The Buena Vista Board of Education reviewed several policies at their Monday, October 23 meeting. Board President Suzette Hachmann also read an email from a teacher objecting to the “Teachers Choose” election advertising that can be seen online and around town.
School board candidates Mallory Brooks, Paula Dylan, Casey Martin, and George Richardson attended the full meeting. Candidate Trinda Windle also attended a portion of the meeting but left before it adjourned. Incumbent candidate Brett Mitchell was present in his position as board vice president.
Email Objecting to “Teachers Choose” Advertising Language
Teachers choose election sign near East Main. Photo by Carly Winchell
During Board Member Correspondence, President Suzette Hachmann read an email in its entirety from BVMS Teacher Tami Litvay. Litvay wrote the Board in response to advertising for the school board elections.
She objected to the use of the phrase “Teachers Choose” in advertisements promoting board candidates Brooks, Dylan, and Martin, stating not all teachers support those choices. These three candidates were endorsed by the Buena Vista Education Association (BVEA).
“I’m frustrated that some teachers have taken it upon themselves to speak on the behalf of all teachers without permission. ‘Teachers Choose’ sends the message that we have all given permission and agree with their candidates. This is absolutely not the case,” said Litvay’s email read by Hachmann. “I am one of a group of BV school teachers who disagree and would like to go on record that I did not give anyone permission to speak on my behalf.”
Litvay concludes that she believes it would be reasonable for the candidates to officially acknowledge not all teachers support them.
Handwritten fine print on a “Teachers Choose” election banner off of East Main Street in Buena Vista.
The ads note the message is “paid for by Great Teachers – Great Schools BV” with Bill Baker as the registered agent.
Consent Agenda and Policy Updates
The consent agenda was approved unanimously. It contained monitoring reports from the previous meeting, approval of the addition of Liz Barnaby as a school administrator for committee structure, and a policy revision to GP 13: Board Bylaws to allow virtual meetings or virtual attendance by board members for extenuating circumstances.
The Board also discussed a new policy JLCDD, which concerns the use and administration of opioid antagonists. The school received the opioid antagonist from Chaffee County Public Health for use in an emergency but had not created an official policy for its use. Yates clarified the district has no immediate knowledge or concerns of student opioid use; however, it makes sense to have the antagonist on hand and trained personnel to use it in an emergency situation.
Policy JLCDD was approved unanimously.
The next set of policies discussed will be included in the consent agenda at the next regular meeting for approval. Changes to policies JKA and JK include volunteers in the prohibition against corporal punishment. These changes are motivated by updated statutes and are required.
Revisions to LBD adjust the timeline for Charter school applications due to a recent change in state statute.
Revisions to JKD/JKE and JKD/JKE – R revolve around suspension, expulsion, and denial of admission for students. Changes in policy include the addition of “impact on the learning environment” to factors considered for expulsion. They also clarify the training required for the hearing officer and the timeline for notifying students and families of a hearing, including the obligation of the district to provide evidence to be used in a hearing two days prior.
Lastly, changes to AC, GBAA, JBB are required due to changes in Title IX and the definition of sexual harassment. In policy AC, the requirement is now to list Title IX coordinator Jenny Swango within the policy. According to the memo, “All three policies have required changes due to the legislative changes related to the definition of harassment in the workplace to include students.” The bill adds protections from unfair practices based on marital status and clarifies that harassment does not need to be “severe or pervasive” to be considered discriminatory or unfair.
An overview of the changes in policy due to statute changes is available in the meeting packet.
The final policy change involved IKF Graduation Requirements, which was discussed at the previous BOE meeting. The change to remove language related to the “continued review of the Carnegie unit” and to update the term “CTACH” to “BV Essentials” was approved unanimously by the Board.
Learning Dispositions Overview
Superintendent Lisa Yates provided an overview on progress toward Ends Measure 2 – Learning Dispositions.
For survey responses, Yates reported they were below established benchmarks in most areas but clarified that the targets were exceptionally high. Learning Disposition results from the survey are available online here.
Overall, the majority of students and educators did respond to survey questions positively. Yates did note many students say they feel safe at school but feel that respecting one another could be improved.
Survey results chart from SCAPBVSchools.com
For attendance, Yates reported that they are meeting their benchmarks and are well above most districts. She said that Colorado has a 31 percent chronic absenteeism rate, while BV schools is at 19 percent, and ranks twelfth in the state. Buena Vista also defines chronic absenteeism as ten absences while the state defines it at sixteen.
For discipline, Yates reported that fall 2023 updates “indicate behaviors are attended to at the administrative level.” Despite meeting benchmarks, Hachmann and other board members expressed concern about things heard anecdotally from parents that there are still issues.
Teacher Melissa St. John who was attending the meeting offered some insight explaining that the families of students don’t always see the full picture because of privacy restrictions. If a student is acting out, teachers cannot share what steps were taken to address those behaviors with other students and their families, which could be a reason for some of that disconnect.
The Board considered adjusting benchmarks for discipline to include detentions to provide greater insight into student behavior at school.
Monitoring, Financial, and Other Reports
The Board found themselves and the superintendent to be in compliance regarding BSR 5: Monitoring Superintendent Performance, GP 6: Board Committee Principles, and GP 7: Committee Structure. Essentially, the Board determined the superintendent and board committees follow policies and that the structure of board committees is in line with requirements. These reports will be included in the next meeting’s consent agenda for approval.
Janice Martin delivered the first quarter financial report:
- Property tax collections are up at 4.23 percent compared to 3.08 percent one year ago.
- Specific Ownership Tax Revenue is at $319,349 compared to $217,192 last year.
- Preschool tuition is at $16,028 or 16.4 percent of budget.
- Interest income is higher at 5.5 percent compared to 2.6 percent the previous year.
- State Equalization collections are down at $137,303 compared to $351.827 one year ago.
Overall, there were no big surprises in the financial statement, though Martin indicated she was pleasantly surprised by the amount the state provided for school lunch.
Transportation Director Tony Stromer delivered a report on his department. He announced that 306 students are registered for bus routes.
Stromer reported the acquisition of a new wheelchair bus that is large enough to haul three wheelchairs and accommodate a full class, so students can all travel together when going on a class trip instead of separating wheelchair users onto a smaller bus.
Stromer also became a certified CDE Fleet Inspector, so he can perform inspections and save money for the district.
He also outlined some wish list items for the transportation department including an expanded shop to allow more in-house repairs and inspections, a wash bay, and a training room for staff. He also hopes to replace the perimeter fence and install an automatic vehicle gate for security.
Shelly Mueller delivered a report on enrollment. The total FTE (Full Time Equivalent) count is at 909, which is 45 less than the previous year. Preschool and homeschoolers who take district courses are not included in this count.
The full agenda meeting and packet for the October 23 BOE meeting is available on the BVSD website here.
The next regular meeting for the BV BOE is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on November 6. The election that will decide five seats for the board is coming up on Tuesday, November 7. Because Colorado uses a mail ballot system, voting is already underway.
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