001I allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [snorts] >> Is it one nation under God? Welcome to the visitors. Um, first item, we have a motion to approve the regular board meeting. >> So moved. >> Second. >> I'll second. >> AJ Wilson, >> yes. >> And Bennett, >> yes. >> Mark Emry, >> yes. >> Michelle Ericson, >> yes. >> Susie K, >> yes. >> Motion carried. Thank you. Um, item number four, 4.01, and 4.02, we have gifts. Brian Delilka's gonna present. >> Good evening. How's everybody doing tonight? >> Good. Good. >> Good. It's a pleasure to be here. Um we have two gifts tonight to present to you from Publo County High School.
002Uh the first is a gift um totaling $1,000 to our arts academy at Publo County High School, specifically our drama department from Rosena Santag. Uh Rosina is a great contributor and um afficionado of the arts in the greater PBLO community. Um her specific donation went to help us purchase um new microphones for our spring musical Chicago that happened uh in March. Our second donation is $550 to our GRTC program from the Pikes Peak Chapter of Military Officers Association. Um and that uh donation went specifically to our rifle team to offset some of their expenses. All right. Thank you. >> Next item, a donation of $1,000 to our high school, David or Dave Russell. >> Yeah, we have received a donation of a thousand from the Nomad group, which is a business down our way. And
003it's for the technology student association for our planned trip to the national conference in late June. It's in Washington DC. We're we're fundraising from sponsors in Mali and Publo and would like request the board's acceptance of that donation. We also have another check on the way uh in the mail, I guess, from PBlo Bank and Trust, another thousand, and we are expecting several other donations on that order from other businesses. We just haven't gotten them in yet. >> Thank you. Great. We had we had uh three students who placed top three at state. Two of them were in structural design and engineering >> and the other was in they took first in the state and uh one of our students took third in music production. So we want to get them to the national conference
004in Washington. >> Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Thank you. >> Next, April Vill donation to Liberty Point. >> Hi. How is everybody doing? Hi. >> Was the video able to be shown or >> It was just a moment. >> Okay. Sorry. >> April video or just tell me when. >> Um, we're good. Thank you. >> Congratulations, Liberty Point. You've been selected for a 2026 NLGA STEM scholarship. This award will help expand your rocketry program and launch an exciting mock mission to Mars. Your STEM program is giving you real skills that you'll need the rest of your life. And you're learning these skills at a great time. Colorado has one of the best aerospace industries in the world. Right here in our state, companies played a key role in NASA's Armus 2 mission, and they need students
005like you to help grow space exploration. with your rocketry program. You're not just building rockets and you're building careers and that that can change the world. I can't wait to see what you accomplish. I'm planning on making a trip to visit your school probably in the fall to see your hard work in person. So, congratulations again and thank you for being a part of Colorado. >> That's awesome. [applause] >> Thank you. Thank you. Um, so we were one of um 12 schools that were selected out of the country. So I'm so excited for that. I'm excited for um to use the money to uh start the mock mission to Mars. So that's going to be good for CTE. Um awesome for our students have this opportunity. So hope you guys accept that. Thank you. >>
006Yeah, absolutely. >> Thank you. [applause] >> Do I have a motion to accept the gifts with appropriate acknowledgement? So, >> I'll second. >> AJ Wilson, >> yes. >> And Bennett, >> yes. >> Mark Emmery, >> yes. >> Michelle Ericson, >> yes. >> Susie Cars, >> yes. >> Motion carried. >> Okay, thank you. Um, item 5.01, PCA Spotlight, Kate Paycheck. Hello board. We have two uh spotlight for this week. Uh first, one of our ESPs is Deborah Sierra. Deb [clears throat] has spent more than 20 years showing up for district 70 and she has never stopped raising the bar. What began began as a substitute position has grown into two decades of dedicated leadership and her journey from sub to kitchen manager is a testament to her work ethic, her reliability and her genuine love for
007this community. Deb runs a tight, safe and high quality kitchen while simultaneously creating a welcoming environment where students feel cared for the moment they walk through the door. Her positive attitude is a constant and her colleagues know they can count on her. Not just to do her job well, but to show up for them when it matters. As a satellite kitchen manager, Deb's responsibility extends far beyond the students she sees every day. She is feeding and supporting multiple schools across the district, coordinating meals with the kind of precision and care that most people never see and everyone depends on. that scope of work requires exceptional organization, leadership, and a commitment to quality that she brings every single day. Tomorrow, she also told me when um I let her know she won uh she will receive
008the district her 20 years in district 70 her service award. So, she was really happy. She said the milestone that reflects not just her longevity, but the lasting impact she made on every school. So Deborah Snell [applause] Sierra Sierra Deborah Sierra sorry I said it right the first time right? >> Yes. >> Okay I worked with somewhere else. That name just popped in. Sorry. Um and then we have Justin Mikolich. He's at South Mesa. He's a teacher. Justin leads with heart and everyone in South at South Mesa Elementary knows it. He approaches his students and colleagues with genuine respect, compassion, and a quiet consistency that makes the people around him feel seen and valued. Justin has taken on multiple grade levels through his time at South Mesa, stepping up wherever the school needs him without
009complaint and without hesitation. He volunteers readily, listens fully, and is the kind of colleague and educator who makes a building stronger simply by being present in it. What makes Justin truly stand out is not any single accomplishment. It is the [clears throat] sustained intentional growth he has shown as both an educator and a person. He's stretched across grade levels, taken on challenges, and continuously invests in becoming better for his students. His willingness to go above and beyond in the classroom, in the community, and in the lives of those around him speaks to a character that is defined by putting others first. His colleagues are proud of the educator he is and the confidence and joy he brings to his work each day is a reflection of someone who is exactly where he is supposed to
010be. [applause] >> Thank you. >> I know. >> Okay. Item 6.01, information from board and superintendent. We'll start with Bob. >> Not much to report tonight. I did attend the uh PECOG meeting last um Thursday, previous Thursday. They we did vote on the long range uh plan for the county. So, that will it's a 25-y year plan, but it's reevaluated every five years. And so, that plan was approved. So that again allows um this region to uh be able to secure federal transportation dollars. Projects in the area as you know that the big project is the 50 bypass. Um that's still on schedule to be completed but it's I think it's a year and a half still before full completion. Uh they are starting the new planning phase for uh exit 108 which is uh
011the public west exit um up north and that will um incorporate Of course, a new off and on uh ramp, bridge, etc. And uh I believe the rest stop is in the works there as well. So that's the only thing we can poured out of that. And outside of that, we're we're in springtime. Nice spring storm going to dump some good moisture, but uh I think it does impact our sports teams that are still trying to >> finish their seasons and get ready for state and districts and all of that. I just want to say we're not going to have a snow day. >> I mean, we did give the day back to kids. We do have we do have days still built into the schedule, but uh it's I'm hopeful it's not going to
012be a snow day. I I don't have anything else to report. >> Um I was going to say something about Highway 50. Oh, hopefully they don't have to close that rest stop down at 108. >> If they put one in, they have all the other ones. >> Oh, right. [laughter] >> Sometimes those are necessary. >> Yeah. >> I get to go to another award ceremony tomorrow with the staff and I'm looking forward to it. Those are always fun for me. I like I like seeing the consistency in our district and just the the loyalty that people have to our district and it's really cool to see. >> That's it for me. >> Nothing for me to think of for you. Well, it's graduation season. I'm looking forward to attending some graduations in the coming weeks.
013Um also some award ceremonies. I was so excited to go to the um Craver Greenhouse ribbon cutting and I showed up Thursday and it had been cancelled. >> I was so anxious to go check that out. I did go. Yeah. But >> but uh Yeah. No, they didn't have it. >> That's all. >> Okay. Well, this time of year is very taxing band season. uh which I enjoy a lot. Most recently, the Blossom Festival was three days, four days last week in our our high schools, Ry PBLO West, and County all did great things. There's one of our PBLO West trombone players right there. And uh I had the privilege of I wasn't judging. I was the chief judge at the jazz festival. And so I worked with all the bands when they finished their
014performances and uh it was a pleasure working with our district 70 kids and I gave them a little extra love. >> Good. >> Very nice. >> Um thank you Mark. Um a few things I want to share. I was uh really excited. Um uh we received an invitation to uh the board had received an invitation and I had uh the opportunity to attend the Kaiser thriving schools showcase last Tuesday and I thought it was amazing. Um we have district 70 has received two grants three years in length each and focusing on um health um of our staff and our students. and I just thought it was really exciting. Um, I met teachers and leaders in our district that I didn't know and I just really appreciated the opportunity to be there and to hear not
015only what's going on in district 70 but in other districts as well. So, I was really grateful for the opportunity um to hear about what's happening with kids and with staff and all the positive um so many positive um presentations. Um we attended presentations. So our our district put on a presentation as well as the other two districts that were in attendance and so it was really exciting. So thank you for the opportunity. Um really enjoyed that. And um I also went to um last week I know that we had also received an invitation and I went to Prairie Winds Elementary and they had a CTE um day with the high school students and it was really awesome. and the high school students of course um because Prairie Winds is in PBLO West I mean
016I would love to be out here in the you know on the mesa doing that or in Ry but um it was really exciting to see kids present what they're learning um and working with elementary kids I mean gosh how cute right I mean these little kiddos kindergarteners and and all the different grades um the teachers were wonderful the uh presenters were wonderful um it and if just it was a great experience so I really enjoyed that and I also went over to Sierra Vista um and presented the uh with um uh Mrs. Russell, we presented the uh rec the um >> years anniversary. Sorry, I was going to say years of service, but um and that's always really exciting to see. I mean, the just the collective um the the collective of of knowledge
017and dedication to our district. It was really exciting to be there and I uh thank you for that. And then finally, um, last Friday, I just had a great week last week. It was really exciting. Um, and [clears throat] and really doing things for, um, you know, just getting to know District 70 in a different way. Um, so that was was really fun. And, um, I also went to the Golden Tortilla um, event put on by the Ark and that was really exciting. And, um, I'm on the PUR board also for district 70 and love it. and I went to a board meeting last week. So, it's a busy week and uh lots of good stuff for district 70. So, thank you. >> All right. Thank you. Discussion items. Presentation of the director district map
018reortionment. Shannon Bingham. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Shannon Bingham. I own a company called Western Demographics. I do political reortionments and uh school boundaries and new school activations, bond election packaging all over the west. Um this may be the third time I've done our reortionment here. I've done probably 175 reortionments since 1985. So um I've done quite a few of these. Um I've been an expert witness for the fifth circuit court of appeals on this topic. Um we grew by about 4,900 people since our last um uh count that was for reortionment. Um the mid decade census is not very good. So we had a census in 2020. We'll have another in 2030. Uh the estimates in the mid decade is is not all that great. Uh the state requires us to reabortion
019every four years. And so what I do is I use housing counts from PBLO county to estimate based on average household size uh for houses, town houses, apartments what our actual population growth is. So we work very closely with Pueblo County to collect that data. Uh we were off by 5 and a half% in some of our districts. Um the standards are 3% variance [cough] preferred. So, we were trying to get this as close as possible. Um, I try to provide PBLO County with a voter list that's linked to the director districts and that's part of my service as well and a legal description and they tend to be um fairly exacting on how we do this. So, we've been able to establish a standard with satisfactory to them. uh we have a uh pattern
020of reort of aortionment that has been with us for about 20 years. Um so we are in the state the only donutshaped district. So um uh so everybody's going to run the crispy cream after this but we have a donutshaped district. So, um, districts, uh, one, three, and five are kind of pizza shaped, and districts two, and four are kind of croissant shaped, and they've been that way for almost 20 years. And what I do in order to uh, make the growth work out, right, is I shave off pieces of PBLO West as we go along. And, um, so that's what we've been able to do at least one more time. Uh there are two directors residing in the in the blend vineland area. Um no one has been displaced. Everyone is uh still seated
021as they are. So we were able to um make that happen. Uh I was able to using the map that you see on your screen there reortion the district to within about 43 people varants in the districts. So, we were able to pull that off one more time. What the census in 2030 is going to do to us, I have no idea. Uh there's a lot of growth happening in PBLO West, and so we may have to scratch our heads hard about how we look um when uh 2030 rolls around, but for now, we've been able to preserve this pattern of representation in PBLO 70 and not displace any directors. Um, so as I mentioned, part of my service is to uh redevelop the voter list, provide those to PBLO County, write a legal description,
022and this mapping is high resolution mapping. So if you want to zoom in on this PDF as you continue to consider this recommendation, you can zoom right in on it on your phone or on your uh computer and see the street names legibly so that you know where everything is. There are four areas that are shown as what are called shift areas where in most cases I was able to clean up in three of the shift areas. Um they're in your packet as well. Three of those are in PBLO West and one is kind of in the transition area between Glend and Finland which was an area that I needed to do to balance population between uh district two and district four. Uh but for the most part uh we're able to kind of keep
023more or less what we have but we have shifted those four areas. No seated directors have been displaced. So I'm delighted to answer any questions for the next year term. >> How would it work? I know we had talked in the past about having uh like a representative from PBlo West area, the county area and then the Ribbulla area and then two at large. It doesn't I know we had run into issues with that. Does this affect that as well or is it just based off like how does something like this work with at large positions I guess too. So, um, this continues to be five seats. And so, I've had some conversations with some attorneys associated with other districts who have told me that um, five districts and two at large is questionable from
024a legal standpoint. So, I would suggest that you confer with your legal counsel. But, um, that could [snorts] in fact be an option if you wanted to do that. But again, I'm not a lawyer. I'm a demographer. But I've had some conversations with another district circumstances and the attorney in that circumstance preferred to have at least five seats. Now, if you had seven directors, you would have an opportunity to have two at large. But, uh, that attorney's advice to me as I, and I'm recollecting this now, is that she said that we needed to have in this other district circumstance five seats and then we could have at large seats beyond that. But her reading of state statute indicated that there needed to be five seated uh districts. >> Now again, that's that attorney. That's
025her interpretation of statute. And I'm not a lawyer. >> I believe it would have to be something you would put on the um to be voted upon. >> Like you can't just change it. It has to be voted upon by everybody >> to even change the atlarge or the five or the seven. >> Yeah. I just didn't know if you had any input on that based off population and stuff. >> I I I don't I generally uh do the reaportionments and the the updates based upon the existing structures without proposing a restructuring. I will say that there's there's very little restructuring happening in the state for the most part. In fact, having done this for almost 45 years, I can count on one hand the number of times when there's been a restructuring of the
026fundamentals of representation. >> Thank you. >> All right. Any other questions? >> All right. Thank you. >> Appreciate it. >> Giving us talking. >> Next will be Holly Corsantino presentation of the adoption of the Ready Math program. >> Good evening, Madame President, board members. Um I am here this evening to um discuss the recommendation of the ready math curriculum to you for adoption in our elementary schools and to review with you just a little bit of how we got to this point. I think Kimberly is going to drive for me. [laughter] >> Sorry. >> You're fine. So the timeline back in September at our fall professional development, we did give all of our elementary teachers the opportunity to review three math curriculums. Savas, Desmos, and Readym Math. From those three, they provided feedback to us
027and we um decided to pilot two of them. Desmos math and readymath. We se [laughter] we're still on slide one. >> Looking for it. >> There we go. Right there. Um in October, we um presented the materials to our soups council. We also presented to our elementary principles and asked them for volunteers to participate on October 8th. And then o on October 21st through the 23rd, we put the materials out for re a review by the public. Um the actual pilot took place from December 1st to April 23rd. So 18 weeks and every teacher piloted both programs. So they spent nine weeks in Yeah. They spent nine weeks in one program and nine weeks in the other program. Um, and then uh we go ahead and flip. We did ask for participants from all 11
028elementary schools and all grade levels. So, kindergarten through fifth grade participated in the pilot. We um looked for feedback from students and from teachers. So, some of the things that our students told us about Ready Math were that they thought it was easy to understand. They thought it was more colorful than bridges. They thought it was helpful because it showed multiple strategies and models. And they could also relate to it. They felt like it had real life story problems. And we sought that feedback through survey, student surveys. Um, some feedback from the staff. They felt like the lessons were structured. They felt like the data tools were strong. They did feel like it gave us a has balanced instruction. They mentioned the small group support that it provided and they felt like it did have
029an easy teaching flow um that would be um easy for substitutes or anyone to be able to come in and pick up the program. At the conclusion, we met for a vote on April 23rd um and next [laughter] one. Um, and so if they were present at the meeting, so 28 of our 31 pilot teachers were present at the meeting and they did vote as you can see 70 to 30 for the ready math program over the uh amplified desmos Desmos math program. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the staff and the uh department of instruction that the board of education adopt the ready math curriculum and I would be happy to answer any further questions that you have. Can we give those? [laughter] >> It also aligns with our current um assessments, our current
030immediate assessment. So we wouldn't have to change assessments and it also uh it flows into sixth, seventh, and eighth grade because we're already testing on I Ready for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, both reading and English language arts. So um it's it provides some continuity. >> So do we have any sense of how effective it was? I mean I we probably haven't had testing sufficient to but do we have any sense of that? >> So we don't have any testing. We haven't been utilizing it. Um we there would in nine weeks there wouldn't be enough data to really >> compare those students to other students. Um I did go searching just for some comparison. Um, Douglas County does is a school district here in Colorado that does use Ready Math. Um, I I sent you
031an email. Obviously, there are so many factors when you're comparing PLO 70 to them, but it appears by the data that they're having success with the program. >> Our elementary schools hover, you know, anywhere from 24 to 29% proficient. Their elementary schools hover from 52 to 58% proficient in math. Again, many factors are going to go into that, but I just wanted to see if they were having success, and it appears that they are. >> Okay. And our current curriculum was something that our teachers have uh said for several years was not something that they supported, uh that it was difficult to teach, that it was very timeconuming to put the lessons together. And we heard that for uh several years. uh and Holly was a a principal who encountered that and and was also
032someone who would say, "Hey, when are we going to get a new math curriculum?" uh so that's why I thought it was very important not just because of our scores but because our teachers have also said that they wanted a new math curriculum. >> And what is the current curriculum? >> Bridges. Bridges. >> Bridges. And my wife is a math teacher and uh she she was not one of the test people, but she certainly did talk to Lori and uh really listened to the results they got. And so she's all in favor as well. Perfect. >> And one of our goals was to make sure that we included every school so that every school would have a voice in this decision, which I think is going to go a long way once we do adopt
033as far as buyin from teachers like you said. And um just them wanting to participate in the training and the things that go along with adopting a new math program. >> Yeah, there's a lot when it comes to that. Um, I was just going to say, can we give those teachers like something special because that is not easy [laughter] to teach two different curriculums in nine weeks a piece. So, that's really awesome that they were willing to step up and do that um and manage that. That's really awesome. >> I agree. >> Yeah, I have I have experience with I Ready and Ready Math. I think it's a good program. I do like the delivery method. Um, I think this data supports that. Um, and the structure of the lessons. I I really appreciated that.
034So, um, this is a good program. It is. >> Other questions? >> Any other questions? >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Logan Gordy. >> Okay. Hi. the presentation of the homeschool enrichment program at Vabella Charter School. >> Good evening. My name is Logan I'm the executive director and founder of Illabella Expeditionary. We're a K8 charter authorized by D70 and we're located near CSU [snorts] PBLO. U this is something we've been exploring for a long time. So, we're or I'm here to just share a little information on what that's going to look like. There are some pieces that are being developed as we go, but um Peyton Stack, our athletic coordinator, and Dylan Ortiz, uh dean of the middle school, they're the two that are helping kind of spearhead and get this started.
035They'll be the ones that run it initially until we recruit and hire other teachers to operate it for us. Um right now, we're looking at some kind of sporadic and random Fridays for the first semester and the second semester. One of the things we're having to work around is our uh once a month Friday PD professional development that we have for all staff. So, we're trying to build this schedule. The requirement is for the homeschool component is uh 90 hours each semester. So, this schedule um fulfills that. And the idea is that we'll recruit homeschool families that are looking for a Friday enrichment program that we're going to offer at uh Vibella Expeditionary. In addition to homeschool families, we're also going to recruit [snorts] the Vibella current Vibella families that are just looking for Friday
036Care as well. Um these are there's a lot of words up there, but these are some of the course descriptions and we don't need to dive into um the nitty-gritty with it, but we're looking at offering those types of courses that are either difficult to offer for homeschool families or work better in larger groups. So, physical education, um, art, and then utilizing a lot of the resources that we already have at VB, Lego robotics, our, um, Glow Forge, uh, laser engraver, 3D printers, [clears throat] etc. We have, uh, pianos as well, keyboards that connect with the software, Piano Marvel. And yeah, that's that's perfect. Um, and the other piece of this is we're we're taking what we already do on Monday through Thursday in regard to expeditionary learning, both the curriculum and philosophical approach to
037learning and transferring that and offering it for students that need VB students that need a place to [snorts] go on Fridays, but also homeschool families who are maybe interested in this type of learning style and model. Um, this is kind of a a mock draft schedule that lays out some of those courses that um I described. We start every day with uh crew, which is not on here. Uh that's the social emotional learning component. And then depending on how many students are registering and what ages they are will determine which classes and how we break up the schedule. So, that piece is um we'll be figuring some of it out as as we go. This is just going over some of the pricing. Homeschool families that choose to attend and are only attending our program,
038it will be free because there are state funding available for us for those families. Um and then VBE families we're looking at but may adjust after some surveying and [snorts] data collection. uh $100 per Friday, nine to four on those Fridays. And that is it. Any questions for me? >> Yeah. >> Logan, have you uh had any kids sign up yet? [snorts] >> We haven't. Uh we've had twoformational nights just to more factf finding and figuring out is there are there enough families and who's interested. Um we haven't enrolled anyone yet. What my plan is is to offer a free sample um one of these days in May or June and then start enrollment after that for August. So, we'll just invite everyone to come experience what we're what we're offering and then um if
039there's interest and so on, we'll we'll then recruit and enroll. We don't we don't need a ton of students to make it viable because we're, you know, using our space that's empty anyway on Friday. Um, but we're we're shooting for 30 students and it should be a mix. We had probably 10 homeschool families show up with a student or two per family. And then um for our Vibella families, we had another probably 10 um students. So those were very preliminary um just in the last week or two. Uh but no one's actually enrolled yet. We haven't even opened it up for official enrollment yet. >> And the teachers, are they coming directly from your school or you're hiring out or what's that look like? >> Yeah, so to start, um Peyton Stack and Dylan Ortiz
040will get us launched and running. Want to make sure that we're offering quality programming and and working through any of the new um things that come. And then once we're uh up and running, then we might look to recruit so that we can offer more Fridays without interrupting our professional development schedule for our teachers. But I do think it's a great opportunity for all of our teachers um to make some extra money on the side when we don't have professional development. So we can bring in the art teacher, bring in the PE teacher, and then kind of take turns and supplement their their income a little bit by them coming to help. >> Yeah. Any other questions? >> So, I was just curious. You mentioned that there's a social emotional component that wasn't on the
041schedule. Why is that? >> Well, the the real reason is because our Google Drives had a lot of trouble in the last two weeks. So, the things that we had originally made and we can't find and I'm doing data export and putting it into a new domain. So, that's really the main reason. But, um it's how we start every day. crew is always starts with some sort of greeting where everyone's voice is heard. Then there's a reading which could be a video, an activity, an article and then an initiative where you're setting some sort of social emotional goal for the day and we do that specific to our values of cooperation, respect, endurance, wonder and we will continue that. It's a great way to start the day. We even sometimes circle up at the end
042of the day and like, okay, we were working on respect today and we had just learned XYZ. You set this, you know, goal to do XYZ and how how did that go? Or who needs to apologize because they weren't showing respect? But that's kind of the model of good >> skill. >> Yeah. [laughter] Comes full circle. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> I have one question. Will you continue to offer this if the state does not fund home school? >> That is a good question. Um, that is being decided right now. If the the for the homeschool families, if the revenue will decrease, actually they're looking at halfing it, I think. So, it'd be a quarter of your your per pupil revenue. And I think it'll really depend on I don't
043have a clear enough number because I haven't gotten official people enrolled yet, but how many families of our own are willing and ready to private pay versus how many homeschool families we have. So it'll really just come down to those numbers. Um so we'll we'll see. I think if we have enough families, VBE families that are just wanting to pay out of pocket and it is enough to pay the teachers that are doing the work there during the day, then we'll be fine. Um I'm hoping to also have some homeschool families and so that piece is less um important if it's being supplemented by private pay. >> But so no real answer for you there. Sorry. >> Yeah, [laughter] that's okay. I understand. >> Okay. >> All right. Anything else? >> No. >> Thank you.
044Appreciate it. >> Presentation of the photography request for proposal. Kimberly. >> All right. So, I was asked to do an RFP for photography. Um, we had five vendors. Um, and we created a committee of different people, um, principles, different from Ry, from Pogo West, all over. [snorts] Um, and they narrowed it down to the top two finalists and we come up with some other questions for them and the top person that they chose that works best with our system um like implementing with our power school and our data and along with affordable packages for students because that's a big deal um to I mean as a single parent it it was a big deal to me um and so interstate was our number one choice out of the five. Um they're working on a contract
045right now with us. Um we did send them that they they were our top finalist. Um and so they should be working with us to get a contract to start for the next and I will present that at the next meeting for approval. >> All right. Thank you. Any questions? >> Is that athletics and school pictures or >> So we asked that. So a lot of the high schools want to do their own athletics. A lot of parents want the smoke and the flames and all that extra. >> So, we asked that they would be available >> if the school chose for them to, but that it wasn't part of the contract to where we had to use them. >> So, they they are available like especially our middle schools if they want to reach
046out to Interstate and Interstate works with some of our yearbooks. I believe at some of the schools um they will release like the digital files for uh our other yearbooks if they go with like just or whatever the school uses. So we did make sure with that and we also asked that for like every 200 or 250 students that they sent an extra photographer because I know our last one sent like one photographer and it would take all day especially like public county high school or so we did ask that they had so many photographers per so many number of students etc. >> That's good. >> Yeah. >> So, >> any other questions? I don't know that I have the answers. I just put it together. [laughter] >> Thank you. >> Awesome. >> Thank you.
047>> Next item. Board discussion of policy BG school attorney legal services. Um provide input on choice of legal counsel. So, um Rhonda issued an RFP for legal services. the administration made the decision to terminate Brad Miller's firm and to hire Kaplan and Ernest. Um I strongly oppose that decision. Um according to Colorado Revised Statute section 2232103, the school board has um I'm going to read it here. Such board of education shall possess all powers delegated to a board of education. And then on our policy as well, it says that the board has the right to select legal counsel. I recognize that it's been typical to allow the superintendent to make that decision. Um but it is a power that's delegated by the board. And so in light of that, I would just like to have
048a discussion um regarding why I'm opposed and also um if other people are in support, I would like to discuss the issue. I think Susie has uh prepared some some statements on it. Excuse me. >> Yeah. >> Um so I am opposed to the choice of Kaplan and here's why. Um, so it's important that parents and stakeholders understand clearly what has occurred and what's now at risk. The administration has taken unilateral action to remove district current legal counsel and impose new representation without forward full board approval. Um, but this is not a procedural matter. It's a misuse of authority to set legal direction of the district without the governing body entrusted to make that decision. The selection of council determines how this district will interpret law, shape policy, and exercise authority over students and families
049based on the legal direction associated with the proposed Fern Kaplan and Ernest. This change is not neutral. It represents a shift towards policy frameworks that contain parental rights, limit parental involvement in critical decisions, and transfer authority away from families and towards institutional control. That is a fundamental change in how this district operates and it is a change that stands in direct tension with the expectation of the families we serve. If this direction is allowed to stand, the consequences are not speculative. They are already being seen in districts across the street. Increased claims that schools are overriding or excluding parents from key decisions. Rising legal challenges grounded in constitutional parental rights. escalating litigation costs and district-wide disruption, policy inconsistency that creates confusion for staff, students, and families. And beyond that, we expose the district to federal
050enforcement risk. Title 9 compliance is actively enforced. Complaints can trigger investigations by the Office for Civil Rights leading to findings of non-compliance, mandatory corrective action, ongoing federal oversight, and if unresolved, risk to critical federal funding. Even short of funding loss, the cost and legal fees, compliance burdens, and administrative strain is substantial. This is not about politics. This is about whether authority is being exercised properly and whether the policies that follow will protect or constrain the role of parents. This board exists to represent parents and stakeholders, not to bypass them, not to impose legal direction that conflicts with their values and expectations. Parents and stakeholders must be aware this is a defining moment for the district. I'm calling for this decision to be immediately brought before the full board, a halt to the imposed appointment until
051proper governance is exercised, full transparency regarding the legal direction being introduced, and strong consistent parent and stakeholder engagement moving forward. I also encourage families and community members to simply Google Kaplan and Ernest to find out what potential consequences would be to our district and email me directly for more in-depth information. I have a list of lawsuits ready to go. Um, I encourage you to attend upcoming board meetings, stay informed, participate respectfully but clearly in this process. Contact district administrators and board members directly to request that the current legal council be retained pending full board review. Communicate clearly that this decision of this magnitude must reflect stakeholder values, not unilateral administrative action. Decisions of this magnitude should not happen without the knowledge, involvement, and voice of the community which I represent. >> Thank you. Um, I
052appreciate that. I I'll uh just weigh in on some of my concerns. I I have concerns about Kaplan um itself and the lawsuits that they're involved with, the risk that it would create for our district, but also just practically um I wasn't able to find a single district in the state that retains one um attorney for the board and another one for the district. And to me, it just seems like it would create such a so much confusion and lack of coordination that it would be hugely inefficient. I'm just imagining I guess um maybe an appropriate analogy would be if you have parents that aren't on the same page on an issue and the child, which one do they listen to? because I think it's fair to assume that Kaplan on some issues would advise
053one way and Brad Miller and his firm would advise another way. Um, another reason that I think that it's inefficient is how is Brad Miller and his firm supposed to advise the board if he's not regularly interacting with Bob, with Stephanie, with the administrative team? He's going to be completely out of the loop. he's going to be completely in the dark while at the same time trying to pro provide us with with uh valid and valuable counsel. So, um I agree with with your assessment of Kaplan, but even beyond that, just logistically, I think it creates a huge um a huge conflict. I would also say that in my attempt to research this issue, it seems that this has been tried and tested um to have two different legal sources and it just doesn't um
054I haven't been able to find a situation where it's been super effective. And so those are my concerns. Any I'm sure you guys have something to say. Well, it's interesting we got to this point. We've been trying to get an RFP where we could have an attorney that maybe we could all agree on, but my colleagues said we couldn't do that. And now once a decision has been made which was completely a a decision made by all our all our directors, everyone the superintendent, everyone who knows education, who knows the needs of the operation of the school district. As soon as we find this, oh, it's a big uproar. It's an uproar that we're losing Brad Miller. Well, uh, we still have Brad as our uh legal counsel for our board. Uh whether he wants
055to stay making pittance as compared to the massive uh charges he's put forth. Uh I I think this this whole discussion could have been avoided had we just agreed as a board to do an RFP. And I I think all our directors I mean this was a meeting I I trust every single one of them. They're all good at their own area. Everyone here represents a different department, a different expertise. And the loyalty to Brad Miller, I don't understand it. It didn't have to be Kaplan in Earnest. It didn't have to be Brad Miller. If we just looked around, maybe we could find someone. But that was a no and that was a hard no. So what is our love affair with Brad Miller? What is that? I mean he I I don't get it.
056I he's been nice to me. That's all I can say. But we um >> a lot has been made of the cost associated with retaining Brad Miller. Rhonda provided this just this afternoon. realize that it was a quick um overview, but it's interesting to me when I look at the it's a legal or a financial breakdown of legal fees. 18% of Brad's fees are um attributed to board work, including core requests, which have ran our cost up substantially as I understand it. And 81.99% um of the legal fees have nothing to do with the board. They have nothing to do with with any perceived um controversy surrounding uh Brad Miller's firm. It has to do with truency contracts, employee issues, student issues, and state complaints. And so you referenced the exorbitant fees or whatever that
057Brad charges. I don't I think that's misrepresenting. Um I asked for this because constituents have contacted me and said an people want to talk about the legal fees at board meetings but they nobody ever get provides a breakdown. We don't even understand, you know, what's district, what's board, what's truency, what are things that we can control and not can lead to not. >> Hey, don't cut me off. >> No, you're cutting me off. >> Um, so I think that's an important piece of data to consider, Michelle. So I think that the question then is if 81% of the legal fees are legal fees that are correlated with truency with personnel with those things I think that the people that are dealing with truency and personnel our directors would know best how to choose an attorney
058that's going to a a law firm that is going to um represent maybe more frugally. Um, some other comments that were made. So, I I do think I don't know that that's really a good comparison. Our legal fees period are more expensive and we did receive that as a board. Um, our legal fees have um increased dramatically over the past several years. So, if that is a Miller Farmer Carlson issue or if that is a sign of the times issue, it is more expensive. Period. It's been more expensive. Um, so I think that's something to take into consideration. And regarding the policy itself, I do have some questions that I'd like to address later because um, I think that we as in a public meeting discussed the fact that a school district could choose to
059have one law firm for the board and one law firm for the district. We discussed it in public. >> I think it is possible, but that doesn't mean we have to agree that it's best. Um I well I I think that it is the prerogative of our leaders that are running the district on a daily basis to do what they think is best for the district and our job as a board of directors is you know I mean I I think what they've done is to make sure that they are able to move forward with good counsel with counsel [clears throat] that is there regularly and um as far as as far as um how they did it I mean they had a rubric they went through. They looked at what are the merits of
060each of these different firms. I think that that is a I mean it was a measured it was it was concise. It was all of the things that I would expect to happen when looking for council or other things, you know, an RFP for a photographer. I mean, they all looked at all of the proposals and chose the studio, the um photographer that's best for the district based on these criteria. And the same thing happened with >> and now it's being put before the board to decide if that decision should stand, right? So, she still had to present it. So, I think what you're ignoring here possibly is I don't disagree at all. I think when choosing district council, you should absolutely include include all of our district administrative team in that discussion. My issue
061is that the p the the board was bypassed. And here's why. What's the purpose of the board? These are elected individuals who are not paid to be here, who are here to keep certain things in check and to represent the views of their district. And so directors don't always um you know administrators don't always have a grasp on what's happening districtwide. That is the purpose of the board. >> Right. And I don't disagree with you. But I will ask once again, I asked earlier tonight, please bring bring statistics to me because if you're getting one email or two mail emails or 10 or however you're communicating with these constituents that are telling you you want they want something, I want to know how many people because if it's somebody calling me on the phone, that's
062a lot different than um holding a town hall meeting. In fact, I've been researching how do we do this? How do we make policy? How do we make decisions like this? And it takes time and it takes conversation with lots of people. It is not a matter of just a couple of people calling me with their concern or saying it's I I I feel like I feel frustrated because I feel like when people tell me that I don't know if it is again one five >> exactly >> what is it >> and who is it and do they even live in our district? >> Do they live in district 70? I just watched um a very a good presentation about the fact that our district looks like a donut and I'm thinking about who's calling
063us, who's talking to us, where are they talking to us? Do you live in my district? Are you, you know, are what is your concern? I mean, I I I I I'm holding myself accountable to this. And I'm just asking like as we're making these decisions, we really need to take that into consideration because I mean I I you know obviously they went through the process of issuing an RFP and we knew what they were doing it and we did not. >> Yes. But then the board was bypassed. That's what I'm that's the whole point I was making with my speeches. The governance process the board was bypassed and I don't I'm not okay with that. in our uh board powers and responsibilities in our guidelines toward the bottom it says that the board's responsible
064to select legal counsel and an auditor. So I don't think that us um weighing in on the selection of legal counsel from the board is is inappropriate in any way. In fact, it's part of our responsibilities. If a decision's made that we disagree with, we have a responsibility to review it. Well, I have a issue that I would like to address in the third paragraph. It says, "A decision to seek legal advice or assistance on behalf of the school district normally shall be made by the superintendent." Yes, >> we need to contact our superintendent so that our superintendent is in the loop when we're contacting attorneys, when we're contacting firms. And when when we're doing [clears throat] that, if we're contacting if I called Miss Ryan and I said, I'd like to contact Brad Miller
065and ask about legal counsel. I would want that legal counsel information shared with everybody. >> Say that again. I'm not sure what you're getting at. I'm getting at the fact that are we following are we following our policy? >> Are we are we picking and choosing? >> No, normally um means that and if you read the paragraph before it says that the board has um the board of education shall retain an attorney for legal counsel and services in affairs of the district. That is the paragraph two paragraphs before the one that you just shared. A decision to seek legal advice or the assistance on behalf of the school district normally shall be made by the superintendants or person spec specifically authorized. Normally does not mean that is a power that is delegated and that that
066is it doesn't say shall be made by the superintendent. It says normally shall be made. >> So when is it not normal then carry significance? >> Okay. Do I have a chance now? >> Yes, you may. Will you cut me off? >> Mark, you cut me off. >> Okay, let let me talk. It's my turn. >> I'll decide. >> No, you will not decide. >> Yes, I will. It's my prerogative. >> We are equal board members. We are equal board members. >> Mark, please. It is my prerogative >> to cut me off >> to decide who can speak when. I would like to hear from you, but I don't. You cut me off first, so please continue and say what you need. >> I apologize for cutting you off. Thank you. >> Let me speak
067as long as I want to speak. Please, >> I'll let you speak as long >> I I trust our directors. I trust our superintendent. Our job is to supervise our superintendent, not to run the district. Our our only employee is the superintendent. In my opinion, she has done a fantastic job business-like running this school district. She knows what it takes. She knows the the problems that Mr. Miller has caused being in this district. Uh I once had a principal that said, "Mark, I need to talk to you. Come to my office." And he'd say, "Parents have called me." And there it is. parents, constitu constituents have called me. Who called you? It was one parent. And that's a favorite line by principles to say, "Parents have called me." And we're using it here on our
068board. Now, uh I'll let you know who's talked to me. every person who has stood up at that uh podium, every teacher, I mean the brave teachers that didn't feel repres retribution. This fellow right here and and that's who we've heard from. I haven't heard one person up there say Brad Miller is great. Not one. And and I continue to say maybe the choice isn't what we'd like. Maybe and Brad Miller isn't what we'd like. But why why didn't we do an RFP? Why are we so committed to Mr. Miller? Why is that? There are so many attorneys out there, local attorneys, who have offered their services. Why? Well, we think we know the reason and and it's former relationships with Mr. Miller through Erbosis. It it's complet Well, it completely know Mr. Miller. >>
069It completely is. Well, you worked for him. >> No, I certainly did not. >> Really? Quit saying that. It's much. >> Well, all right. I will. But uh all I have, you know, I I admire the conviction and the nerve it took to go against what for all our directors here to go against what they knew certain board members would say. And they did what they thought was best for the district. I want you to look at every single one of these people. Why do we not trust them? Why is Mr. Miller the saint of above all saints that we can't trust every single one of these people in this room? Are we going to say, "Sorry, your voice doesn't matter." Is that what we're going to say? Are we going to say I I
070don't know. I'm just frustrated. Uh an earlier conversation was asking for an RFP. We were voted down and and now we have this. And as I say, there's my trimmer. I uh I completely admire our staff for taking this step, which they knew the board president wouldn't like. I I admire that. So, thank you for letting me speak. >> You're welcome. No. Anything to add, Susie? >> I think you're getting hung up on one thing and not addressing the issue that I brought up. >> No, that's not what I'm saying, Mark. >> Okay. >> What I'm saying is my issue here is twofold. >> One, the board was bypassed. Was that decision because they thought an wouldn't like it? I don't know. As you stated, or maybe it was a conscious decision. I don't know.
071To say we don't trust them is ridiculous. I said I would love them to be involved in that conversation. All we wanted was a um a chance for the proper channels to be um used and for proper governance to occur as is required by the district and by the oath that we took and by the bylaws that are written. That is all I am saying. In addition to that, we talk about a couple things. The exorbitant fees. Did you look at the proposal from Ernest and Kaplan? >> I'm talking about your dedication to Mr. Miller, >> right? You talked about maybe it was Michelle who talked about >> that up. Why are we so dedicated to him? >> Okay. I'm talking about why I'm opposed to Kaplan. >> This is nothing. Go ahead, do an
072RFP. Look at everyone else. I was utterly shocked when Kaplan was the choice. And it was because people say Miller's controversial. Kaplan is equally or not more so on the opposite side. >> Can I ask what's your evidence? I mean where what where are you? Yeah. Could you share us share with us? >> Yes, I will email you this. Yes, I will. >> Well, I don't Here's the thing. Like 50% of the school districts in the state of Colorado are represented by them. They're clearly >> you you're aware of the current federal lawsuit. I'm aware of it and I understand too that they um are not they are not uh proposing policy. They're representing a school district. I mean they didn't they didn't they didn't go into this lawsuit proposing policy which um I have
073a problem with. I want a I want a counselor. I want counsel that is going to tell me what the law is and explain to me how to implement or how it would affect me as a as a schoolboard member a as a school district. And so I'm a little concerned with the um suggesting that this law firm or any law firm for that matter is political because if that is what what what was brought up and I don't how is Kaplan political in the same way that you that you say Miller Farmer is political. It's just opposite ends of the spectrum. So what I'm trying to say is that education in by and large is inherently political. We deal with that every day in in every there's so many things that come up because
074everyone tries to say we know what's best for the child. [clears throat] It is my opinion that nobody knows what's best for the child outside of the parent. Okay. From the moment of conception and Michelle I discussed this with you right from the mo moment of conception you are immediately confronted with what's best for my child bottlefed breastfed this doctor that doctor this hospital this that hospital midwife home birth and then it's this school that [clears throat] school and then it's um if any other things come up it's immediate who knows best for the child I am always on and will always unapologetically be on the side of um increased parental choice, parental involvement, and not bypassing um that whatsoever. What I've seen from Kaplan time and time again is that they work to constrain
075parental rights. That is I will happily share with you. I have a laundry list. I have I have um several of the lawsuits and outcomes and what the parents sued over and what the policy and what the council was in those situations. This is not something that happened overnight. Kaplan's been on my radar radar for a long time as parental rights was a big issue for me um as I started getting my kids into school. Um so for those reasons, the fact that the board was bypassed um really it's just that what it comes down to is that the board was bypassed. I don't um I'm not going to condone that and I'm not going to just sign off on it because I don't think that's right. We can do it. bring it before the
076board and you can vote to support it. That's fine, right? But I don't think it was okay for the board's position to be bypassed. That's all I'll say. Do I get to speak? >> Yes. >> Am I able to speak? So, first of all, I want to address uh Susie's speech because what what you said is fiction. It's it's looking to the future of something that we're not supportive of. We're not asking for an attorney. We didn't put out an attorney to do an RFP for um policy or board governance. That is your job. Board governance is your job. And uh district operations is my job. And that is outlined in 2232109 Colorado Revised Statute. Um, just three weeks ago, Brad Miller actually made this statement and asked me, "Why didn't you just why don't
077you just choose the attorney for the board? It's within your right." That was your attorney's uh advice. Because according to policy DJ, professional services do not require a bid. I don't have to put something out to bid. I put it out to bid because I thought it was the right thing to do so that you guys could get an opportunity to see um what law firms were available. It's not our intent to ever take parent rights away that the board makes policy. The board has full authority to do to make policy. What we are asking is for an attorney to look at employee issues and truency because truency as you saw was around 20% of the costs for for legal representation and it doesn't need to be that high. There doesn't always have to be
078an attorney present at truency court. The other reason that we wanted somebody other than Brad Miller is you talked about how mom and dad, you know, going against each other and if you have two different uh law firms, um they give differing [clears throat] advice. Well, Brad Miller's firm has given that same advice. Even within his law firm, there's been conflicting statements from two of his lawyers. One saying to handle Title N in this way, one saying, "Oh, yeah, well, we don't agree you should handle Title N in this way." That puts us at risk. When we look at our employee issues, I won't go in depth to those employee issues, but we we call the attorney when we have an employee issue and we have not been given good advice, which is why we
079have such a high percentage of our employee issues as a cost for the district. We have exorbitant employee issue costs through our attorneys because of bad advice. Rhonda, Susie and I sat in a meeting with you a couple of weeks ago and asked you specifically about your leaning toward uh firing Brad and you never once brought that up. >> That is untrue. We did say that in the meeting. We did >> say that. Did they Susie? You said that that Bryce was hard to get a hold of. >> Did not say that you had received poor advice. >> Well, we've just received some um outcomes. So yes, we have received board advice. >> Okay. But you had already you were already lending to that decision prior to that when we had that meeting. So if
080you just received the the outcomes since subsequent to that meeting that wasn't informing your decision at that point and that was not we specifically did not respond. >> It was also Bryce has been stretched. I said that too. Bryce has been stretched thin. >> Yeah, that's true. And he's very hard to get a hold of. >> Yeah. >> And he which delays our processes for employee issues. >> Yeah. And I think my response >> I'm not done talking and you are cutting me off and I I asked to talk. >> So thank you. >> I I would appreciate that if you just allow me to speak on my part of it. I did mention the reasons why we were looking for a different attorney. Um I don't want to argue those issues about employee issues
081in front of God and everybody. I don't think it's appropriate. I don't have to put out things for [clears throat] an RFP. And that was uh something that Brad mentioned to you guys that I can choose an attorney. You are in charge of governance. I'm not we're not looking to ever take parent rights away. So that's to me a fiction statement about um just suddenly we're going to just magically change our district into something that uh our constituents would not want. And I'm insulted that you would say that we're out of touch with what our constituents want because we did a strategic plan where we met with all of the different constituents throughout the communities. Mr. Kilson was a part of that. We certainly listened to our constituents. You were all invited to be a
082part of that and not all of you attended. So we hear every day from our constituents. We talk to parents. We talk to teachers. We talk to principles. We talk to members of the community. So to say that we're out of touch with our constituents is insulting. And you're going to take the advice of someone you've known for four months over 150 years of combined of experience in this district. Very >> mean taking the ad. I'm >> You guys want Brad Miller to be your attorney and our administrative team does not. >> You don't care. Let him direct your policy. let him direct your policy, but let us take care of our operations. >> And we don't want Brad Miller as our attorney. >> Run your school district. >> Um, that is not at all
083that is not at all what I was saying. >> That is exactly what you were saying >> when it comes to this law firm with Kaplan. It is Kaplan. Okay. Not a >> in conversations with Kaplan, I asked them, you know, what what advice would you give us on this policy? They said we don't give advice on policy. We don't direct policy. We mitigate risks. And so what we would do is we would tell you what the risks are. The board adopts the policy. So if you adopt a policy, they don't try to direct you and say, I asked, are you going to say, hey, you should or you should not adopt this policy. No, because they said they're not getting into the politics of it. They're simply going to tell us what the risks
084are on either side of it. It's the board who adopts policy. >> If I could just jump in. I I don't want to make it any more contentious. Um, my piece is I I'm not I'm not looking for the political side on the attorney. Just trying to find like our pieces trying to find somebody that could do the job, do the job well and and meet our needs and and we haven't had that at times and and and I'm not, you know, Mr. Miller's not here and his group's not here to defend themselves. So, I'm not I I I've worked well with Brad. worked well with all of his people at times and then there's been other times where we've been very frustrated. You know, I'll point towards Miss Russell because we don't get timely.
085We don't get quick responses. We're waiting on documents. We're waiting on things. We're waiting on answers and it becomes frustrating because we're under the gun for for employee issues and other issues and and student issues. And so that [clears throat] that was one of the pieces. It wasn't simply a like I I board governance. We kind of read policy that you guys do choose to retain that attorney for that the district affairs and that governance. But but our piece was, you know, we we could look at trying to secure services for our other needs and and that's kind of the direction we went. And I I asked the attorney from Kaplan yesterday. I talked to them. They were looking at this policy, the fairness in in grill sports. And we we t I asked question
086like I know a lot of districts are thinking about that only some have adopted very few you know how do you as a attorney group balance out if you got one client that's on this side of the things and one client's on this side and she very she simply said we'll give you legal advice on either one and she said then we'll depending on which direction you go and if there's something that comes up we'll prepare a defense in in your for your case like so that was that something we talked about like you know um those those types of pieces. So my piece is simply the service that we've gotten at times has just not been good. I I don't know how else to say it. It's just it hasn't been good. And I
087I remember having a conversation when we were talking budget. I thought we had talked about like that that there was some bad advice, but maybe maybe that didn't happen. But Rhonda's not wrong. I mean, Miss Russell could certainly chime in if she so chooses, but I'll I know I've been working alongside her on all of them and and we've I've been on the other end of the phone calls when the advice [clears throat] before we moved forward with something was given and then another advice after it went down the road on on giving totally different. Well, you probably should do this now. Like that that's my piece. So again, not a not a power struggle, not a trying to bypass, not certainly trying to control anything. It's just simply trying to operate our district in
088more efficient manner and a manner that's that meets our needs. That's my piece. So, I've got something else. >> Um, I had a great role model as a board president. His name was uh Ted Ordis and he was fantastic. Uh he ran the board very well. Not to say anything negative here, [clears throat] but his constant comment was this is the superintendent's district to run. We don't get in the way in that unless the superintendent is having a problem. And so far we see, and I've said it before, our superintendent has run one of the top districts in the state through her leadership and her selection of her, let's call it, cabinet. And how dare we have the audacity to challenge their decisions? I I just or being offended that we weren't asked. I I
089take no offense and I trust my directors here and it's not my job to get into Chris Labodnik's job or Jaime's or any of them. The only one is Rhonda. And Rhonda consulted. It wasn't unilateral. She didn't make the decision all by herself. There was a rubric. They We followed the rubric, right? >> Yes, we did. >> Yes, there was a rubric. So, not a unilateral decision. Rubric was followed. Consulted with everyone it uh applied to. Everyone had it applied to and were mad because they didn't talk to mommy or daddy. Come on. >> Yeah. I don't really think that's the the main point. Um, and to your point that it's a superintendent's district to run, I agree with that. But we were elected to oversee and that's what we're attempting to do here. >>
090Not everybody was elected. >> Well, at the very least, I think I owe it to the public to say, and I'll just happily say I'll go on record being against the choice of Kaplan. I don't think they're right for the district. I agree for the reasons I I outlined and there's plenty more. So, I'm what what's done is done or what's going to be done will be done. I'm happy to be on record publicly saying I do not agree with this choice and um I think that decision is going to um prove to be well as if we move forward with Kaplan and they're not cheaper at all. They were the same. I thought the move was to be save money um as and maybe get someone local. So both of those were also out.
091So I I also didn't understand that the piece. >> Could I say one more? >> Yeah. >> We're not we're not in the contract. It's an engagement letter down the road. We choose that. We decide again this this isn't working for us and we >> there's no retainer. There's no retainer. There's no so I >> contract >> you know it's not nothing's set in stone on in regards to if we decide again it's not working for us then we can make decisions to to seek other counsel seek other just like right now I we've got different council handling different things because some some can't handle them all sometimes you have to do that so I think this would this would be no >> there's actually been times where Brad Miller recommended that we get a
092different attorney. So, for instance, we had to get a different attorney. Not every attorney has all of the expertise to do everything that a school district requires. [clears throat] Um, and that's why we couldn't go local because the individuals who applied that were local did not one did not have enough individuals in their firm to handle everything that would would come in a district of this size or all of the knowledge that it would take. Uh the other local did not have a ton of experience with a public education. Um and then we wanted solid advice. You said is the goal to reduce costs and yes and if we can get solid advice on employee issues, we certainly will reduce costs because we will not have to constantly be fighting in arbitration or fighting in
093um uh Department of Labor or whatever the case may be. If we have solid advice, then we are not going to be paying attorney fees as much as we are currently. [clears throat] >> I'd like to go on. Right. I have no intention of taking away parental choice or or trying to enact more policy that takes away choice or protocols. I I think we showed that with [clears throat] our name change policy and the different things that we adopted and say this is what you have to do and it does include the parents. It does include this uh our agenda support plans, all the things that we do. Um and that's choosing Kaplan has not that's not on my agenda. Um certainly not I think in our leadership group. We feel like where we're at
094right now is we're pretty solid and again we're we're not looking to do anything like that. So >> no. And I am I'm not saying that that is your goal at all. I'm saying that I could never support a law firm that historically I've been following them for many many years. If if you have [snorts] been as well then you would know historically they are on the side of defending districts that constrain parental rights. I will not support that. In good conscience I can't. >> But the districts chose them as their they are their client. So an attorney represents their client. it it's the district themselves that made the poor decision and they're representing them as their attorneys. The client I I don't understand politics are not supposed to be driven by the attorney. >>
095Oh, it's not it's not just educational law. I'm talking about Kaplan as a whole, their law firm as a whole. The the lawsuits that they've been that they've taken on. >> And I guess on the other side of that fence, we could look at all of the lawsuits that Brad is involved in as well. I mean, his are also politically charged lawsuits. Um, we certainly have listened to our constituents whenever we did our uh strategic planning and listening to the community. It was often brought up as feedback that they wanted us to get a different attorney. >> That was a lot of the feedback. We've received email after email about it. We've had people stand up here at the podium continuously and talk about they want a different attorney. I've never ever received an email
096or had somebody stand up here or had somebody come and tell me, "Please keep Brad Miller." I don't dislike Brad Miller as a person. What I dislike is that we're constantly in the media in a negative light, and it doesn't need to be that way because we are a great district. were constantly being scrutinized by Chuckbee because of Brad Miller, the things that he is involved in. And they wrap us all up into one lump sum. They intertwine us. And I feel like it's time to get un unintered. We've said it before. The public has said it. And I just don't understand why we're like dead set on Brad Miller. Why are we dead set on Brad Miller? I get that maybe he aligns with some of you politically, but you still have him as
097your attorney to look at policy. We're not trying to change policy. We're just trying to look at truency issues and employee issues issues >> and student issues. >> And Rhonda, how many of the Kora charges are related to Mr. Miller? So the large cores that we get, almost every single one of them is anything that that takes time and effort is almost every single one of them is Brad Miller. We only get a few things that ask for um like purchase orders or um things that are finance and accounting and those only take a few minutes because you can pull it directly from um the finance reports. But his you have to go through every single email, find out what pertains to them and then you have to redact everything and it takes a lot
098of time and then the attorney has to review it to make sure that everything is redacted. So a lot it takes a lot and it takes a lot of my time. I could be actually doing things that are good for kids but instead I'm doing things that are pertinent to court. Okay. So, let's with that, let's move on to open forum. [clears throat] >> So, I apologize if I take a extra second. Um, good evening. I'm Chris Sutton. I want to respond real fast. Uh February 24th, Brad Miller actually ordered Annne Bennett to adjourn the meeting and walked out and abandoned administration. The entire district was abandoned when your attorney ordered you to adjourn the meeting and leave. So I think admin wanting their own attorney for the district and everybody else kind of makes
099sense. Moving on. Uh I'm Chris Sutton speaking tonight regarding the proposed JBA policy. This policy pushed forward by Brad Miller is a profound waste of district time and resources. rather than solving real problems that threatens to drain public funds, starving our actual educational services to pay for private legal fees, and bringing nothing but division to our community and taxpayers. As history has shown, this policy is neither enforceable or easily managed. When District 49 adopted the the policy, they followed up by suing the state. They ultimately settled, but D49 still ended up paying $60,000 for the state's legal fees, plus whatever Miller charged the district to file the suit in the first place. Furthermore, it has been noted that there are currently no students in this district whom this policy would even impact. It is entirely
100unnecessary. Crucially, this policy would violate the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, a state law that this district is required to follow. Contrary to what Miss KS might believe, executive orders are not laws and the federal government does not automatically override state legislation. This is exactly why we have the 10th Amendment. Historically, when the federal government steps into a state's jurisdiction, it is to ensure the preservation of civil rights, not to micromanage how a state operates its schools. In fact, isn't returning decision b uh decision-making to the states the entire logic uh behind the current administration's goal of dismantling the department of education as noted uh like 94% of funding comes from the state, not from feds. It is also worth noting that this topic will be on the ballot this year. The voters will decide where Colorado
101stands. I encourage the district not to waste another dime or minute on this until then. Lastly, the policy is contradictory in its own logic. The only way to strictly adhere to it is ensure safety would be to forfeit any match against a team with a possible transgender as a athlete or frankly any athlete with a natural uh with a natural size advantage for their safety. Those forfeits would directly harm the stats and scores of our own athletes, sabotaging their hard-earned scholarship potential. uh opportunities. Additionally, are you guys trying to dictate what universities or who universities decide to give scholarships to? Were the like and are trans students not students? Do they not deserve opportunities as well? Uh because this policy addresses no actual issue uh mentioned it doesn't solve the bathroom issues or any of
102those others, violates state laws, and harms the students it claims to protect. I urge the board to abandon this culture war distraction or distraction and table that policy. Uh, again, Brad Miller sucks. He's the reason we have to core us stuff and you guys really should just get an RFP for a new attorney. Thank you. Next, we have Brian Kelsey. Kelson. [clears throat] >> And now for something completely different. >> Good. >> I want to tell you about my father-in-law. My father-in-law has raised four children who graduated from District 70 schools. He has a wife who spent 30 years as an employee of District 70. He has eight grandchildren who by 2028 will all have graduated from District 70. I have a vested interest in District 70. I pastor Christ Church Publo West and I
103am very much into kids rights, parents' rights, being a part of the local district. And it matters. It absolutely matters. Safety of kids matters. You guys know exactly what that looks like. I know you do. Now, I want to share something with you because we are in a week that will see the National Day of Prayer coming about. The National Day of Prayer is important. And let me tell you, my my father-in-law often said to his children and to my grand my his grandchildren, "Have you prayed about it?" And so today, I'm going to ask you the same question. All of the things we decide and talk about, have we prayed about them? Philippians 4:6 and 7 says, "Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for
104all he's already done. Then you will experience God's peace which exceeds anything we can understand. And his peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Guys, you want to know the solution? Here it is. And so right now, I whether whether you are a praying person or not, I'm going to take us there. Lord, we are grateful for the way that you love us. We are grateful for the way that you pour into us. And we ask your hand upon this community. We ask your hand upon this district. Lord, I pray that you give wisdom, understanding, compassion to those in leadership. I pray that we get along well. I pray that we we are a family that cares about this district. I pray your hand upon all teachers that you
105keep them safe, that you draw them close, and that your hand would be upon them, keeping them safe and close and giving them the wisdom and the compassion for the students that they teach so well. Lord, we pray your hand upon every single staff person, bus driver, custodian, lunch person. And Lord, may they all be drawn to you and have your strength and power poured into them. And last, but certainly not least, may your hand be upon every family, every student, every parent. Lord, may they be lifted up and encouraged and protected by your hedge of protection. And may this district grow in strength and stature and bring glory to your name. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Moving on to action items. Item 9.01, approval
106of theou between PCEA and PBLO County School District 70 regarding movement of positions in and out of the bargaining unit. Um, so do I have a motion to approve theou? >> I'll second. >> AJ Wilson, >> yes. >> And Bennett, >> yes. >> Mark Emry, >> yes. Ericson, >> yes. >> Susie K, >> yes. >> Motion carry. >> Okay. Item 9.02, approval of theou between PCEA and PBLO County School District 70 regarding mentoring for student success. Do I have a motion to approve theou moved? >> Second. >> AJ Wilson? >> Yes. >> Ann Bennett? >> Yes. >> Mark Emery? >> Yes. >> Michelle Ericson? >> Yes. >> Susie K? >> Yes. >> Motion carried. Um, item 9.03, approval of the adoption of the Ready Math program, grades K through five. >> Did I have a
107motion to approve? >> So moved. >> I'll second. >> She's got it. >> Okay. I'm writing as fast as I can. [laughter] >> Hurry, hurry. >> AJ Wilson, >> yes. >> And Bennett. >> Um, I'm gonna say no only because I haven't reviewed it. Okay. Mark Emry, >> yes. >> Michelle Ericson, >> yes. Susie Har. >> Yes. Motion carried. >> Um, uh, item number 10, consent agenda. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented, having been reviewed by the board? >> So moved. >> Second. >> You're so quiet. >> Sorry. Second. >> Agent [laughter] Wilson. >> Yes. >> And Bennett, >> yes. >> Mark Emry, >> yes. >> Michelle Ericson, >> yes. >> Susie K, >> yes. >> Motion carried. Okay. Item number 11. The next board meeting is scheduled for
108Tuesday, May 26, 2026 at the Educational Services Center, 24951 East Highway 50, PBLO, Colorado, beginning at 6 PM. And before we wrap up, um Rhonda is going to intertuce or announce two principles. >> I am going to do that, but I also want to make one other announcement because sometimes we get so caught up in business that we forget. And it is teacher appreciation week. And so let's appreciate [applause] our teachers. We're very very appreciative of all the work that our teachers do uh throughout our district. And I apologize for not uh mentioning that earlier. Uh just was a little bit caught up in all of the business of things. But now I would like to introduce to you uh first our newest principal at PBLO County High School, uh Aaron Leuen. >> [applause] [applause]
109>> THANK Thank you. Thank you. So, I just want to take a second to tell you all how truly honored and grateful I am for being selected as the next principal at Pablo County High School. This school is more than just a place of learning. It's a cornerstone of the community. It's rich in history and tradition and pride. And to step into this role is both humbling and deeply meaningful. I want to recognize the incredible leaders who came before me. These individuals who dedicated themselves to building a strong foundation, fostering a culture of excellence, and always putting students first. Their work has shaped the school into what it is today, and I am committed to honoring and continuing that legacy. Thank you for the trust and support. It is going to be a privilege to
110be able to continue to serve this incredible school and its community. [applause] Next, I would like to announce our principal of Sky View Middle School, Sandra Laney. [applause] >> What she said. [laughter] Okay, I did not prepare anything formally tonight, but I I do want to just genuinely express my gratitude for Sky View. I've worked there for the past five years as an AP. I'm looking around this room and you know, lots of good relationships that I have formed um are are due to that role. Uh but now as I move forward, my number one priority is supporting my teachers. so they can support their kids. Um, that's my job. And by the way, partnering with with parents. So, there's a lot of levels there that get us to the the end goal, which is
111our kiddos. Um, and I was going to stand up here and my first thing was going to say happy teacher appreciation week. So, because I didn't hear it, but thank you Rhonda for for pointing that out. Um, I've worked in district 70 for 18 years. You maybe a lot of people haven't heard of me, but I kind of lay low. I'm not a huge, you know, bright light, maybe as a teacher. I worked at I see Rhonda's face over there. >> You were a bright light. >> Okay. >> But I I worked at um LPI for nine years and then I worked at the high school for five year or for four years. And now I've been at uh Sky View for five. Um I live in PBLO West. I intentionally built a home in
112PBLO West, very close to Sky View because I want to finish at Sky View. I love middle school. >> I I do. >> The transition that takes place in just a couple of years with a middle school kid. It's incredible. And so I am so thankful to be doing what I'm doing and to have this job. So thank you very much. [applause] >> Do I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? >> Second. >> AJ Wilson? >> Yes. >> And Bennett? >> Yes. Mry. >> Yes. Michelle Ericson. Yes. Susie K. >> Yes. Motion carried 7:40.