Gilpin school board holds strategic planning session

Lynn Volkens

1/19/2006 - Gilpin School’s Board of Education members traveled to downtown Denver (303 East 17^th Avenue) on Thursday afternoon, January 12^th. They met at 5:00 p.m. in the private conference room of the Jared Polis Foundation, where Board Member Scott Groginsky is employed. This meeting, a workshop, was for strategic planning to determine the direction in which to take the local school district. All members of the Board were present, as was Superintendent Ken Ladouceur.

  Following a repast of Subway sandwiches, each Board member outlined his or her main areas of interest within the school district and sometimes suggested action(s) that could or should be taken to accomplish goals in those areas. All five Board members are in favor of investigating the possibility of creating a “Mountain School District” that would include all of Gilpin County, with the potential of expansion from Ward to Silver Plume. Such an endeavor would be five years (or longer) in the making, if it can be accomplished at all, commented Ladouceur. Boulder Valley School District is to be contacted to see whether it will relinquish the northern part of the County. Students residing there attend Nederland Schools. Boulder Valley District’s Board of Education would have to go along with Gilpin’s plan and put it to the vote of its electorate before anything could change.

  Board President CinDee Spellman expressed interest in reestablishing the school’s fees for such items as classroom consumables (worksheets and other nonreusable supplies). The fees were initially established to ease budget woes prior to the community’s passing last year’s mill levy increase. After the tax increase was voted in, members of the Board voted to make the fees “optional.” Some administrators have repeatedly asked that the fees be reinstated so that parents pick up the costs of the materials rather than pay for them out of the administrators’ budgets.

  Bob Masslich said he will push for fire mitigation of some 90+ acres of the woodland property behind the school (eight acres has already been done). The district owns the land, “a $2 million piece of property that could be increased in value to $3 million or more,” estimated Masslich. He’d like to see the property cleaned up and used as a saleable resource as an alternative source of funding, should the district need to build a new elementary or other structure in the future. Masslich said he anticipates a future increase in student enrollment. Another item on Masslich’s wish list is a “healthy” school in regards to nutrition and fitness. Masslich said he had spoken to Gilpin County Sheriff Bruce Hartman about the possibility of having student meals provided by the Jail’s food service. Meals provided to the inmates and to the County’s senior citizens cost about $1.93 per meal, he said, and are nutritionally balanced and “pretty good.” Hiring a full-time professional librarian for the district is also on his list, as is pursuing at least the engineering part of having the driveway paved with recycled asphalt.

  Rusty Hardy has the Triumph Alternative program high on his list. Triumph provides an individualized learning program for secondary students who haven’t been successful in the main stream. Hardy pointed out that six or seven students have been graduating from Triumph for several years. Triumph is currently housed in a historical building on Eureka Street in Central City. The building has been plagued with repair and maintenance problems and costs the district $14,400 annually to lease (with a purchase option), plus utilities, janitorial service, etc. Hardy and other Board members are looking into an alternate location for the school, though not on school grounds as the students would be unable to smoke there. Continuing to meet Annual Yearly Progress is a must for Hardy. Also on his list of focus, is supporting all student activities fairly so that students who are participating in programs such as band/vocal music and sports receive equitable financial, teaching/coaching and technical support. Hardy said he agrees with Masslich on both fire mitigation and revamping the cafeteria lunch program.

  Increasing student involvement in governmental activities is a goal for Scott Groginsky, who proposed establishing a student advisory board to the School Board providing first-hand airing of student issues and input. He said he’d like to pin down budgetary decisions – how much of the district’s “extra money” (the district’s 2005 budget included a surplus of $250,000, said Ladouceur) to spend vs. how much to keep in reserve. He mentioned maintaining competitive teacher salaries as a goal and improvements (paving) to the driveway/parking areas. Groginsky has looked outward, wondering aloud what, if any, impact on school revenue the County’s program to allow senior citizens to work off property taxes in lieu of paying them in cash, will have. He favors meeting with the members of the District Accountability Committee so the two groups (DAC and Board of Education) will get to know each other and cooperate more effectively. Groginsky also broached what some members of the Board feel is a maelstrom issue – changing from the current four-day to a five-day school week. While many parents enjoy the extra day with their children, and staff certainly are attracted to the work schedule, it saves no money in operating costs according to the superintendent, and is questionable as the best route for students academically and extracurricularly. A parent/student survey in spring is being looked at to provide more direction in that area.

  Patti Hack commented that by the time it came to her turn, (going last, she said) “it’s all taken care of,” indicating that other Board members had already touched on her areas of interest. She added that her priority would be items that “directly affect the kids.” “Paving the parking lot doesn’t,” she added. She specifically mentioned that she wants to see the cafeteria stock enough of the advertised daily entrée items to provide a choice for every student. Frequently, by the time her student gets through the line, she said, one of the two entrees offered for lunch that day is already gone.

  All members agreed that many of their focus items come down to budget. The Board is planning to invite the community to an open meeting so that Ladouceur can provide information in broad terms (“the chunks” of where the money goes, he said) on the district’s spending. He stressed that he was not looking for input from the community on where to cut the budget. No date has been set for that meeting, as yet. However, the Board did set a date of February 13^th, 5:00 p.m. at Groginsky’s office, for their next strategic planning meeting. (Please check with the school prior to that meeting date, for any changes.) Board members will endeavor to prioritize the discussed items into goals and create a list of “action items,” bearing in mind the district’s goals and the Board’s own list of core values: relationships, integrity, ethics, commitment, accountability, courage and ownership.