that date. Uh then on January 20th, 26th, the Harry
122Butler room will have another one at 5:00, a board business meeting. I do like to would like to thank um all the staff of the board for everything that you do for and hope you take your holidays and be safe and thank you for all the community members who come in and join us and help us and participate. Uh your input is valuable and thank you so much. Uh do I have a motion and a second for adjournment? >> Motion to adjourn. Second. >> There we go. Thank you all. >> Merry Christmas.