Parents sound off at Gilpin school board meeting

Lynn Volkens

3/2/2006 - President CinDee Spellman called the Gilpin Board of Education meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. February 22nd, 2006, with all members present. Superintendent Ken Ladouceur and Secondary Principal Alexis Donaldson represented administration. Curriculum Coordinator Lisa Schell occupied the seat of Elementary Principal Deb Benitez, who was accompanying elementary students to the Cherry Pie Festival, hosted by the Central City Masons in honor of George Washington’s birthday.

Administrative Contracts Offered

  The Board moved immediately into an executive session to discuss personnel issues. They later moved to approve contract offerings for the superintendent and curriculum coordinator and an addendum to the contract for the former. Board members indicated that Ladouceur had declined a raise in salary. Should he choose to accept the offered contract it will be at the same salary as for the 2005-06 school year ($102,230 plus benefits, per the district’s budget document).

Kudos

  Board member Scott Groginsky said Gilpin School had been recognized by the Colorado Department of Education for improvements in science scores at the secondary level. He said Gilpin’s was one of only a few secondary schools listed and has been asked to report on processes used to achieve the improvement. Kudos were also given to the choir and sophomore class for hosting successful Valentine Dances at the middle and high school levels, respectively. Triumph student Austin Schwartz won the “Mr. Valentine” contest, which was no contest according to Donaldson, once Schwartz picked up his guitar for the talent portion. The band sold individualized flower valentines (carnations) as a fundraiser for the trip to their competition performance and ski event in Winter Park later this spring. The Snow Dodgers ski program, and the Montessori open house were recognized for going smoothly. Winter sports programs have now come to a close and spring sports (track/baseball) are now underway.

Public Input

  During the public comment portion of the agenda, a parent addressed the Board, asking for a written response to his questions regarding students on the weekly issued “Failing List.” “The number of kids failing one particular subject (math) is atrocious,” he said. He requested that the grading system be looked at and provided Board members with a copy of his student’s latest progress report showing that his student was failing, when, in fact, the student was not. Students on the failing list are not allowed to participate (although exceptions have been made for some students) in extracurricular activities. After he brought the matter to the attention of administrators, his student’s grade was changed to passing. The man questioned whether his student had ever been failing and asked that all math students’ grades be pulled for the last two years to see if failing grades were correct or were errors of the grading system. He noted that he had enrolled his child in a Sylvan tutoring program, at his expense, when the student “might not even have been failing.”

  He further asked the Board to look into “why kids are leaving this school,” noting that the number of some secondary classes began with much higher enrollment. “We’ve lost 50 percent of the students from the time they start as freshman until they graduate,” he said, “You have a problem.” (The man is the second parent to ask the Board about decreasing enrollment. In January, a parent told the Board she knew, personally, of 23 students whose parents had chosen to withdraw them from Gilpin RE-1, over the past five years (those covered by current administration), not counting families who had moved away. Had those students remained at Gilpin, the district would have received $174,200-$7,400 per student- in additional funding for just this year.)

  Another parent asked that the line graph and class average, which used to appear on the student progress reports, be put back. The graph indicates the median score of the class, indicating how well the class as a whole is doing, she said. When the median and average for the entire class remain unimproved over the course of the year(s), she said, it’s time for parents to question whether there is a curriculum or teaching problem. The information was included as part of the original report software design so “someone must have thought it was relevant.” It still appears by default; teachers must direct their computers to remove it. The information disappeared from math progress reports about three years ago and science reports about two years ago; however, it remained for other subjects, she said. After asking for it back four times over the past three years, she noted it has now disappeared from all subjects on the most recent (February) progress reports. When she asked why, she said she was told the change had been directed by the Board. “Could you please tell me in which meeting that was discussed?” she asked, indicating that she’d been unable to find it in any of the meeting agendas or minutes. Ladouceur responded that it had been dealt with according to established Board policy for all reports to be “consistent,” and school staff had decided to remove the information from all reports, rather than include it. “Confidentiality is not an issue,” said the parent, and the argument that one student can “skew” the average, making it irrelevant, was also “unacceptable.” If an “average” isn’t relevant on a student progress report, then it isn’t relevant to be used for telling parents the number of teaching years of Gilpin teachers, she said, referring to the school’s “Annual Report” recently mailed to parents. The parent later praised the school for its ability to diagnose where the “holes” were in the education process and for how well staff tracked the data. It’s the step in the middle, “fixing the holes,” that needs attention, she said. She later thanked the Board, saying she felt they had really listened to her. She also asked for a written response to her concerns.

  A third parent addressed the “communication” problem she was having in getting a response to phone messages left to teachers. She asked if teachers didn’t check their phone messages daily and said that response time, when she leaves a message on their voicemail, is sometimes days later. Ladouceur said there is no flashing red light on the phone to indicate that a message is waiting, so teachers are unaware they’ve had a call. The phone system problems are being addressed, he said. Later in the meeting, the Board voted to spend $40,429 from the capital reserve fund to install an upgraded phone system (with a flashing red message light) in July 2006.

Scholarship “Dinner” Replaces Graduation Awards

  Senior Class President, Amanda Goodwin, presented a proposal that Board members commended and approved. In order to shorten the graduation ceremony (several hours long in 2005), this year’s seniors will receive their scholarship awards at a separate banquet specifically for scholarship donors and recipients (and guests). The class will provide dinner of spaghetti, salad and bread. The Booster Club has agreed to provide paper goods (plates, utensils, napkins, etc.) and beverages. The “Scholarship Dinner” has been set for May 26th, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. at the school. No scholarships will be awarded during the graduation ceremony.

District Accountability Committee

  David Boenig, as Chairman of the District Accountability Committee, distributed a report to Board members showing subcommittee membership and meeting progress. The DAC will begin working on a preliminary report to the Board at their next meeting (March 13^th, 6:30 p.m.) and will be looking at subcommittee breakdowns on safety, curriculum, budget and other issues. DAC meetings are held at the school and are open to the public.

Workers’ Compensation Management Outsourced

  The Board voted to approve a contract with Employers Unity, Incorporated, to manage administration of the school’s workers’ compensation program for an annual service fee of $1,371.

Tax Work-off Program Revisited

  Additional information is being sought regarding the school’s participation in a Gilpin County property tax work-off option program for senior or disabled citizens. Board members were supportive of the idea behind the program and said they saw it as a way to involve the community’s seniors with the school. The program would provide valuable help to the school at a very affordable rate of approximately $5 per hour and would help seniors understand what’s going on in the school – knowledge that may prove helpful to win the senior vote in future bond issues. Board member Bob Masslich commented that there are many seniors who have qualifications beyond custodial and cafeteria help, qualifications that could be used in classrooms.

Community Meeting Coming Up

  The Board reaffirmed its intention to hold a community meeting, although no date has yet been set. They’ve put further discussion of the community meeting and the tax work-off program on the agenda for their next business meeting (March 20th).