The Board of Education held its regular meeting on Monday, October 19, with all five directors present. Here is what you should know.
Meet our new Rowdie
Our Bring Rowdie to Life contest drew eight artwork submissions from staff, students, and families, and students in grades K-12 voted. The winning design, by Kate McLoughlin of our grants office, is our new Rowdie. Watch for him around the school and in district materials, and thank you to everyone who submitted and voted.
The path to town is taking shape
Our Safe Routes to School project is underway. Ashley Przybysz, a civil engineer with Mead & Hunt, presented the preliminary design: an eight foot wide path connecting the school toward downtown along Highway 12, wide enough for snow removal, wheelchair access, and future trail connections, with two improved crossings. Raised crosswalks, better lighting, pedestrian activated beacons, and the Board’s concerns about afternoon pickup traffic are all under study. Ms. Przybysz is also working with our shop classes, where students are learning how land acquisition, permitting, and design work and building model bridges of their own. Community input is welcome: contact Grants Specialist Kate McLoughlin at Kate.McLoughlin@lvk12.org or 719-742-6411.
Costa Rica, here we come
The Board approved the Spanish program field trip to Costa Rica in March 2027. Ten students have signed up and are hard at work preparing. We are proud to offer our students a chance to put their Spanish to use in the real world.
Winter coaching staff
The Board approved Lon Goemmer as High School Boys Head Basketball Coach, Christian Ducey as High School Boys Assistant and Junior High Boys Head Basketball Coach, and Chad Andreatta as Junior High Boys Assistant Basketball Coach.
Policy Governance reaches first readings
The Board acted on first readings of seventeen governance policies: seven with individual discussion (board member code of conduct, covenants, conflict of interest, committee structure, policy development, board membership and meetings, and the governance management connection) and ten through the consent agenda, with the president’s role and board member financial disclosure pulled for added discussion. Each policy returns for a second reading before adoption, so the governance manual the Board has studied for the past year is now formally moving through the adoption process.
Monitoring what matters: the fall academic report
I presented the fall academic monitoring report, the first in the cycle the Board will use to track progress against the ENDS statements it adopted in July: where our students are and where we are headed, at a glance. This is the heart of Policy Governance; the Board sets the outcomes it expects for students, then checks on a regular calendar whether we are achieving them. It pairs well with our very well attended parent teacher conferences this fall. Thank you for showing up for your kids.
The District Accountability Committee needs you
The DAC, required by Colorado law, advises the Board on spending priorities, improvement planning, and the code of conduct, and begins meeting monthly in November. By statute it includes at least three parents (its chair comes from the parent members), a teacher, a school administrator, and a member of our business community. This year it will gather input on student technology, artificial intelligence, and devices, review our parent and family engagement policy, continue our attendance work, and review the Safe School Plan. To serve, contact Assistant Principal / CTE Director Alan Nelms at 719-742-6443 or Alan.Nelms@lvk12.org. We would love to have you.
More committees in the works
The Board also discussed re-establishing a Wellness Committee (required policy updates, oversight of our local food grant, and an advisory role for the new health sciences pathway) and creating a Facilities Planning Committee to look at long range needs as we approach five years in our building. Both come back to the Board for approval and will need community members, so watch for details.
Public comment and executive session
One community member addressed the Board during public comment regarding the handling of an open records request. As noticed on the agenda, the Board then met in executive session to discuss a personnel matter concerning the superintendent. Upon returning to open session, the Board stated that the matter had been thoroughly reviewed and discussed and that no disciplinary action is warranted at this time.
Other business and looking ahead
The Board approved the minutes of the September 28 regular meeting and the October 7 special meeting, and moved the Colorado state assessment discussion to November. The district’s concerns and complaints forms are now fillable PDFs being linked throughout our website, and the Board received the preliminary certification of valuation, with final figures expected in December. The next regular meetings are Monday, November 9, and Monday, December 14, at 6:00 p.m. in the district conference room. Agendas and supporting documents are posted online before each meeting, and you can subscribe here to receive agendas by email. The public is always welcome.
You can watch the full meeting recording and find all documents from the meeting online.
Dr. Bree Jones
Superintendent, La Veta School District RE-2
Bree.Jones@lvk12.org | 719-742-6416