Lewis Palmer School District 38 Articles

• Budget
• Employee Retention Tax Credit approved
• Curriculum
• Policies
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) School Board met on May 8 to review the 2025-26 budget, advisory committee recommendations, curriculum, and policies. The board held a special meeting on May 9 to approve its adjusted budget and hear about its Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) claim and hold an executive session.

Budget

At the May 8 meeting, Finance Director Laura Polen presented the proposed 2025-26 budget, based on the Colorado Department of Education’s confirmation that the School Finance Act set per pupil revenue (PPR) at $11,080. The budget assumed a projected enrollment of 1,090.12 full-time equivalent (FTE) students.

Polen reported that General Fund revenues increased by $156,000 due to donations and fundraising, while expenses dropped by $1.4 million following completion of dirt lot and modular purchases. The budget allocates $13 million in local, state, and federal funds, balancing expenses across schools, programs, and object codes. By campus, West Campus shows $178,000 in income, the middle school reports a $183,000 loss due to a large student bubble moving through, and the high school shows $4,798 in income.

At the May 29 meeting, Polen presented an adjusted budget, lowering projected enrollment to 1,075 FTE, reflecting two fewer students in homeschool enrichment, two additional middle school students, and 15 fewer high school students. The high school donation budget was increased to offset PPR, instructional fees, and mill levy override share decreases. She said current full-time equivalent FTE stands at 1,052, with additional enrollment needed to meet projections: 20 more students for the High Performance Program, 8.5 (17 students) for homeschool enrichment, and preschool tuition revenue of $25,000 to balance its budget. Elementary and middle school enrollment exceed projections by five students each, while high school is under by four.

Interim Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson said this year’s budget was tight with the decline in enrollment. He said he knew the board would have liked to give bigger compensation increases and that there were other tight spots in the budget, but he was hopeful that the enrollment would come in as projected. With other things in the hopper, he thinks the budget will work out and he noted that this adopted budget can be modified in December or January after the final enrollment counts.

The board unanimously approved three resolutions:

• Interfund borrowing to loan funds to the preschool for payroll.
• Use of beginning fund balances to disclose deficit spending for preschool.
• Appropriation resolution setting maximum expenditures by fund.

Once signed, MA will post the budget on its website and submit it to District 38, its charter authorizer. Gustafson emphasized the need to develop a sustainable financial model for preschool, as it is currently subsidized by the academy.

Employee Retention Tax Credit approved

Gustafson announced that MA’s ERTC claim was approved for the first of five quarters. The IRS approved $450,000 for the first quarter, plus $150,000 in interest due to processing delays, for a total of $600,000 expected by the end of June. The remaining quarters were smaller, but the total payment could range between $1.8 million and $1.9 million.

He noted the appropriation resolution did not include ERTC funds since approval was uncertain. MA spent $100,000 working with a consultant to submit the claim. He suggested the board prepare for a supplemental appropriation in an upcoming meeting, work session, or retreat.

For short-term management, he recommended placing the funds in a segregated account at COLOTRUST, an investment fund for government entities, to earn interest. Long-term, the board will determine potential uses, such as adding gravel to the West Campus dirt parking lot, increasing staff bonuses, or supporting capital construction efforts. He urged prudence, emphasizing the funds are a one-time resource.

Gustafson stressed that next year will be a critical time for MA as it prepares to refinance its bonds by June 2026. He noted the current unfavorable interest rates and uncertainty about future improvements. He plans to work with Polen to draft a supplemental budget amendment for the fall.

Curriculum

Executive Director Collin Vinchattle introduced two new curriculum proposals for Colorado History and High School Leadership.

For history, he directed the board to documents outlining the course structure, its alignment with state academic standards, and a recommendation from the East Campus Curriculum Committee. A high school teacher proposed the two new courses. The Colorado History course will be available at the West Campus library for parental review over the next three weeks before returning to the board for a vote.

Vinchattle noted that the High School Leadership course will follow a similar review process. While it lacks a specific textbook, a teacher developed a collegiate-level syllabus as a foundation for an emerging leadership program. He said information will be shared through the board’s Simbli platform, where stakeholders can submit feedback via an online form.

Policies

The board reviewed and unanimously approved the following policies:

• 1501HS High School Dress Code: Updated from a previous proposal after feedback from parents and students. It will be renamed later when other dress code policies are updated.
• AEP Educational Philosophy: a statement of philosophy as noted in previous discussions.

The board held the first reading of AE-MA Penmanship policy emphasizing MA’s cursive-first approach.

MA’s approved board policies can be found at http://bit.ly/ma-boarddocs

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Spotlight: Board member Craig Carle recognized the process champions team, announcing Monument Academy Middle School as a national showcase school for the Capturing Kids’ Hearts (CKH) program. Team members include Thomas Herndon, Lisa Rich, Jesse Davis, and Angela Duca.
• Executive Director: Vinchattle celebrated the CKH recognition, student capstone presentations on truth and beauty, the high school information night, and the fourth-grade visit to the Colorado History Museum.
• Finance: Polen reported on March financials noting all three schools had positive income and MA remains on track to meet bond requirements.
• SAAC East: Board member Jilinda Dygert shared that the Student Accountability and Advisory Committee (SAAC) for East Campus submitted recommendations after reviewing survey results. Priorities include hiring, training, and mentoring staff, improving communication, encouraging consistent Canvas use, directing funds toward infrastructure, and expanding academic offerings.
• Operational Audit: Vinchattle reviewed completed goals and outlined remaining objectives.
• Contracts approved: The board finalized its food services agreement with D38 for the 2025-26 school year and approved its Memorandum of Understanding with Monument Police Department for school resource officers.
• Handbook updates: Vinchattle proposed adding a workplace-bullying section to the staff handbook and will present revisions after legal review. He also led a first reading of a combined student handbook to streamline policies, with a final vote set for June.
• Campus expansion: The board unanimously approved an Owner’s Representation Agreement with Wember Owner’s Representation as MA prepares for phase two additions at East Campus.
• Board planning: Members will complete a self-assessment survey ahead of their July retreat, following operational audit recommendations.
• Executive session: The board closed its May 29 meeting with a session to receive legal advice on HP25-1312, Protecting Transgender Individual Rights, and potential policy decisions regarding girls’ sports.

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The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, June 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. The agenda and packet are available at bit.ly/ma-boarddocs.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy School Board articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• High school dress code changes debated
• Library Review Committee report
• Additional policies discussed
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) School Board received student and parent feedback on proposed high school dress code changes at its regular meeting on April 10 and returned to the discussion at a special meeting on April 24. The board also heard a report from its Library Review Committee and approved numerous other policies.

High school dress code changes debated

During Citizens’ Comment, students voiced concerns about proposed dress code changes. While praising MA’s community and academics, they opposed the changes, citing financial burdens, loss of self-expression, and blurred distinctions between middle and high school. They feared the uniform-like code could hurt enrollment or lead to student departures. Others suggested better enforcement of the current code and urged the board to reconsider. Board President Ryan Graham commended the students for speaking.

Executive Director Collin Vinchattle announced the first reading of the proposed policy, noting that the board could consider changes in future meetings. He shared results from 100 responses to the dress code survey sent to students and families and acknowledged students’ strong interest, demonstrated by their attendance and comments. Vinchattle proposed collaborating with Principal Angela Duca to engage students further.

The proposed policy refines the structure and wording, acknowledging the Colorado CROWN Act and outlining a process for applicable cases. It removes gender-specific annotations, stating that students must wear attire aligned with their gender. A new section on tattoos and markings prohibits drawing on skin, requires tattoos to meet respect guidelines, and prefers that they remain covered. Pajama bottoms are explicitly banned.

The survey asked students and parents about removing sweats and hoodies from the high school dress code. Comments echoed concerns raised at the meeting, noting that “smart casual” mentioned in other communication felt more restrictive and punitive.

Vice President Lindsay Clinton questioned whether parents understood the differences among prior communications, the survey, and the proposed wording. Vinchattle explained that “smart casual” was introduced at a “new high school” event. Clinton also expressed concerns about removing gender annotations, especially around makeup. Vinchattle acknowledged that dress codes often feel more punitive toward females and noted some respondents preferred business casual.

Board President Ryan Graham highlighted the policy’s ambiguity and requested changing “gender” to “sex” in the first paragraph, removing markup, and itemizing changes in a clean draft. Board Member Jilinda Dygert suggested discussing the changes with students, which Vinchattle agreed could be done during study hall, and the board could review the policy again in two weeks.

Library Review Committee report

Secondary Assistant Principal Jesse Davis reported that the Library Review Committee held initial meetings to review the form submission process and book scoring rubric. With seven books queued before its formation, the committee has reviewed three so far. The following books were examined:

• A parent, citing Facebook groups focused on children’s innocence, deemed Smile by Reina Teigemeier inappropriate for elementary students due to topics like attracting boys, bras, puberty, and kissing. They argued it conflicted with MA’s classical philosophy and noted that hygiene discussions for fifth-graders require parental permission. The committee removed the book from West Campus, placing it at East Campus for better alignment with middle school audiences.
  
• A parent found Cat Kid on Purpose by Dave Pilkey inappropriate for a third-grader after her sixth-grader raised concerns. She cited sections showing characters screaming and appearing on stage in underwear. She argued it conflicted with MA’s character-building values. The committee retained the book at West Campus, citing its positive teamwork, conflict resolution, and perseverance themes.
  
• A parent reviewed Cat Kid Collaboration by Dave Pilkey after reading Cat Kid on Purpose, citing similar concerns about detrimental character-building themes, including characters and parents screaming. The reviewer labeled the author’s message on “global sameness” and references to the deaths of Batman’s and Superman’s parents and Spider-Man’s uncle as adult topics. The committee retained the book at West Campus, highlighting its alignment with MA’s moral vision and positive themes.
  

Vice President Lindsay Clinton noted all the books were graphic novels and asked about future purchasing priorities. Librarian Kelly Huffman emphasized supporting teacher curriculum while addressing gaps in graphic novel series and ensuring balance. Graham clarified that the board votes only to override the committee’s recommendations, with a two-year wait before a book can be challenged again.

Additional policies discussed

The board reviewed and unanimously approved the following policies:

• 1500A Board of Directors Governance Policy renamed BA-MA; 1500B executive director renamed to CED-MA.
  
• JG-MA Enrollment and Placement: added a lottery process and aligned with D38’s proof of residency requirements.
  
• IKE-MA Promotion, Retention and Acceleration of Student: merged IKE and 1527 policies, added definitions, and aligned with MA’s mission and vision.
  
• KE-MA-E(1) Promotion, Retention and Acceleration of Student: retention form used in the IKE-MA policy.
  
• 1527 Student Retention: rescinded, as it merged with IKE-MA.
  
• IJ-MA Selection of Instructional Materials & Textbook Policy & Procedures: removed the statement requiring alignment with federal and state standards but emphasized monitoring standards through state/national assessments.
  
• IJ-MA-E Selection of Instructional Materials & Textbook Policy & Procedures: Governance Committee flagged rubric “Eduspeak” for clarification and requested an additional, parent-friendly rubric.
  

MA’s board policies can be found at http://bit.ly/ma-boarddocs

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Board member Craig Carle spotlighted the Monument Academy Gala team for their contributions.
  
• Finance Director Laura Polen reported that the February financials show that MA is well-positioned to meet bond ratios. She credited People Operations Director Krista Pelley for staffing projections and noted collaboration with the registrar on FTE enrollment tracking for budgeting.
  
• Graham requested the removal of the Highway 105 Committee report, as the work around West Campus is complete.
  
• Clinton reported that the Curriculum East Committee reviewed last month’s approved policy and proposed edits for a vote. It will present the History and Leadership rubrics to the board in May.
  
• Board member Jilinda Dygert said the Student Accountability and Advisory Committee (SAAC) for East Campus reviewed survey results and will share recommendations at the May board meeting. She urged parents to attend the final meeting on May 5, 3:30-5 p.m., or email saacsecondary@monumentacademy.net for details.
  
• The board heard a presentation on the upcoming graduation activities, reviewed the gala and other fundraising activities, got an update on the enrollment numbers, and reviewed progress on academic goals.
  
• The board approved a Reimbursement Resolution to reimburse itself for $15 million in capital expenses ahead of bond refinancing. Interim CFO Glenn Gustafson highlighted a $26 million balloon payment due June 2026 and plans to refinance $60 million in bonds to consolidate campus debt and fund East Campus projects.
  
• The board unanimously signed a letter to the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) demanding rules barring boys from competing in girls’ sports, warning of escalation to state and federal authorities if demands are unmet.
  
• After an executive session on property acquisition, the board approved a Letter of Intent to purchase Grace Best Education Center for $100,000, directing Vinchattle to present it to D38 Interim Superintendent Amber Whetstine.
  
• The board approved an updated Staff Handbook, incorporating audit-recommended wording on the Seven Tenets, revising Title IX and leave policies, and updating renamed policy references.
  
• Clinton announced that board applications closed in March with only one applicant, Craig Carle, eliminating the need for an election. The board unanimously re-elected Carle by acclamation.
  
• Graham shared a community letter on House Bill 25-1213, which mandates that MA accommodate students’ chosen names, pronouns, and cross-dressing, while defining misgendering and dead-naming as discriminatory. He urged families to engage by signing petitions, contacting officials, and preparing to testify. Graham stated that if Gov. Jared Polis signs the bill, the board will discuss next steps, but he encouraged a veto if Polis plans a presidential run.
  
• Vinchattle provided the board with a first draft of policy AEP-MA Educational Philosophy for its review. It describes MA’s philosophy and instructional approach and emphasizes parental involvement. The policy references several supporting documents.
  

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The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, May 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. The agenda and packet are available at bit.ly/ma-boarddocs.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy School Board articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Board directs review to ferret out gender ideology
• Educational program update
• Discipline concerns
• Additional policies passed
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) School Board held a special meeting on Feb. 26 to make another resolution on gender and hear from its consultant on its educational program. At its regular meeting on March 15, the board heard a parent’s concern about discipline and approved updated policies.

Board directs review to ferret out gender ideology

Board President Ryan Graham moved to adopt a resolution recognizing only two sexes and rejecting gender ideology. The resolution reiterates that the board supports natural law, moral truth, and protecting the innocence and safety of every student at MA. It also believes that there is a clear distinction between “sex” and “gender expression” or “gender identity.”

The resolution notes that the president of the United States, on Jan. 20, signed an executive order “defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government” and “Federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology” which puts at risk federal funding to this school should policy or practice fail to recognize and honor biological sex. Another executive order, signed on Jan. 29, titled “Ending radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling” declared the intent to eliminate federal funding for K-12 curriculum, instruction, programs, or activities in schools that even indirectly support the advancement of gender ideology or social transition of students.

Therefore, the resolution authorizes and directs the executive director (ED) to update any relevant administrative policy, procedures, facility agreements, and usage guidelines to be consistent with the knowledge that there are only two sexes and consistent with the right to privacy and security in restrooms and locker rooms and consistent with the right to fair competition in sports. It further directs that the ED ensure restrooms and locker rooms separate males and females and that males are not competing as females in sporting events and to decline to participate in sporting events when males may be competing as females for competing teams.

Graham then explained that this resolution rendered the JRT-MA Parental Rights policy null and void. The board unanimously approved the removal of this policy.

Parent Kristy Davis, who serves as vice president of the MA West PTO and serves on other MA committees and is the chapter chair for Moms for Liberty of El Paso County, expressed gratitude to MA for its continued dedication to upholding its mission statement and valuing parental rights.

Educational program update

Lis Richard of Helping Schools Thrive (HST) provided a training presentation on education principles, patterns, programs, and protection. MA hired HST in April 2024 to provide an operational audit, which resulted in a special meeting in October of the same year to share the results and to recommend that MA return to its charter foundations. See the November 2024 issue of OCN at https://wp.ocn.me/v24n11d38ma/.

Richard spoke of the seven tenets of education that MA should follow: Traditional, Classical, Character in Action, Caretakers of the language, American and Patriotic, Caretakers of the Mind, and School for the Arts. She said these are principles MA should stand on; if it didn’t, she had covered that in her audit. Richard noted that it broke her heart that MA’s secondary campus did not have a library, saying it was necessary to support a classical education with literature. She said she knew it was on MA’s radar.

She stated that the goal is to produce virtuous citizens with the ability and tools to think for themselves rather than robots who know rote memory facts. Richard said these principles are what MA should discuss rather than the lack of a gym or other things. She asserted, “There has been such a revival of classical education recently, and even Moms for Liberty and groups who stand for the past ideas of our country and embedding that into our young people—that is what all these groups are so passionate about because we have lost so much of the past.”

Richard spoke about the educational patterns that follow the principles. Referred to as trivium and assigned to grade levels since MA must conform to the public education system, she lists them as:

• Grammar—elementary school—the facts a student needs to be successful, including parts of speech, pronouns, nouns, spelling rules, and math facts.

• Logic—middle school—connecting knowledge to the world around them and engaging in narrative.

• Rhetoric—high school —thinking analytically and critically about the world, internalizing and synthesizing to determine where they might fit.

She said that MA wanted to develop an appreciation for truth, beauty, and goodness through field trips, community involvement, and literature and ideas that have stood the test of time. Libraries should not worry about the most popular contemporary author, as they may not align with MA’s principles, she said.

Richard noted that annual state assessments would monitor and measure objective standards, though MA would not teach to the standards or tests. She then described the education programs for preschool through eighth grade with its core knowledge sequence and ninth through 12th grade as a liberal arts program with vibrant leadership emphasis. She spoke of the benefits of vertical alignment.

Finally, she discussed education protection as being the responsibility of the School Board and executive director who needed to emphasize teaching how to learn rather than what to learn, ensuring teachers are held accountable for good instructional practices, keeping the target on core virtue implementation, supporting the library needs of each campus, protecting policies supporting education at MA, providing funding, and enabling annual staff training.

Discipline concerns

Justin Kaminsky, the spouse of an MA substitute teacher and the father of three MA students, said he was proud of the community and MA and what it stands for. He said that children come to MA for the fundamental purpose of transitioning them from their happy homes to the expanses of the real world. He noted that MA buildings are training centers for challenged thinking, broadening experiences, and the realization of accountability they will be held to.

In light of recent events that allege serious physical harm to students, Kaminsky stated that the majority of parents supported and encouraged discipline. There are consequences when discipline is not maintained. He urged those in charge of disciplinary hearings, including the executive director, to enforce parental expectations and honor MA’s handbook rules, which say that qualifying for expulsion includes behavior on- or off-property detrimental to the welfare or safety of students or school personnel. Likewise, he noted that the handbook says that the commission of one of these offenses, if committed by an adult, would qualify as assault under Colorado Statutes and should be direct grounds for expulsion.

Kaminsky stated that parents do not want MA to continue using resources for undue charity toward people threatening the growth and transition he alluded to earlier. He said if MA continues to hold young women and men accountable as children, they will stay children and that one day they will all hopefully be accountable men and women.

Additional policies passed

The following policies, reviewed at the Feb. 26 meeting, were brought back for a second reading on March 13 and were unanimously approved by the board:

• IJ-MA Selection of Instructional Materials and Textbook Policy and Procedures.

• IJ-MA-E Selection of Instructional Materials and Textbook Policy and Procedures.

Executive Director Collin Vinchattle said the previous rubric was too broad and he had sought feedback from the community on improving the tiers.

• GBK-MA-E Staff Grievance and Conflict Resolution. This is a form to be filled out by the employee presenting the grievance.

• KE-MA Student/Family Conflict Resolution. This was formerly policy 1518B.

• KE-MA-E Student/Family Conflict Resolution. This is a form to be filled out by the complainant.

MA’s board policies can be found at http://bit.ly/ma-boarddocs.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Board member Craig Carle spotlighted MA’s registrar, Lena Gross, and assistant registrar, Amanda Bennett, for their hard work registering families for the upcoming school year. Bennett created streamlined processes, he said, supporting families with questions and making MA a welcoming place.
• Finance Director Laura Polen highlighted January financials, showing positive income across all three schools and detailed reports for each campus and fund. She expressed optimism about receiving Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) funds. Interim Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson shared that while he sought Rep. Jeff Crank’s assistance, progress with the IRS might remain slow.
• Gustafson described the state budget as gloomy, citing voter-approved reallocation of $300 million to law enforcement without new taxes, forcing cuts in other areas. Proposed reductions include reducing enrollment averaging for schools with declining numbers, and cutting optional state grants, fifth-year programs, and homeschool enrichment funding. He plans to present a draft budget in April when there’s more clarity.
• Board member Matt Ross shared recommendations from the West Campus School Advisory and Accountability Committee parent survey. Parents raised concerns about fifth-grade academic rigor, requested greater club involvement, and questioned the effectiveness of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program. They urged the board to implement urgent text notifications and expressed strong interest in enhancing lunch options.
• Vinchattle announced updates to the staff handbook, incorporating MA’s operational audit recommendations and details on its educational philosophy. Revisions include policy numbers, personal appearance guidelines, and field trip language. Awaiting legal review, he requested the board delay approval until the April meeting.
• The board unanimously approved changes to the 2024-25 calendar, extending half-day Fridays in April to full days to compensate for snow days and a plumbing issue. If more days are needed, eLearning days will be considered. It also approved updates to the 2024-25 and 2025-26 calendars, finalizing the last day for staff.
• The board unanimously approved hiring a leadership teacher and revising the secondary school administrative assistant job description. Vinchattle acknowledged he had overlooked these changes, which aim to enhance principal support.
• The board unanimously approved an hourly payment proposal for HST to train the board and staff and evaluate MA’s progress on its audit recommendations.
• Graham reported that the board’s legal counsel was still drafting a letter of intent to D38 for the potential purchase of the Grace Best Education Center. He noted community questions and assured that, if D38 accepted the letter, MA would have time to conduct due diligence with its inspectors.

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The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/ma-boe;; for the agenda and packet, see https://bit.ly/ma-boarddocs.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy School Board articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Intent to purchase Grace Best
• Homeschool enrichment program update
• Proposed aerospace program
• Additional modulars approved
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

At the Monument Academy (MA) board meeting on Feb. 13, the board agreed to draft a letter of intent to purchase the Grace Best Education Center building. It heard an update on its Homeschool Enrichment Program, learned about a proposed aerospace program, and approved new modular buildings.

Intent to purchase Grace Best

At the beginning of its regular meeting, the board amended its agenda to add an item for “negotiations for real property” to the executive session. When the board returned from the executive session, board President Ryan Graham said the board saw an incredible opportunity to potentially partner with D38 and utilize Grace Best for some of MA’s programs. He moved that the board direct legal counsel to draft a letter of intent to purchase Grace Best and have Executive Director Collin Vinchattle contact the D38 administration team to advise it of MA’s interest.

The board unanimously passed the motion, and Graham said that MA would still have a due diligence opportunity to inspect and review the findings with Grace Best but would like to use the facility for MA programs. See the PCAC article on page < 6 >.

Homeschool enrichment program update

At the beginning of the meeting, Graham read two public comments submitted electronically from parents who praised the Monument Academy Homeschool Partnership (MAHP) program. They said it provided the opportunity to socialize, gave access to reading and math tests and field trips, and was a great supplement to homeschooling.

Vinchattle said they had been planning for 15 students in the first year of MAHP and were currently at 35 and looking to grow next year. He said MA had adjusted so it could accommodate 108 students at the K-5 grade levels. MA has been marketing at events like the school choice fair and was looking to create relationships to offer classes at small businesses. Graham said he had the opportunity to meet with Program Manager Janyse Skalla to catch up.

For more information on MA’s homeschool enrichment program, see https://www.monumentacademy.net/homeschool/.

Proposed aerospace program

Vinchattle introduced the Falcon Aerolab Program for preliminary discussion, saying that he hoped to bring a contract to the board in March. He said the program focuses on flying and aeronautical offerings such as drones, mechanics, and understanding flight. MA is looking to bring the program to high school students. More information on the program can be found at https://www.falconaerolab.org/.

Additional modulars approved

Vinchattle reviewed the opportunity to acquire up to three modular units from D20, noting they could be used for High Performance Program (HPP) students or other new or existing programs and storage for athletic or drama equipment.

Interim Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson said the cost for each modular would be $1, but they would cost $15,000 to $20,000 to move and would need carpet, paint, ramps, and electricity. Vinchattle said that it had cost $120,000 to $150,000 for the infrastructure for the existing modulars but that it should be a little less for this new set.

Gustafson said portables provide schools with flexibility and that it was critical that MA could expand as it builds programs for the school. This would give new program capacity and provide temporary space during capital construction. He said that if MA refinances its bond and starts construction in summer 2025, it would take one year to 15 months to complete. MA would need space to accommodate kids since it would need additional students to pay for the debt on the bond refinancing.

Vinchattle said the work would start in the next fiscal year, and he would designate Operations Manager Jake Dicus to take the lead on the project and secure bids.

The board unanimously approved the budget to acquire and set up three modular units.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Board member Craig Carle spotlighted MA’s preschool team, including preschool teachers and assistants Anaya Hagger, Asha Nada, Sydney Heher, Stephanie Pontius, Brittany Robertson, Jeanette Tanguma, and Dyann Wenckus. Carle said a fellow staff member nominated the group, noting that the preschool had just completed its annual Colorado Department of Education licensing. He said the teachers use daily checklists and had worked hard to build enrollment, recently completing an inspection with zero violations.
• Vinchattle said that MA was starting to run low on snow days, with only 2.5 left at secondary school. His first choice would be to transition to full days on Fridays, then to e-learning days.
• Finance Director Laura Polen reported that net income was positive at elementary, middle, and high school.
• Board member Jilinda Dygert reported for the East Campus School Accountability and Advisory Committee (SAAC) that MA had hosted Dr. Michael Brom, the D38 assessment coordinator, for a presentation on student assessments. Parents reported feeling more prepared to help their students prepare for a college career. She said SAAC East hopes to offer more informational nights.
• Vice President Lindsay Clinton reported that the Resources and Development Committee was focused on the upcoming gala event, which would raise funds for a field for athletes, field day, and community events.
• The board unanimously approved the 2025-26 school calendar and the proposed 2026-27 school calendar for preschool, elementary, and high school.
• The board approved the BTR-MA Teacher Representative to the Board. It was renamed from policy 1515, and the reference from chief executive officer to executive director was changed. Graham asked if there were any incentives for teachers to participate; Vinchattle said no, it was optional.
• The board unanimously approved policy JCS-MA (formerly 1523) Class Size, adding a limit of 15 students for half-day kindergarten and 18 for full-day kindergarten.
• The board unanimously approved changing JG-MA Enrollment and Placement policy to move the cutoff date to Oct. 1 from Aug. 15 to match D38. Bryce Carlson of Miller Farmer Carlson Law, the school’s law firm, added proof of residency requirements and additional reasons for enrollment denial.
• The board unanimously approved modifications to MA’s Bylaws in section 2.1, defining members to include each parent of a child currently enrolled in MA’s traditional brick-and-mortar program.
• Vinchattle reported that the HPP oversight committee had met twice and was focused on better understanding but was leaning toward a flexible model that would have the opportunity to gain the greatest number of students.
• Clinton noted that the School Board election applications would remain open until the end of March.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/ma-boe;; for the agenda and packet, see https://bit.ly/ma-boarddocs.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy School Board articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Bond refinancing discussed
• High-Performance Plan revisited
• Action plan
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

Monument Academy (MA) held a work session on Jan. 6 where it discussed bond refinancing, the proposed high-performance program, and board bylaws. At the Monument Academy (MA) regular meeting on Jan. 9, the board voted on the High-Performance Program (HPP) and heard from the executive director about his action plan.

Bond refinancing discussed

At its Jan. 6 work session, Interim Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson reminded the board that MA has a $27.7 million balloon payment or “bullet” coming due in April 2026 for its 2019 bonds for the East Campus and that it would have to refinance that debt. Although he was initially very critical of this financing, bond underwriters told him it was a very common structure because entities are reluctant to issue 30-year bonds when unsure if a school will succeed. He said this financing structure was an industry norm, although no one anticipated that the market would go from low to high interest as it has.

Gustafson noted that the 2014 bonds cover the West Campus while the 2019 bonds cover the East Campus, and MA is required to account for them separately. Each school is responsible for its own bond. He noted that MA has a couple of alternatives.

MA could pay off the 2019 bond with a longer-term issue of up to 40 years to lower debt service. However, this would not yield much in the way of construction funds. Gustafson noted that MA’s West Campus has a lot of equity. MA could cross-collateralize and use that equity to subsidize the East Campus. MA would not have two sets of bond compliance rules, as only one bond issue would exist. He liked that idea because it fits the “One MA” notion.

MA asked the firm that initially built the East Campus to cost out a new academic wing, athletic facilities, fine arts facilities, and additional cafeteria space. Gustafson noted that the total cost would depend on what MA picked but that it could not afford everything. He said that once MA issued bonds it was locked in for 10 years and could not go back to the market for more money.

Timing-wise, Gustafson said MA was in a high-stakes game of poker and needed to hit its bond ratios as of June 30. He said MA had always had the required 45 days of cash on hand but had never hit its debt service ratios based on the East Campus’s net income. He said that the finance team has been targeting these two ratios and was on track, but MA can’t spend more money. He said it is a pass/fail test, and the budget is built to achieve that depending on the amount of fundraising from the gala and other efforts. The better MA’s financial position, the lower the interest rates would be, he said. Although the state has a moral obligation program that would guarantee the loan, MA’s finances would have to be much better to qualify.

Gustafson referred to the packet that analyzed eight scenarios with various interest rates and terms, the impact on debt service, and the number of students MA would need to add to pay the debt service. He noted that the board would have the moral obligation to pay the bondholders whether or not they have the students, even if they have to cut staff or pay. If MA were to default on the bond, he said, they would never again be able to issue bonds. He noted that MA needs 12 more kids at the West Campus, which should be no problem. He said that, depending on the amortization schedule, MA might be able to raise $25 million for construction, but its capital plan is $32 million, so it would need to come up with grants or fundraising. If MA could raise $25 million, it would need to add 213 kids to East Campus. He said the new facilities could attract kids, and they would have to do a lot of marketing. The proposed HPP could help to add kids, but they would be counted as 0.7 full-time equivalent students.

Gustafson said MA had about 13 months to pull the trigger. Interest rates should fall in the spring, and the fall audit would show whether MA had met its bond ratios. This timing would allow MA to issue bonds and begin construction to open the new facilities in August 2027, he said.

High-Performance Plan revisited

At the Jan. 6 work session, the board returned to the proposed HPP they had discussed in November. See https://wp.ocn.me/v24n12d38ma. The HPP is a program to educate students developing athletic and creative skills at the highest levels who need more flexibility.

Vladislav “Izzy” Izboinikov, the program’s founder, returned to provide additional information and answer questions. He felt the timing was perfect and could generate numbers to offset the additional students needed. He offered to commit to between 50 and 75 kids, depending on how committed MA is to making the program grow.

The board discussed the size of the pool of students who might be interested, the concern that this might distract from MA’s efforts to return to its charter, and the impact on teachers, among other concerns. Izboinikov said the pool was smaller than Denver but not too small. Executive Director Collin Vinchattle noted that his action plan focused on the academic vision and the curriculum, which would be the same for HPP with some added flexibility. Izboinikov said there would be a learning curve, but he didn’t see a huge spike in what teachers must do. Vinchattle said MA had foundational pieces in place and that teachers already work with the Canvas system that HPP uses and already are flexible with students who take long vacations or miss classes for athletics.

After additional discussion about whether equipment would be needed, getting feedback from teachers, the need for more portables, and adjusting the proposed agreement, the board directed Vinchattle to bring the topic back to the regular meeting with the requested information.

At the Jan. 9 regular meeting, Vinchattle said he was in favor of HPP, feeling that it would be beneficial to MA and aligned with its vision by providing a high level of education to marginalized students who, because they were pursuing their skill in one area were being limited in their education. He reported that he spoke to high school teachers who said it was work they do for all students who miss class and thought it was a neat program. They did express that science labs might take more work, as would Socratic discussions, but teachers felt they could make it work. Vinchattle noted that the program would have a liaison, and that MA would dictate how the program was structured. He said that MA would create an oversight committee and asked the board to provide direction to proceed with building the program model.

The board unanimously voted to approve the HPP direction and creation of an oversight committee.

Action plan

At its Jan. 6 work session and again on Jan. 9, the board heard from Vinchattle about his action plan to address issues raised by MA’s organizational audit. See previous articles at https://wp.ocn.me/v24n11d38ma/ and https://wp.ocn.me/v24n12d38ma.

Board President Ryan Graham said this had been in the works and had been created by Vinchattle and the leadership forum. Vinchattle noted that the leadership forum came together after the organization audit performed by Lis Richard and created an action plan with action steps. Graham said the board had discussed using this as the strategic plan and asked if it would be uploaded to the website. Vinchattle said it would be uploaded to the board page.

The board unanimously voted to approve the action plan as presented to be the strategic plan.

The strategic plan and action steps can be found https://www.monumentacademy.net/school-board/.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Board member Jilinda Dygert reported that the School Accountability and Advisory Committee for East Campus met on Dec. 16 and discussed the parent survey, which closed on Jan. 21. The next meeting on Feb. 3 will focus on survey results and teacher evaluations. Dr. Michael Brom, Lewis-Palmer District 38 Coordinator of Assessment and Accountability, presented on Jan. 28 about the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS).
• The board unanimously approved minor edits to its bylaws to update the title of chief operating officer to executive director and to add the Simbli platform where MA hosts its board documents as a location for record storage. MA board documents can be found at https://bit.ly/ma-boarddocs.
• The board unanimously voted to change the number of voting directors from 7 to 5, which means the board election will have one position to fill.
• The board modified its calendar to remove a proposed retreat on Jan. 17 and set 6 p.m. as its start time for the work session on Feb. 27 at the East Campus. Board Vice President Lindsay Clinton said she would start pushing out information about eligibility requirement and the application deadline.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/ma-boe;; for the agenda and packet, see https://bit.ly/ma-boarddocs.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Dashboard presentation
• Board signs agreement with PPBEA
• Updated policies
• Mid-year budget
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

At the Monument Academy (MA) regular meeting on Dec. 17, the board heard an academic dashboard presentation, updated board policies, signed an agreement on career-connected learning, and discussed the mid-year budget.

Dashboard presentation

Jennifer Strawbridge of Analytical Discoveries connected remotely to present two quarters of academic dashboards. She reviewed data from the fourth quarter of the 2023-24 school year because they didn’t get to it last year, followed by the first quarter of the 2024-25 school year. She expressed appreciation to all the staff.

Strawbridge covered the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) results for first through fifth grade, indicating that the goal was to see a larger percentage of students at or above benchmarks. She noted that, even though it had plateaued, there was an improvement for fifth grade at the end of the year. She noted that third through eighth grade reading scores were much improved from the beginning of the 2023-24 school year and that math was very similar, although there was a lot of catching up to do from the COVID impact on a national basis.

She also covered the North West Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) results, looking at growth target attainment and pointing out that eighth grade looked really good.

For behavior data, the unduplicated behavior counts were too low to be publicly reportable for elementary, middle, and high school. This, she said, was reflective of a school with a strong culture of positive behavior.

For the 2024-25 school year, she reported on both DIBELS and the NWEA MAP results. Board President Ryan Graham asked about the cause for low second-grade scores. Strawbridge noted that she did not have a national comparison and that COVID would not have impacted these students, so she wasn’t exactly sure. Still, she said that the NWEA exams change in second grade from what was seen in kindergarten and first grade. She noted that behavior data was too low to be publicly reportable again.

Executive Director Collin Vinchattle said there would be dashboard reports after each quarter, with testing in January and the next presentation in February. Graham asked him his opinion on reading and math scores. Vinchattle said that different issues come up. First grade will see a dip in scores due to new tests and skills. The second-grade scores indicated that focusing on reading took away from focusing on testing. He suggested that the transition between first and second grade would be an area to focus on, and the same is true at the fifth-grade level.

Board signs agreement with PPBEA

Graham introduced a proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Pikes Peak Business and Education Alliance (PPBEA). PPBEA provides services in the El Paso County region to work with schools by supporting career-connected learning through tools, resources, and opportunities for internships.

Vinchattle noted that providing internships was part of the original charter for high school juniors. Board member Craig Carle connected them with this resource, he said. PPBEA has partnerships with over 500 area businesses and has an intern program. The MOU was reviewed by Brad Miller, MA’s legal counsel, who had some comments on background checks and dealing with personal information.

Board member Karen Hoida asked if MA needed additional insurance; Vinchattle said students could be added to the MA’s worker compensation plan and that the businesses would also carry insurance. Vinchattle said there would be three years to investigate the details of internships for juniors. However, in the next two years, the focus would be on understanding what colleges seek regarding work experience connections and bringing community members into the school. He noted that PPBEA had partnered with Districts 11, 20, and 49 for some time.

The board unanimously approved the MOU.

Updated policies

The board considered and approved a number of policies as follows:

• DB-MA annual budget—Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson noted that this was an approved policy with proposed additions of small contingency funds for each school, which will be reported monthly.
• GBJA-MA disclosure of information to prospective employees—Vinchattle forwarded the policy to Bryce Carlson of the Miller Carlson law firm who rewrote the policy to indicate that MA would refrain from providing information to employers or anyone requesting teacher records as much as possible unless it was about a safety issue for students.

Monument Academy board policies can be found once they are posted at www.monumentacademy.net/school-board/ by selecting the Board Policies link.

Mid-year budget

Gustafson provided a brief presentation of the mid-year budget for approval, noting that there had been a line-by-line discussion in the previous board meeting. He said the Colorado Department of Education has lowered the per pupil revenue by $43; therefore, he reduced the projected revenue by $11,000 while increasing other fundraising and interest line items to bring the budget back in balance. Gustafson said there was still a possibility for a supplemental appropriation but was not optimistic as the state budget is tight.

Gustafson reviewed his experience with MA’s budget since he started in 2023, saying that this is a budget MA can be proud of, which is resourcing MA’s mission and taking care of students and staff.

The board unanimously approved the mid-year budget.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Board member Craig Carle spotlighted Librarian Kelly Huffman and Assistant Librarian Linh Kuo for enriching the library resources available to students and staff, implementing a successful book fair with a new company, fostering a love of learning, and providing input into the new library review process meant to increase the alignment between the library and MA’s educational pursuits.
• Vinchattle provided an updated action plan to address MA’s recent operational audit recommendations. He thanked the leadership team who helped expand the action steps, focusing on resources, barriers, timelines, and responsibilities. Graham suggested the board review the plan and bring it back to the proposed workshop and regular meetings in January.
• Finance Director Laura Polen presented the October financials using a new template, saying the information would be posted on MA’s financial transparency page. She indicated that the Internal Revenue Service is processing the Employee Retention Tax Credit, but there is a backlog of 1 million claims. Gustafson said MA had filed a request with Rep. Doug Lamborn, who responded immediately and said he will investigate this and turn it over to incoming Rep. Jeff Crank.
• Board Vice President Lindsay Clinton said the Curriculum East Committee had discussed the curriculum map and pacing guide.
• Board member Matt Ross said the School Accountability and Advisory Committee (SAAC) West committee held a well-attended meeting where Polen presented a budget update and Operations Manager Jake Dicus presented on security.
• Board member Jilinda Dygert said that SAAC East met to finalize the mid-year survey questions, noting there would only be one survey this year, which will be distributed electronically.
• Clinton reported that the Resource and Development Committee was moving full steam ahead with gala planning and marketing. Sponsors are confirmed, and ticket sales are going up, she said. She also noted that Dicus was spending a lot of time researching grants.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next board workshop will be on Monday, Jan. 6, at 4 p.m. at the East Campus. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Organizational audit context
• Detailed organizational audit
• Executive director action plan
• High performance program described
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) board held two meetings in November. Its first meeting on Nov. 18 consisted solely of an executive session for legal advice regarding matters related to contract compliance, policies, and human resources matters regarding administrator roles and responsibilities of school and central office leaders. No action was taken on return from the executive session.

At its regular meeting on Nov. 21, the board set the context of its organization audit, heard a more detailed presentation, and discussed the executive director’s action plan. The board also listened to a proposal for a proposed high-performance program.

Organizational audit context

Board President Ryan Graham read a prepared narrative explaining that after hiring Collin Vinchattle as executive director (ED) in May of this year, the MA board contracted with Helping Schools Thrive LLC (HST) to provide an extensive audit of the school’s academics, operations, and governance based on the school’s charter and philosophy documents.

The goal, he said, was to help the board and the ED to have a clear understanding of where the school finds success and to identify areas to improve. This information is invaluable to creating a strategic plan, and it’s worth noting, he said, that placing blame has never been the focus or goal of this audit.

He quoted Jim Collins, author of From Good to Great, saying the difference comes from avoiding complacency and loss of identity and instead remaining laser-focused on an organization’s foundational core or center. Graham noted that MA’s academic and philosophical components were, in essence, its constitution as described in its charter application. The documents put forth MA’s values and distinguishing attributes; all MA policies and practices should stem from it, he said. As a result of the audit, MA has a call to action, Graham said.

He said that moving forward, MA’s goal is to realign the school in every way with its foundational academic and philosophical components. Graham noted that MA will re-establish and maintain proper order within its organization, ensuring that any proposed changes are supported by the direction outlined in its charter and that current practices not in alignment will be removed. He acknowledged that MA has seen at least nine turnovers in top leadership positions in the past seven years, which has caused unease, confusion, a lack of consistency, and a lack of trust.

Graham acknowledged the need for a renewed focus on academic achievement and philosophical alignment, which the board had not clearly understood. There has been a sense of the “tyranny of the urgent” in recent years with a focus on protecting MA from legislative attacks as well as financial burdens, Graham claimed.

Graham declared that MA would achieve a charter and educational philosophy alignment on both campuses, prioritize academic achievement and excellence, and return to clearly defining what distinguishes and makes MA different. MA will build a culture of trust and leadership, he said, focusing on measures to retain and build on its current and future student body and bring clarity and simplicity back to MA’s traditional and classical approach. Graham said that MA is in a solid and stable position as it approaches its 30th year but has the potential to achieve excellence. He thanked everyone who participated in the audit.

Detailed organizational audit

Graham then introduced Lis Richard, lead consultant for HST, and reviewed her extensive experience in education. Richard, who previously served as the principal of Monument Academy, was chosen, Graham said, because of her background and knowledge of MA.

At a special meeting on Oct. 24, Richard delivered a summary of her internal review audit. See https://wp.ocn.me/v24n11d38ma/ for more information.

Richard thanked the board, noting that it had had comfortable and uncomfortable discussions. She said the board had genuine hearts and a deep desire to understand. She gave kudos to Vinchattle, who she called a special leader, and expressed gratitude that the board picked a leader from within. Richard said she would cover history, lessons learned, and the purpose of the audit and then delve into academics, operations, and governance, ending with concluding remarks.

MA was started in 1995 by a group of parents. It had humble beginnings and a pioneer spirit, Richard noted. Over time, MA moved from a dentist-owned building to its West Campus and added clubs, sports, football, cheerleading, dance, drama, and orchestra. Those were exciting times, and enrollment kept moving forward. She said what was unique about MA was parent participation, input, and trust. The curriculum was the choice of the school rather than the district, and MA chose the Core Knowledge (CK) sequence with an emphasis on core virtues. There were high expectations for students and staff, class size was small, and student achievement was notably higher than MA’s counterparts, Richard recalled.

Regarding lessons learned, Richard said that a great education does not require first-class facilities or new textbooks. She said that magic happens in the classroom with the right curriculum, teaching method, and relationships at home. It requires that staff have ongoing professional development that excites and energizes them in the mission and philosophy, she said. Success brings hope, and hope brings new students, Richard said. She noted that MA had some wonderful leaders but has struggled with leadership turnover that is higher than the state average. She said that the charter environment is very challenging and underpaid.

Richard said the audit aimed to examine academics, operations, and governance, comparing current practices and policies to the original intent of the charter and philosophy documents and offering the board and leadership some tangible reflection and resources. In addition to Richard, the audit team included HST employee Barbara Montoya as the evaluator on site and Andy Franko of the Minga Education Group who focused on operations.

For academics, Richard focused on philosophy, instructional policies, curriculum, and discipline. She reiterated that staff and leadership have only a basic understanding of MA’s philosophy and did not receive annual training. Grades 6 through 12 have a core method of instructional practice, and teachers are evaluated and expected to improve. High school staff are new to the program, and elementary school is in the adoption phase. For curriculum, her greatest area of concern was pre-kindergarten through fifth grade where many supplemental materials do not align with CK. There is strong CK implementation at the secondary level, she said, but the arts program could better follow the CK sequence and needs more budgetary support.

There is no annual training on CK for new teachers and leadership, she noted. For discipline, MA has adopted Capturing Kids Hearts, which has the support of school leadership, but it is not fully supported by all staff, and parents question its effectiveness.

Richard touched on teacher support, student achievement, and character development. Teacher support is critical to retention, professional development is lacking, teaching teams are functional but siloed, and there is no solid method for teacher improvement and ongoing coaching, she said. It is a work in progress, she said, noting that there is no instructional coaching and that while collegiality and teamwork are great, teachers do not make enough money, earning 20% less than their peers. For student achievement, Richard recommended student assessments be given once students are admitted and given to their incoming teacher. She said there is no accountability method for using assessment data with students and parents, and its purpose is unclear in preschool.

MA’s elementary school is no longer competitive with other district schools, but they are working on it, she noted. The middle school is in the upper quadrant of success but has room to improve, while the high school has performed very well in the few years it has existed.

Finally, while character development was called out as MA’s most distinguishing trait, Richard noted that most schools have a program for this. MA uses Character First in elementary school, while the secondary school has the Peak System (like Harry Potter houses) to build camaraderie and uses the Leadworthy program from Capturing Kids Hearts. It would benefit all stakeholders to see the character of the month, have parent resources posted online, and have a method of accountability for teacher implementation, she said.

Concerning Operations, Richard reported that MA has more than adequate space for Pre-K through fifth grade, with lots of empty, unused space at the West Campus. Space is needed at the secondary level. MA should consider staffing for kindergarten support, fine arts at the secondary level, and content-specific teachers at the high school. Class size needs to be addressed, especially in kindergarten and core classes; MA is very aware of this and is working on it, she said. Richard noted that Monument and Palmer Lake saw a 67% population growth from 2010 to 2021, while MA saw a 34.5% increase in those 10 years primarily by adding more grades. However, the average grade size had dipped. Adding grades also adds expenses in teachers, infrastructure, and debt, she noted.

Richard encouraged parents to support staff as they focus on MA’s foundations and move from good to excellent. She said MA is on a path to becoming the best school in the state. All stakeholders should learn to articulate MA’s programs, philosophy, and core virtues, she said. Richard recommended that MA focus on enrollment, highlight MA’s distinguishing traits, and stabilize its leadership.

Governance is about the board, Richard noted, saying that the board is made up of parents who are dedicated to the success of the school. They are willing to learn and have been doing their best, she said. Richard said that when she left MA, she left thumb drives and notebooks with information, but her mistake was not getting the school philosophy into policy. She said board responsibilities should be reviewed annually, new member training should be consistent, and the board needs a better understanding of governing by policy and setting direction. She noted that specific policies need addressing, and there should be a standard procedure for reviewing policies, which is underway. An academic philosophy policy that includes penmanship is needed, and teacher representatives to the board should be inducted, she said. The board is firmly committed to stabilizing the right leadership, which is now in place, Richard said.

Overall, Richard noted that academics has some red (bad), governance has a little red, and operations is green (good) and yellow (needs work). The MA board is aware of the audit results and is working on addressing all the issues, she said. The next steps are in place. She encouraged the stakeholders to tap into the pioneer spirit and support all efforts to move forward.

Executive director action plan

Vinchattle thanked HST and all who participated in the audit. He provided a preliminary action plan to the board for approval, changes, and adjustments. He proposed that 12 stakeholders, staff, parents, administrators, and student advisors meet in early December to create action steps, which he will bring to the board. The initial focus would be on educational philosophy and implementing policies to inform training and curriculum decisions, he said.

The board expressed support for the audit and for MA’s leadership and unanimously approved tonight’s action steps and directed Vinchattle to present the final action plan in December.

High performance program described

Franko, who, through his company Minga Education Group, provides services to charters and the choice sector, introduced Vladislav “Izzy” Izboinikov as instrumental in founding and developing the High Performance Program (HPP). The program started in D49 in the Springs Studio for Academic Excellence (SSAE), a blended learning environment. SSAE offers HPP, a hybrid program to educate students developing athletic and creative skills at the highest level. Izboinikov serves as the program coordinator. For more information, see https://ssae.d49.org/school-info/high-performance-program-hpp.

Franko explained that HPP is looking to expand into brick-and-mortar schools and that MA has some unique characteristics that make this an opportune time to consider the program. HPP shares its name with a program at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) program that provides resources and funding to national sports governing bodies to ensure competitiveness.

Franko said new opportunities within Colorado public education funding allow for an alternative instruction model. This allows the school to provide online or hybrid education without going to the state Board of Education to achieve multi- or single-district online certifications. Franko said Vinchattle noted that several students at MA fit this model.

Franko proposed developing the program by working with organizations like USA Wrestling, USA Boxing, USA Hockey, and others to bring whole teams into it. MA is unique, he said, because the Tri-Lakes area has many club sports and different opportunities for students to achieve at a high level, requiring a lot of travel and training during the school day.

He said his organization, Izboinikov, and an implementation specialist would work with MA’s team to develop the program. He noted there is room for increased enrollment but a need to be flexible with the space in the school. Students in the HPP program would not have the same space obligations as a typical student. He said he had met with the Daniels Fund, a state-based nonprofit that provides opportunities for public education and amateur sports, and it is interested in partnering on this. Franko said they are seeking funding from Daniels to incubate this program at brick-and-mortar schools.

Board member Karen Hoida wondered how HPP might impact MA’s direction of realigning its curriculum to its charter. Franko said the goal is to provide the same core instruction in an alternative structure. Hoida also asked if Minga Education Group would get 10% of the per pupil revenue (PPR) for 50 students even if they only enrolled two or three. Franko said they would only get 10% of the PPR for enrolled students and confirmed that HPP students would be funded at 100% of PPR.

Board member Jilinda Dygert asked what age ranges were covered. Franko said the program doesn’t work well at the elementary level and can work at middle school, but he expects the demand to be at the high school level.

Graham expressed concern that this not add to the current teacher workload. Franko said he identified the need for on-site staffing and the cost of facilitating the program. The director role and the implementation specialist would work with the leadership team. The director would work with partner programs. These positions would be funded via the 10% of PPR.

Board member Craig Carle asked if MA could limit the number of kids accepted into the program if MA runs into space limitations. Franko said there would be lots of flexibility, and the focus would be on partners looking for organizations close to where they are training. Board Vice President Lindsay Clinton asked if Minga’s staff would also attend training in MA’s philosophy. Franko said the goal is to work closely with staff to understand the academic piece.

Graham noted that the intent was not to take action but to get consensus on whether the board would ask Vinchattle and Interim Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson to look into this going forward. Hoida expressed concern that with all the changes MA was trying to implement, this might burden the already stressed system too much. Vinchattle acknowledged that it could be additional stress or an opportunity to bring the program in and grow together. Graham directed Vinchattle and Gustafson to explore this and bring information back in December or January.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Finance Director Laura Polen congratulated Registrar Lena Gross on winning her arbitration over two students in the October count, reducing MA from 5.1 full-time equivalent (FTE) students under budget to 2.5 FTE, thus preserving some PPR revenue.
• Vinchattle acknowledged MA’s efforts in the Harvest of Love event, collecting food and money for Tri-Lakes Cares. He thanked families for contributing and showing why MA is a special place.
• Gustafson led the discussion on the mid-year fiscal year 2024-25 budget, with a vote to come in December. There was a net income increase of $300,000, including increases in PPR, fundraising, gala, Colorado Gives campaign, athletic gate receipts, and decreases in interest and special education funding. Expenses were increased for professional development, consulting fees, bond expenses, building insurance, and initial funding of contingency reserves. Savings came from the custodial contract, parking lot, and copy machine leases. He added some money. He also added money to cover the costs of recommendations from the organization audit. Total changes netted out to $16,000, he said.
• The board unanimously approved policy GC-MA Professional staff, reflecting that MA has year-to-year contracts rather than the traditional three-year probational periods done at most schools.
• The board unanimously approved policy GBJ-NA Personnel Records and Files, which discusses the records needed for classified and unclassified staff and which parts of those files can be viewed publicly.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The December meeting has been moved. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Dec. 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, July 11 – Board resolution related to Title IX (8/3/2024)

• Financial audit
• Non-financial audit summarized
• Unified Improvement Plan
• October count presentation
• Policy updates
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) board held two meetings in October. In its first meeting on the 17th, the board heard its financial audit, unified improvement plan, and October enrollment count report. It passed several policies.

At its second meeting on the 24th, the board heard an internal school review audit from a consulting firm and entered an executive session to discuss possible actions.

Financial audit

Tom Sistare of Hoelting & Co. Inc., MA’s audit firm, dialed in to remotely present a summary of the financial audit presentation, giving MA an unmodified or clean opinion. Sistare said his team had been on-site in July testing internal controls and believes MA’s financial statements are presented fairly.

He said the audit covers both fund statements, which are how the school keeps its books on a day-to-day basis, as well as government-wide statements that roll all funds together and add capital assets, debt, and other liabilities.

In the government-wide statement, the statement of net position is the balance sheet for the entire school, Sistare said, indicating that cash and investments were up, capital assets decreased due to depreciation, and grants receivables were down due to fewer grants being available. The long-term liability is $55.5 million with a $39.1 million loan balance. MA paid $922,000 in debt service through the building corporation fund which manages the bonds for the West Campus and has $16.2 million in liability due to the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) unfunded liabilities. MA’s net position decreased by $798,000 primarily due to PERA.

For the fund statements, Sistare said the ratio of ending general fund balance to total expenditures for the year was similar to last year, maintaining a balance equal to 80 days of expenditures. For the current year’s activities, he said local revenues increased due to increases in donations and state per pupil revenue. Federal revenue fell as COVID grants wound down. Revenue was up about 4% with expenditures up 5% with a resulting $243,000 increase in fund balance. This compares favorably with a budgeted $790,000 decrease in fund balance. Sistare concluded by saying there were no findings of deficiencies on internal controls or other areas.

Interim Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson added a three-year high-level comparison. He noted that for government agencies MA uses full accrual, while for day-to-day purposes it uses a modified accrual. Over three years, Gustafson said, the general fund revenues increased from $10.8 to $13.8 million due to School Finance Act revenue or per pupil revenue (PPR) while enrollment has been flat. Expenditures have grown due to hiring and raises, but the difference has gone from a $131,000 loss to a $243,000 profit. MA is trying to come into full compliance with its bond covenants, he said, and ending fund balance, which is the reserve, has increased by $653,000, which is a good position for a bond refinance.

The preschool fund had a small loss, but MA has made changes to bring it back to financial stability. It drew down the balance from $99,000 to $66,000. The building corporation and the foundation funds handle the bonds for the West and East Campus respectively and function with a fairly straight flow through from the state’s intercept program. Bank balances are invested aggressively and have seen good interest returns. Finally, the Student Activity Fund totals $125,000, has had a lot of cleanup, and is used only for Student Council expenses. He said he was very pleased with Hoelting, a local firm that has done a lot of work with charter schools.

Non-financial audit summarized

At a special meeting on Oct. 24, Lis Richard of Helping Schools Thrive LLC (HST) delivered a summary of her internal review audit which she emphasized was focused on academic, operational, and governance review rather than a financial audit. A more detailed presentation will be presented at the Nov. 21 meeting.

Richard, who served as MA’s principal until 2017, said her objective was to compare current practices and policies with the original intent of the school charter and philosophy documents and offer the board and leadership some tangible reflection and resources. For her summary, she focused on academics, philosophy, and student achievement.

For philosophy, she said PK-12 staff has only a basic understanding of the philosophy of MA and that no one could give an elevator speech explaining it. The foundational principles, practices, and virtues are not trained annually nor understood by leadership, which she found concerning. Understanding philosophy could aid in ensuring that it is a pillar of practice, she said.

Her greatest area of concern was that PK-5 did not have a solid curriculum direction and had too many supplemental materials that do not follow Core Knowledge (CK) practices. There is a strong implementation of core subjects in secondary school, which was a stellar start, she said while noting that the arts curriculum could better follow the CK sequence and work to support interdisciplinary practices. CK is spiraling and vertically aligned, Richard said. Training on curriculum is lacking for staff and leaders, she said.

Regarding student achievement, she said there are no current methods for new student assessment, which would be a good practice to provide to teachers. The assessment data has fallen to lead teachers or administration and is not used as a method of accountability for instruction and utilization with students and parents. The purpose of assessment is not clear in PK, Richard said, and MA’s elementary schools are no longer competitive with other district schools. There is a spirit of “That may be OK,” she added. Middle school achievement is in the upper quadrant but has room to improve, she said, and it was encouraging that the high school has performed well in its few years of existence.

In respect to operations, Richard said there is adequate room for PK-5, but that obviously the secondary school needs more room. Documentation of standard operating procedures are in progress, she said, and handbooks need to become cohesive across the campuses. Graduation requirements meet statutes. Enrollment has remained stable but does not reflect growth, Richard noted, displaying a screen show depicting that the Tri-Lakes area from 2010 to 2021 had grown 50%. MA’s enrollment trends show the highest growth when the school expanded to K-8 and had a large class size in 2018, after which class sizes started to go down.

This year is the lowest class size since 2013, she said. Population in the Tri-Lakes area has increased by 67% while class size at MA has dipped 7%, she said, with enrollment increases being due to adding grades. D38 saw a growth of 9% over that same time frame, she said. With an increase in full-time equivalent (FTE) students, there has been an increase in staff and debt. The greatest need for sustainability in the future is to increase student enrollment, Richard stated.

On governance, she noted that MA board members are parents dedicated to the current and future success of the school. Board roles and responsibilities should be reviewed annually, and new member training should be consistent, she said. The board needs a better understanding of governing by policy and setting direction. She noted that the board had begun reviewing policies and said that an academic policy is needed that includes penmanship. Teacher representatives should be inducted as was done in the past, Richard advised.

Overall, Richard gave academics a mixed score of green, yellow, and red while operations was mostly green with some yellow and governance was 1/3 green with the rest mostly yellow and just a little red. She recommended that leadership identify an action plan, involve staff, and establish a timeline, saying that HST has a system for developing an excellent school and could return for quarterly benchmarks or annual reviews.

The board went into executive session for one hour for advice on specific legal matters regarding the external audit report and for discussion of personnel matters arising from the report. Upon returning, it took no action.

Unified Improvement Plan

East Campus Principal Angela Duca presented a draft of MA’s secondary school Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) for the board’s approval at its Oct. 10 meeting. The intent, she said, is to create goals based on student data as required by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). The process began by attending a workshop with D38 and analyzing the data from the school performance framework to inform academic goals. By evaluating the SPF, NWEA, and Pre-Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) data, MA identified the need to improve math growth in middle and high schools. The principals met to determine priorities and challenges.

For middle school, there has been a high turnover of math teachers and therefore inconsistent implementation of curriculum Duca said. She said the major strategies to improve include teacher retention and data-informed instruction. MA plans to use mentor teachers throughout the school year and provide support through frequent check-ins and monthly instruction and revised teacher training. MA will partner with colleges to recruit highly effective teachers, and math teachers will work together to create vertically aligned curriculum.

For high school, schedule constraints and lack of access to student data before the school year mean that instruction was not tailored to student needs, Duca said. The root focus is limited math programs and placing students in the right class. MA will implement data-informed instruction and work to vertically align curriculum and content. Duca said MA will use PSAT and NSMQT scores to help and will re-evaluate its math placement tests. Executive Director Collin Vinchattle had a 13% teacher loss rate, which sounds high but is about average, she said.

Elementary Principal Kurt Walker said West Campus improved by 18 points, moving from an “improvement” to a “performance” category, which is the highest category. The school rose in all areas except for math growth where scores went down, as did all D38 elementary schools, he said. Last year’s UIP goals were two-year goals, he said, so they would continue with those. They focused so much on English and Language Arts that they neglected math. The West campus started trainings on data analysis of the math scores and had a professional development session with both campuses, which opened his eyes to what was missing, he said.

The board unanimously approved the UIP plans for MA elementary and secondary schools. The plans go to D38 to be approved and sent to the state.

October count presentation

Registrar Lena Gross presented on the final enrollment after the October count. She explained that the October count encompasses Tuesday, Sept. 24 to Tuesday, Oct 8. If a student is absent on Oct.1, the official count day, MA could review the attendance record to prove a student was in attendance for five consecutive days before or after. If that wasn’t possible, MA gathered letters on extenuating circumstances from parents or letters from teachers affirm their attendance. The following week, MA was scheduled to present its numbers to D38 for submission to the CDE.

Gross explained that the homeschool partnership had 30 students, who are counted as half of a student for a total of 15 full-time equivalent (FTE) students. West Campus was just under the budget projection of 546 at 544.5 FTE including half-day students. East Campus was seven below the projection of 547. Middle school was budgeted for 407 and had 408 while high school was budgeted for 140 students and had 132. Overall FTE is 1099.6, which is 3.9 under the budgeted target of 1103.5.

Gross said it was possible that MA would be entering arbitration and was under discussion with two other districts about two students. This would bring the final FTE to 1097.6, but MA won’t know the final CDE determination until December.

There were a lot of additions and withdrawals during the October count, Gross said, with West Campus growing by two but then losing seven, and East Campus growing by one and losing seven. She said MA had been in touch with families who left and sent them exit interviews to capture as much data as possible to understand their reasons for leaving. Gross noted that last year about 26% of K-12 students resided outside of the district, and that had increased to 27% this year with more districts being represented in MA’s population. Gross said MA would use that data to inform its marketing strategy going forward.

Gross said that MA had held its first Community Connections night at its West Campus and were encouraged that several families attended. The team was hard at work planning events for the upcoming enrollment season including moving students to middle and high school, she said.

Policy updates

The MA board unanimously adopted and updated several policies at its Oct. regular meeting:

• KECL-MA Library Policy – As discussed in previous meetings.
• GBGG-MA Staff Leave – Explains types of leave and how it can be used.
• GBGH-MA Sick Leave Bank – Placeholder as MA does not have a sick leave bank.
• GBGH-R-MA Sick Leave Bank Regulation – Placeholder as above.
• GBGI-MA Staff Military Leave – Updated to reference executive director.
• GBGJ-MA Staff Bereavement Leave – Through paid or sick leave, not separate.
• GBGK-MA Staff Legal Leave – Standard modified to suit MA.

Board President Ryan Graham said he was grateful to have a library policy in place and that, if revisions are identified during implementation, it can be brought back to the board. Board policies can be found on the MA website at http://bit.ly/ma-boe by selecting Board Policies.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Graham spotlighted outgoing West Campus school resource officer (SRO) Dustin Williams. He expressed gratitude for Williams ensuring safety while building impactful and heartfelt relationships.
• Vinchattle reported that the field fundraising campaign had raised over $70,000 so far.
• Gustafson said there was a $68,000 loss in August due to upfront expenses, but that year-to-date MA is $285,000 ahead with $3.5 million in the bank and investment accounts. Finances are looking good, and he feels MA has turned the corner.
• Graham reported that, with MA’s completion of its recirculation construction, parents should sign up for project updates by emailing hwy105aconstruction@gmail.com.
• Board member Matt Ross and Vice President Lindsay Clinton reported for their respective campus curriculum committees that both are looking to focus on vertical alignment after they get the results of the school audit due in November.
• Ross and board member Jilinda Dygert reported for their respective campus School Accountability and Advisory Committees (SAAC) that they were working on an annual parent survey. Dygert said the East Campus SAAC is focused on providing support on the UIP and asked that input on direction, board priorities, goals, and survey topics be emailed to saacsecondary@monumentacademy.net or communicated to Vinchattle. She asked that parents consider volunteering for lunch duty and car line to free up teachers’ time.
• The board unanimously agreed to modify its Integrity Bank signature cards due to the departure of MA’s business manager Diane Smith. They removed Smith and added Finance Assistant Dawn Bartlett, who has agreed to pitch in, picking up the financial slack in addition to her human resources duties.
• The board unanimously approved changing its November meeting from the 14th to the 21st so consultant Lis Richard can present the full non-financial audit.
• The next district Parent and Community Advisory Committee (PCAC) will be held at MA’s East Campus on Nov. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m., with an optional tour starting at 5:30 p.m.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The November meeting has been moved to accommodate a detailed school audit presentation. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other D38 Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Library materials parental review policy
• New board management system
• Citizen comment on discipline
• Policy updates
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) board met on Sept. 12 to discuss its library materials parental review policy and adopt a new board management system. The board also heard a citizen comment on discipline, updated several policies, and spotlighted a teacher for her engaging and innovative lessons.

Library materials parental review policy

The board returned to discussing its policy KECL on parental review of library materials. Board member Karen Hoida said the Governance Committee had made some changes and wanted to discuss some new proposals that would allow more books to stay on shelves. She noted that the committee had received a lot of public comments, and many of the changes were related to those. Board member Jilinda Dygert said the review form and process were not yet available.

Board President Ryan Graham asked what a reasonable amount of time it would take for the Review Committee to review a book that a parent suggested. Dygert said it would depend on how often the committee meets. Executive Director Collin Vinchattle said the length would depend on how many books were submitted for review.

Dygert said that parents could volunteer for a two-year term on the Review Committee without a specified term limit as long as their kids were in school. Graham noted that the policy says parent members are appointed by Vinchattle, asking if they would have to be re-approved for an additional term. Vinchattle noted that many people are interested in the committee, saying he would have to work out the process.

Dygert added that the Governance Committee had removed item 22 because the library system cannot notify parents as their child checks out books. She said the librarian can show parents how to access the system and see their child’s checkout history. The librarian can also add a note if the parent prefers their child not access the library.

Graham said he wanted a summary of the parental feedback before approving the policy. He expressed concern that a book could not be challenged for five years and that limiting the number of books parents could challenge would limit their voice. He proposed that the board delay this approval until next month and have the opportunity to react to a redline version of the policy that shows its changes. Hoida and Dygert agreed to the delay with Hoida specifying that MA has a wonderful librarian, and she does not anticipate a large influx of books to review.

New board management system

Vinchattle and Vice President Lindsay Clinton reported that they had reviewed three options and preferred Simbli Board Management Software to help manage meetings, policies, and board documents. Vinchattle said all this information is currently on the board website but is not very well organized or easy to manage. Simbli would also host other essential documents, such as MA’s original charter and its latest charter agreement with the district. Clinton cited its security, organization, and efficiency, saying that staff and parents could find everything in one spot.

Vinchattle said that the software has different modules with different pricing. The company would prorate the costs and offer a 25% discount if purchased in September. He suggested using available funds for board professional development for this purchase.

Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson confirmed that funds were available for professional development and technology. He said he came from an environment with a robust board management system and felt this was a great investment.

The board unanimously approved purchasing the Simbli meetings, policies, and documents modules. For more information on Simbli, see www.eboardsolutions.com.

Citizen comment on discipline

A parent spoke, first thanking the board and school for their efforts, about a growing concern with school discipline, especially the difference between West and East Campus. He said parents were aware of physical altercations involving teachers, paraprofessionals, and substitute teachers. He noted that children knew the limits of discipline and consequences of breaking the rules and that he knew certain teachers who felt helpless.

He said that as a parent, it’s unnerving to know that children may be entering situations where adult intervention does not solve the problem. He said he wasn’t looking for strictness or authoritarianism, but if there was any decision-maker concerned about the impact on budgets or lawsuits, the school should know it had the support of parents whose kids wanted to attend the school.

He pointed out that losing one child because of discipline meant the loss of one child’s funding, but not defending the other children could result in losing the other 22 students. He noted that homeschooling had become much easier since COVID-19 but asked what parents could do better in their homes to align with classroom expectations.

Graham said he would share the parent’s email with Vinchattle to follow up.

Policy updates

The MA board unanimously adopted and updated several policies at the regular meeting. Vinchattle said new policies were adopted so they could be modified to fit MA. Hoida said any legal questions were brought to counsel for review. She said the Governance Committee would bring five policies to each monthly board meeting:

• GBEB-MA Staff Conduct – new policy concerning rules of conduct.
• GBGA-MA Staff Heath – speaks to how MA would cover the cost of required special physical exams.
• GBGA-R-MA Staff Health regulation – placeholder in case MA wants to vary from the district policy.
• GDE/GDF-MA Support Staff Recruiting/Hiring – minor edit on hiring guidelines such as non-discrimination and finalization.
• GDE/GDF-R-MA Support Staff Recruiting/Hiring regulation – covers procedures for hiring, including background checks, credit reports, fingerprinting, and state reporting.

Board policies can be found on the MA website at http://bit.ly/ma-boe by selecting Board Policies.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Board member Craig Carle spotlighted eighth-grade history teacher Casey Heinbuch for creating engaging lessons and finding an opportunity to work with the El Paso County judicial system for students to participate in a mock trial.
• Vinchattle said he had received the school performance framework for both schools and congratulated principals and teachers for increasing the schools’ ratings.
• Vinchattle read a letter that was sent out to parents kicking off fundraising for a new field with a track to enhance students’ athletic experience. Families are invited to participate in fundraising; the initial goal is $100,000 to win a matching grant from the Daniels Fund. The initial bid totals $3.5 million broken out as $1.5 million for the field, $500,000 for the track and another $1.5 million for concessions, lights, and stands.
• The board unanimously approved awarding a contract to Abacas LLC for accounts payable processing as requested by Gustafson, who noted that MA’s business manager would be retiring at the end of the month.
• Vinchattle asked the board if there was additional information it wanted to ask in the Student Accountability Advisory Committee (SAAC) surveys. Vice President Lindsay Clinton suggested asking how parents feel about fundraising efforts and how they prefer to give.
• Dygert suggested a combined presentation to East and West Campus SAACs on the Unified Improvement Plan (UIP). She said the two SAACs could review their bylaws separately and come together to make modifications, or they could do that in the reverse order.
• The board unanimously agreed to revise the staff handbook to specify that classroom displays and decorations must have a connection to the curriculum or content of the coursework being taught. Any potentially divisive material must have a curricular purpose, be balanced, and be approved by an administrator in advance.
• Vinchattle asked the board to perform its yearly review of the Emergency Operating Procedures and provide feedback, noting that it had minor modifications around school resource officers and the Fire Department.
• The board approved a special meeting on Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m. to have consultant Lis Richard of Helping Schools Thrive present to the board.
• The board held a short executive session to discuss specialized details of security arrangements and returned without acting.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Non-legal name change
• Library policy
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) board held one regular meeting and two special meetings in August. At its regular meeting on Aug. 8, the board discussed non-legal name changes, reviewed a proposed library policy, and accepted a board resignation. At its online special meeting on Aug. 16, the board met to discuss its charter contract with D38, which was subsequently approved by the district at its Aug. 29 meeting. See D38 board article on page < 12 >.

Finally, at its online special meeting on Aug. 29, the board authorized President Ryan Graham to execute documents related to acquisition of property next to its West Campus to be used for a parking lot.

Non-legal name change

Graham noted that MA must comply with recently passed legislation he disagrees with, known as HB24-1039 Non-Legal Name Changes. He noted that section five says that a local education provider shall implement a written policy outlining how [it] will honor a student’s request to use a chosen name and may include a process for including [that] on school records while complying with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974.

The law defines “chosen name” as any name that a student requests to be known as that differs from the student’s legal name to reflect the student’s gender identity. Graham said that MA’s policy, JNR-MA Non-Legal Name Change for Students, would ensure that parents are included. The corresponding regulation, JNR-R, lays out the procedure for appealing to the executive director should the name change be denied and includes a notice of nondiscrimination.

Executive Director Colin Vinchattle said he had communicated with the administrative team regarding this policy and that the regulation would be included in the student handbook so families would have access. Board member Matt Ross noted that the policy limited name changes to once per semester and required that students have the mental capacity and intent to forgo their legal name. Vinchattle said School District 11 had had an enormous number of name changes that impacted staff and that any concerns about capacity would require communication with the legal team.

The board unanimously approved these new policies, which can be found on the MA website at http://bit.ly/ma-policies. Read the House bill at https://bit.ly/co-hb24-1039.

Library policy

Board member Karen Hoida led the discussion of the new policy KECL Library Materials Parental Review, noting that a draft was in the board packet. The policy briefly outlines the process for reviewing library materials if a parent or legal guardian of a current MA student has an objection or concern. She said the librarian would make a review form available.

Materials would be removed from shelves or blocked while under review by a Library Review Committee (LRC). The LRC would consist of three parents or legal guardians of a current student (excluding board members) and serve a two-year term. One teacher of the appropriate grade level and one appointed administration member would also serve on the committee. The LRC would report to the board.

Parents and legal guardians may submit no more than three requests for review; after a book is reviewed, it will not be reviewed again for five years. The MA board also reserves the right to exclude books, magazines, or other papers they deem inappropriate.

Graham asked the board to take time to review the policy, send comments to Vinchattle, and be prepared to take action at the September meeting.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Board member Emily Belisle resigned because her family is moving out of state. She thanked the board, staff, teachers, and parents, saying that representing them was an honor. The board unanimously agreed to run as a six-member board rather than replace Belisle and reorganized its board duties and committee memberships.
• The board unanimously approved the East and West Campus Student/Parent Handbooks with minor edits to the bullying policy and parent communication.
• The board approved the Athletic Handbook for Middle School and High School.
• Vinchattle reported that Operations Manager Jake Dicus had recommended purchase of wireless microphones, an easily managed video recorder, and a visual board per the approved budget.
• Vinchattle led a discussion about the new position of major gifts officer, noting the pros and cons of incentive-based, salaried, or hybrid compensation models. The position would report to the Dicus, as they both work on fundraising. The board asked Vinchattle to return with a tiered approach to compensation and a detailed description of the job duties to be voted on at the September meeting.
• The board set its board retreat and meeting dates for fiscal year 24-25, maintaining the second Thursday of each month with some exceptions for conflicts and holidays.
• After an executive session on Aug. 8, the board unanimously voted to replace its security training partnership with FASTER Colorado from Able Shepherd.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month.

The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Board responds to Title IX changes
• Finance update
• Committee assignments
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

Monument Academy (MA) held its regular meeting in July to consider its response to changes in Title IX, to receive an update on finances, set board committee assignments, and hear committee reports.

Board responds to Title IX changes

The July 11 meeting started with a short executive session for legal advice regarding Title IX policy options. Board President Ryan Graham noted that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) had released its final rule changes to Title IX and indicated he had a resolution that was being used in multiple school districts.

The resolution, which can be found in its entirety at bit.ly/ma-title-ix-res, specifies in part that the board believes parents, not schools, have the fundamental responsibility for their children’s education, supports natural law and moral truth, believes the ED’s changes run afoul of federal and state laws, and that Title IX refers to biological sex, which is “an immutable characteristic that cannot be changed, fluid, or altered.” The resolution says that the ED’s unlawful attempt to change the definition would have disastrous emotional and safety impacts to girls and women.

Therefore, the document resolves that “sex” is determined at birth and is an immutable characteristic that cannot be changed, fluid, or altered; commits to protecting female sports and ensuring the safety, privacy, and protection of all students, acknowledging the importance of single-sex facilities.

Finally, the board values and condones the numerous legal challenges to ED’s rule changes to Title IX and commits to making no policy or procedural changes while legal challenges ensue.

Graham moved to approve the resolution; Vice President Lindsay Clinton seconded it, and without discussion, the board passed the resolution unanimously.

Finance update

Acting Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson reported that D38 had unexpectedly qualified for a state mill levy override matching program, which yielded an additional $30,000 for MA.

Gustafson said he had convinced MA’s auditor not to accrue the cost of seeking the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC). The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is supposed to process applications within six months, but it’s taking a long time due to concerns about program fraud. Some entities are suing the IRS due to the delay.

Gustafson said the payroll system he inherited has a mix of pay dates for employees, but he decided to get everyone synced up to the end of the month for payment. He is also moving the pay date to the 26th to align with payments to MA from D38. Some staff will see a double paycheck initially. That will not incur an additional expense but will simply reduce the liability accrual. Gustafson said he had made a lot of fixes and would be communicating and reminding staff of this change.

Committee assignments

The board agreed to add a separate East Campus curriculum committee, similar to the separate School Advisory and Accountability (SAAC) committees, and stand down the Human Resources committee. The board discussed and agreed upon the following committee assignments for board members:

• Highway 105 – Graham; the project should end in about a month.
• Curriculum West – Emily Belisle.
• Curriculum East – Clinton.
• SAAC West – Matt Ross.
• SAAC East – Jelinda Dygert.
• Governance – Karen Hoida, Belisle.
• Finance – Craig Carle, Graham.
• Building and Facilities – Hoida, Graham.
• Resource Development Committee – Carle, Clinton.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Graham reported that curbs and gutters were installed on the new road on the south side of the West Campus and that Executive Director Collin Vinchattle and Principal Kurt Walker would communicate the new plan for the car line.
• Clinton reported on the SAAC East recommendations, noting that two new questions about summer workbooks were added to the survey, but only 60 responses were received. SAAC East recommended the board continue to think outside the box regarding electives, school spirit, and streamlining communication.
• Registrar Lena Gross reported on enrollment, including retention numbers, noting that exit interview data was pending. Kindergarten enrollment is slightly down, she said, due to the birth rate and the impact of universal preschool in the state. Gustafson noted the preschool fund would have a loss and should be reviewed for viability during the mid-year budget discussion.
• Hoida reported that the Governance Committee was working on the library policy and expected to have a draft by the next board meeting.
• The board unanimously approved removing leggings as approved wear for free dress days.
• The board unanimously approved minor formatting changes to the staff handbook.
• After discussion, the board unanimously approved Vinchattle’s request to modify MA’s graduation requirements to provide additional state-approved options for math. He noted that MA would still require students to pass the capstone requirement.
• The board unanimously approved using $1,000 in board funds to put on a Staff Breakfast on Aug. 6.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month.

The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Aug. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. For more information, visit bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy (MA) articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

By Jackie Burhans

• Board members sworn in, positions assigned
• 2024-25 budget re-adopted
• Modular purchase
• Major Gifts and Corporate Sponsorships program
• Highlights

Monument Academy (MA) held its regular meeting in June to swear in board members and assign board positions, re-adopt the 2024-25 budget, approve the purchase of its East Campus modulars, and update policies.

Board members sworn in, positions assigned

Board President Ryan Graham swore in returning board member Lindsay Clinton and incoming board member Jelinda Dygert. Clinton’s second term and Dygert’s initial term begin on July 1. The board discussed, nominated, and confirmed members for the following positions:

• President Ryan Graham
• Vice President Lindsay Clinton
• Treasurer Craig Carle
• Secretary Jelina Dygert

2024-25 budget re-adopted

Acting Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson requested that the board re-adopt the 2024-25 budget. This was not an amendment, he said, but a replacement for the budget they adopted last month. He said he had the final information on staffing for the Home School Enrichment program and wanted to appropriate the money to buy out the modular units. Finally, given that MA has adopted new health benefits he wanted to put the Health Reimbursement Agreement money into the right account. Although he had already posted the budget and submitted it to D38, he let Chief Business Officer Brett Ridgway know there would be changes.

Graham made the three standard budget motions for appropriating funds, inter-fund borrowing, and using beginning balances, which the board unanimously approved.

Modular purchase

Gustafson noted that MA had entered into a lease agreement rather than a lease-purchase agreement for four modular units. The units are essential, he said, and are combined to make four classrooms. The lease conditions are not favorable, Gustafson noted, saying that the rental cost of $52,000 per year was significant and could increase annually and there was no option to buy. The space will always be used, he said, even after the expansion of the campus. After negotiations, he came to an agreement with the vendor to purchase the modular units for $175,000, which would take three years to pay off.

Graham said that when the lease was approved in 2022, it was supposed to be short-term while they refinanced to do the buildout, but that had not happened. Though he understands it’s a lot of money, even when MA breaks ground it would take 12-18 months to complete construction.

Gustafson said his goal was to cut a check in the first week of July so that MA would have no lease payments in FY24-25. The board unanimously approved the purchase of modulars.

Major Gifts and Corporate Sponsorships program

Executive Director Collin Vinchattle said he received a lot of feedback that the MA community would like to expand facilities, high school programs, and electives. He and Gustafson are working with the administration on a five-year capital improvement plan. He said that bond refinancing would not be able to cover all projects.

Vinchattle requested the board consider a donation coordinator position to focus on large gifts to MA. This person would reach out to donors, keep legacy donations moving forward, and possibly run a capital campaign. He noted that MA could consider different compensation structures from a percentage to a base salary plus percentage and the position could be evaluated semi-annually. He said things to consider include the initial cost, role clarification, definition of a major gift, and end goals.

Graham asked Vinchattle and Gustafson to explore this and bring back a proposal. He expressed appreciation for Operations Manager Jake Dicus and all he has done over the years and appreciates that these two roles would work collaboratively. Vinchattle said he would touch base with each board member to gather their input.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Carle and the entire board recognized outgoing interim Executive Director Kim McClelland. Carle presented McClelland with a certificate and gift. McClelland thanked the board for the opportunity to serve in her own backyard.
• Vinchattle reported on the excitement of the first graduation from Monument Academy’s East Campus, which included 21 high school students. He noted that it was a beautiful day on the school’s front lawn, with speeches by Graham and valedictorian Scott Kohlhase.
• Vinchattle reported that the secondary school administrative team was in place with Angela Duca as principal and Jessie Davis as assistant principal.
• The board approved changes to Policy 1500B Executive Director to update the position title, noting it would not be renumbering the policy. It also approved Policy 1500C Chief Financial Officer, removing the information on procurement, which has been moved to a separate policy.
• Finance Director Laura Polen presented the April financials, highlighting three streams of revenue that are still outstanding. She reviewed expenses and revenues highlighting the general fund, bond repayment funds for each campus, and the student activity fund.
• Graham confirmed that construction on Highway 105 and around the West Campus should be completed by the time school starts in August. However, construction on Highway 105 itself will continue.
• The board unanimously approved a resolution to change the authorized signatures for its ColoTrust account to add Polen. It also approved signature authorizations for its Integrity Bank accounts to add Polen and Business Manager Diane Smith.
• The board unanimously approved a contract with Gustafson as interim CFO for fiscal year 24-25.
• The board unanimously approved a contract with the Monument Police Department for school resource officers with a small price increase and other changes to reflect the makeup of each campus.
• Vinchattle asked to delay the vote on the MA/D38 contract until the July board meeting to give him more time to review the contract since he was new in his position. The board agreed to wait for the vote.
• The board voted unanimously to approve a contract with All Copiers, its current company, upon the recommendation of Dicus based on the negotiated cost per copy and the relationship established with the company.
• The MA board will hold a retreat on July 12 at 9 a.m. in the Platinum Group conference room.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, July 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. For more information, visit bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Health insurance benefits changing
• Board election results
• Fundraising update
• Personnel and organization chart changes
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

Monument Academy (MA) held its regular meeting on May 9, followed by a special meeting via Zoom on May 14. The board heard about plans to change to an alternative plan for health benefits, announced its new board members, reported on fundraising efforts, and provided an update on personnel changes.

Health insurance benefits changing

Acting Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson reported that MA faced high claims and an increase in healthcare costs of 10% to 15% with its current vendor, Cigna. MA started looking for different options, surveyed staff, and decided to pursue an alternative to the traditional insurance model. Noting that UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, and Kaiser Permanente make billions of dollars and are seeing steep increases in their stock values, he brought his expertise from managing the $30 million insurance plan at D11. Krista Pelley, director of People Operations, did a lot of work pulling in logistics, he said.

Pelley said that Cigna employer and employee premiums, deductibles, co-pays, and maximum out-of-pocket costs have increased dramatically. With MA’s contribution of $770 per employee, employees might pay nothing for the employee alone to over $18,000 for the employee plus their family. With the proposed plan and a reduction in MA’s contribution to $700, employees would pay nothing for the employee alone to up to $6,000 per year for the employee plus their family. This would leave more money in employees’ pockets, she said. MA would also save about $30,000 annually.

An evaluation team consisting of Pelley, incoming Executive Director Colin Vinchattle, Gustafson, Operations Manager Jake Dicus and Secondary Campus Registrar Laura Polen formed to explore a non-traditional plan alternative. The new plan leverages a Littleton-based company called Peak Benefits (www.getpeakbenefits.com), a consultant for healthcare plans that claims to disrupt the health insurance industry, to pull together cost-saving alternatives. MA employees and dependents will have access to Pinnacle Network (www.pinnacleapc.com), which offers subscription-based primary care that claims to provide a higher level of quality medical care than traditional insurance plans.

Medical and prescription benefits will move from Cigna to Redirect Health (www.redirecthealth.com), which requires the use of a member app to coordinate care virtually or in person, navigates the healthcare system, and provides follow-up. MA will also offer a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) where the employer provides the plan funding and employees can request reimbursement for actual medical expenses incurred up to that amount. Employees who use all their HRA before year-end must cover subsequent health bills out-of-pocket or using a flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA).

Pelley said she wanted to start by speaking to staff, getting emails out to them, and giving them opportunities to ask questions. Pelley made use of technology to solicit feedback and questions. One question raised a concern about a conflict of interest since the CEO of Pinnacle, Dr. John Dygert, is the husband of an incoming board member. Pelley contacted MA’s legal counsel, who noted that the incoming board member’s term doesn’t start until July but that after that, she should recuse herself from voting on anything to do with insurance or providers.

Gustafson said that change is hard, especially when discussing healthcare, and acknowledged that people have primary care physicians (PCPs), specialists, and prescriptions that are near and dear to their hearts and health. MA took this leap, he said, knowing it would be difficult. Team members from the health benefit companies and MA fielded questions. Redirect will work with PCPs who do not accept this coverage to try to sign them up. Dialysis is covered, but organ transplants are not; if the employee is rejected for that, it is considered a loss of coverage, and the employee would be able to get a plan in the individual market and have their premiums reimbursed via the HRA. Gustafson said the two biggest changes are the savings for employees, equivalent to a 10% raise, and needing to plan procedures with Redirect ahead of time.

Staff members who attended the board meeting noted that they didn’t receive much information, didn’t have time to research, and felt a lack of clarity. A staff member said that staff do not understand this type of program, having never heard of it and were feeling panicked that this might be approved at the board meeting. Pelley said MA was going to hold four meetings of 20-30 employees so that they could have a discussion so employees could understand what was going on. Another staff member echoed concerns of feeling rushed, pushing back on negative statements about UCHealth, which had supported her financially.

Asked if staff would be able to provide input before a vote, board President Ryan Graham said the board was being asked to take action tonight. Gustafson noted that staff would leave soon and must complete open enrollment by June 30. Pelley said the board could wait until Monday or Tuesday. Graham asked the board to consider a special meeting on Tuesday, allowing employees at both campuses to meet to discuss the proposal. Pelley said the first session with employees would be held the following day, and a recording would be available.

The board unanimously approved a special Zoom meeting on May 14. Vinchattle reported good attendance at the employee meetings at both campuses and a mostly positive response from attendees. The board unanimously approved moving their health benefits from Cigna to Peak Benefits and authorizing the executive director to sign the necessary documents.

Board election results

At its regular meeting, board member Matt Ross announced the results of its board elections, which saw the re-election of Vice President Lindsay Clinton and the selection of Jelinda Dygert. Their three-year terms will start on July 1.

Fundraising update

Dicus began by thanking the sponsors of MA’s gala, which raised over $134,000 for MA. He also thanked staff and board members for their help with the event and its silent auction. The gala is the biggest fundraiser. MA will always have its Lynx fund, but it was not as successful as last year. Other fundraisers include facility rentals and the school store. The community donated over $50,000 to teachers in gift cards they can use to buy supplies and science kits.

Dicus said MA raised $215,000 overall, including upcoming facility rentals, exceeding its $200,000 goal.

Personnel and organization chart changes

Pelley reviewed personnel changes, noting that 14 staff members are not returning. Three of those are retiring, and one was cut due to budgetary constraints. She said reasons for leaving included “personal” and “leaving the profession,” noting a 90% retention rate. MA has filled the middle school English and Latin positions and extended an offer for a custodian position at its East Campus. MA has a newly proposed job description for athletic director/dean, having decided to use existing staff for middle school mental health, saving $50,000 for a middle school counselor. Pelley said math and tech applicants are needed, and there were three applicants for registrar assistant. The hiring committee for the secondary principal comprises four parents and six staff members.

Regarding employees changing positions, Pelley said in elementary, one teaching assistant was moving to a teacher position, a third-grade teacher was moving to physical education, a full-time kindergarten teacher was moving to part-time, and a tech teacher would move to the position of tech assistant support. She also noted that Laura Polen would move from Registrar to Finance, and Vinchattle was moving from middle school principal to executive director. Pelley confirmed that she had spoken to legal counsel to verify the rules about posting positions internally or externally as required.

Pelley noted that the proposed organizational chart had been discussed and showed proposed reporting structure changes and position removals or additions. She explained the meaning of the colors and said the board needed to review the job descriptions for the athletic director and dean assistant. The board unanimously approved the organizational chart along with the job descriptions.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Carle was excited to spotlight Scott Kohlhase, the first valedictorian from Monument Academy East Campus High School. Kohlhase could not attend because he was participating in a Senior Sunset event, so Vinchattle accepted his certificate.
• The board awarded Haynes the HVAC contract for the West Campus to replace two of its units which are nearing their end of life. The board unanimously approved a contract for $160,323 with Haynes and agreed to draw down the Preschool Fund balance by $82,000 to help pay for it. Gustafson suggested meeting with the board about a five- to 10-year capital plan.
• The board unanimously approved the FY24-25 proposed budget, along with resolutions for the appropriation of funds, use of beginning fund balances, and inter-fund borrowing.
• The board unanimously approved policies DJ Purchasing and Contracting and DK Payroll Procedures. The purchasing policy creates a hierarchy of who can sign contracts. The payroll procedures policy is a recommended best practice and provides controls for position changes, additions, and deletions, which must go to the board for approval. MA board policies can be found at http://bit.y/ma-policies.
• The board agreed to hold its annual retreat on July 12 at 9 a.m., the venue of which will be determined.
• Ross reported that the West Campus School Accountability and Advisory Committee (SAAC) only received 37 responses to its end-of-year survey compared to 140 in the past. The West Campus SAAC wrote a letter raising questions about the organization’s nature and purpose and the possible benefits of combining with the East Campus SAAC.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month.

The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, June 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other D38 articles

• Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, May 19 – Whetstine named superintendent; board receives annual committee reports (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, May 13 – Budget priorities, 2025-26 committee goals discussed (6/7/2025)
• Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, April 22 – Board announces finalists for superintendent, approves construction and location of Home School Enrichment Academy (5/3/2025)
• D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, April 8 – Discussion of Priority 2 academic excellence, superintendent search (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, March 17 – Board posts superintendent position internally, receives updates on Home School Enrichment Academy and Transitions Services (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, Feb. 18 – Board recognizes achievements, hears about Arts Education and Career and Innovation Center (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)

• Executive director
• Board election
• Financials and budget
• Reorganization
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

Monument Academy (MA) held two special and one regular board meetings in April. The special meeting on April 4 was a public interview of executive director finalists. At its regular meeting on April 11, the board questioned board candidates, discussed the employee handbook, and presented committee reports. At its April 25 special meeting, the board announced its executive director decision, reviewed financials, and heard a proposed budget for FY24-25. The board also considered updating its organization chart and moving employees into different positions.

Executive director

MA had planned to interview all the finalists for its executive director position at its April 4 meeting. Board President Ryan Graham noted that 278 applications came in and that the hiring committee had narrowed it down to fewer than 10, and the board narrowed it down to three: Joshua Yancy, Colin Vinchattle, and David Stanfield. He said that Yancy and Stanfield had withdrawn their applications. Graham said the community voice matters, so the board should proceed with the interview.

Vinchattle thanked the board for the opportunity to be part of the process and team, saying that MA was important to his family, with two children attending and his wife working as an elementary teacher. He spoke of his 17 years in education, including his time as MA’s middle school principal for the last two years. He has a teacher, coach, principal, school board member, and superintendent background. He has worked in charters and traditional public schools in small communities and large school districts. He looks forward to working with the board to care for staff, students, and families.

In response to board questions, Vinchattle said his leadership style was that of a shepherd, prioritizing resources to benefit students and providing the tools teachers need. He said meeting academic growth goals boils down to quality instruction and that he would hire teachers based on their love for children and, if necessary, teach them to teach. He felt it essential to get principals in the classroom and allow them to coach the teachers. Vinchattle said the MA community already wants to invest and that he would build relationships with the district and get out in the community to make connections.

He said his strengths are passion, loyalty, and hard work, adding that his weaknesses are an inability to say no, learning to make tough decisions and have tough conversations, and pausing to celebrate the wins. MA’s biggest challenge, Vinchattle noted, is ensuring it is fiscally sound and invests in its strategic growth. He closed by saying that public speaking is not his greatest strength but that he is a man of action.

The board went into executive session to receive legal advice on specific legal matters related to an employment investigation and for personnel matters regarding school administrators. When it returned, the board did not take action on the executive director position. It announced that Vinchattle would be the interim building principal for both the middle and high school until the end of June in light of the unexpected recent resignation of the high school Principal David Kennington.

At its April 11 meeting, the board unanimously approved having the HR subcommittee and legal counsel enter contract negotiations with Vinchattle.

At the April 25 special meeting, the board went into executive session for legal advice regarding administrator contract matters and advice to negotiators regarding executive director contract and consultant contract matters, and related discussion of personnel performance and evaluation. The board returned after an hour and unanimously approved the employment agreement, a proposal by Lis Richard of Helping Schools Thrive for mentorship services, and decided to have Vinchattle start as executive director on June 1.

Note: Lis Richard served as principal at Monument Academy until 2017, when she left to become superintendent at Creede, Colo.

Graham noted that Interim Executive Director Kim McClelland had been brought on initially for six months but had served for 18 months. Graham said it was a blessing to have her and that MA has been a family to her.

Board election

At the regular meeting, board member Matt Ross announced that there had been six candidates for the two open board seats, but one had pulled out. The remaining candidates are Lindsay Clinton (current board vice president), Jelinda Dygert, Jeffrey Henry, Christina McLuckie, and Wendi Pacheco.

The candidates introduced themselves in opening statements and answered questions from the board, with each candidate getting a chance to answer first. Candidates fielded questions about how long they had been at MA and why they wanted to run; MA’s greatest challenges and strengths; how they would support current school policies and board resolutions with regards to parental rights and student privacy; what strengths they would bring to the board; ideas for additional funding to support MA; how to balance board decisions with teacher and parent input; their view of classical/core knowledge programs; and how to find unity when facing a difficult board decision.

Candidates also answered what their top three goals were; the primary role of school administrators and to what degree they should be free to make decisions based on MA’s philosophy and policies; whether they believed parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children; what was their moral standard; a time when they were attacked for an unpopular decision; the role of schools in providing for the mental health of their students; and whether they were prepared for the pressure of public life.

The questions and answers are available on YouTube at https://bit.ly/ma-special-04Apr2.

At the end of the questioning, Ross thanked the candidates. He said he would solicit additional community questions for the candidates to answer in writing. The MA board election opened on April 22 and closed on April 30, listing the candidates randomly. The board clarified that each stakeholder in a household would be able to vote for up to two candidates, and the top two vote-getters would fill the open seats.

Financials and budget

At the April 11 meeting, financial consultant Glenn Gustafson had Laura Polen, secondary campus registrar, present the February financials. He noted that MA had collected $15,000 of $47,000 in delinquent student fees.

Gustafson said he had met with three bond firms that could refinance MA’s bonds and cross-collateralize both campuses if needed. The bad news, he said, is that interest rates are high at 6.9%, but MA has until 2026, and he feels interest rates will come down. He noted that MA could refinance its 2019 debt structure for the East Campus, free up some money to acquire a parking lot for the West Campus, and add an academic wing on the East Campus and possibly some athletic facilities.

Gustafson noted that he is working with Operations Director Jake Dicus to get requests for proposals (RFPs) for copiers, IT support, snow plowing, and more. He noted that it cost MA $28,000 for snow removal at the East Campus after the big storm in March.

Polen reported on the General Fund, Preschool Fund, Facilities Corporation for the West Campus Bonds, Foundation Corporation for the East Campus Bonds, and the Student Activity Fund. She noted that MA is awaiting five revenue streams: Gala fundraising; Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds of $12,000; an IRS Refund from FY21-22 of $120,000; the shared Mill Levy Override (MLO) funds from D38; and the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) funds of $1 million. Gustafson noted that the ERTC funds were in limbo, citing a Gazette article about the IRS dealing with fraudulent applications.

At the April 25 meeting, Polen presented the March financials as well as the Q3 financials. Gustafson noted that MA paid some big bills in April. He thanked Polen for her work, saying she continues to grow and do more of the process as he does less.

For the draft proposed FY24-25 budget, Gustafson said most districts and charters use incremental-based budgeting, showing the difference from the past year. He noted that the School Finance Act is still pending, but he is projecting per-pupil revenue (PPR) at $10,791, nearly $700 more per student. His best guess on enrollment shows a big drop of 40 students due to the bubble at fifth grade, which is moving to sixth grade and, hopefully, to the East Campus. He noted that $10,000 per student represented about $400,000 in lost revenue. He expects MA to stabilize and gently grow. Middle school is very steady, and MA is looking at an increase of 22 students in high school. He expects an overall decline of 12 students, but MA must account for each school separately according to bond agreements.

For expenses, Gustafson noted that previous pay raises were big, but MA would have to dial back to hit its bond targets. He said MA is looking at an average 3% salary increase, which will cost $181,000 plus another $211,000 in benefits. MA will have to deficit spend about $10,000 on its new home school enrichment program for the first year, but he expects it to break even in the long run and become a pipeline to bring kids into the school. MA will reallocate expenses for administrators, information technology (IT), and human resources (HR) between the West and East Campus as enrollments shift.

Next, he added requests from administrators and principals on the West Campus and other necessary items. He added another one-half school resource officer (SRO) and expects the cost from the Town of Monument to increase significantly. MA expects to lose two teachers at West Campus from attrition due to the drop in enrollment. Gustafson added funds for professional development and to acquire land for a parking lot on West Campus, which is critical.

The “big gorilla” in the budget for West Campus is the failing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units. There are nine units, and each will cost $100,000 to replace. He is requesting to add funds to replace two of them in next year’s budget, asking for a thumbs up so he can get started with a formal vote at the May meeting. The West Campus budget has a surplus of $118,000 without the HVAC units. Gustafson, noting that the Preschool Fund has $100,000, proposed moving a significant portion to the General Fund to cover the HVAC units.

The budget increases snow plowing and maintenance, adds a school psychologist, increases marketing, and adds money to improve board technology. The new budget hopes to spend less on legal and to account for software subscriptions and supplies used by HR. MA is also considering adding classes such as physics and teacher assistants to take the load off Middle School teachers who teach during their planning period, which is not a best practice, he said.

Other expenses include half of a custodial assistant, additional instructional supplies, restoring professional development to East Campus, and a budget for Title 9 investigations. The total costs at West Campus are $1.1 million, and there is only $900,000 in new revenue, so the difference would have to come from reserves, Gustafson said.

For East Campus, Gustafson said he wanted to make it a priority to start building MA’s bond compliance reserve. MA should budget 10% as its debt service coverage ratio is 1.1. With $7 million in revenue, the reserve should be $700,000. MA has never made that ratio and hasn’t had any pushback yet, but it needs to start being a good steward and meeting its bond covenant agreement. Gustafson proposes to budget $200,000 as a start that the bond company would applaud.

Clinton asked why the budget prioritizes a social worker/psychologist over a teacher. Vinchattle noted that the responsibility fell on him and Assistant Principal Angela Duca in some areas where they lacked the skills and time. He said that a mental health professional is needed to help with a threat assessment or a suicide assessment.

Finally, Gustafson said he hopes to lower the school’s contribution to insurance by leveraging Peak Benefits. He said the total premium could drop for employees and save up to $1,000 monthly. The transition will be gentle, so people won’t be required to change their primary care physician, but if they go to the Pinnacol Group, there will be several benefits. It is hard to break away from the current broker, but this seems a win-win as staff would get better health care at a lower cost. It moves from being fully insured to having employees more invested in their health care. It is not self-funding but is heading that way to cut out the middleman. He hopes to bring a contract to the May meeting to be approved.

Gustafson said MA needed to get its budget to D38 a month ahead of D38’s June deadline and will ask the board to approve the budget at its May meeting.

Reorganization

McClelland said that the most significant change to the organizational chart was not having two principals at the secondary campus but having one principal, one assistant principal, and one dean to save money. Graham said a parent asked at a recent coffee chat if that was a good idea. Vinchattle said it would result in one vision, one line of communication, and one resource for teachers and students. He also said it avoided competing interests and noted it made sense from a fiscal standpoint, but that might change as MA gets to full capacity. McClelland said MA should post the secondary principal position as soon as possible and could decide the structure at the May board meeting.

Gustafson asked if the board needed to approve other organizational changes involving current employees, such as moving Polen into the finance director position. Vinchattle said hiring a principal might require filling other positions if internal staff applied, saying the new principal would decide who to hire for assistant principal and dean. After some discussion, Graham and Clinton emphasized their concern that the process be legally compliant. Director of People Operations Krista Pelley said she would review the posting requirements with legal counsel.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• The board approved updates to the Employee Handbook, which designates the executive director as the approver and sets a schedule for paying out unused leave.
• Graham said the road in front of the school would be completed in the fall and would create a second loop in front of the building. MA will remove the temporary fence, and the gates to the back part of the school will be closed during the school day.
• Ross reported for the School Accountability and Advisory Committee (SAAC) on the West Campus that Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) participation had increased from 60% to 80%. The PTO has been busy and has many volunteer opportunities, and the end-of-year survey was closed on April 29.
• Clinton reported that the SAAC East surveys would be out shortly.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, May. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other D38 articles

• Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, May 19 – Whetstine named superintendent; board receives annual committee reports (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, May 13 – Budget priorities, 2025-26 committee goals discussed (6/7/2025)
• Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, April 22 – Board announces finalists for superintendent, approves construction and location of Home School Enrichment Academy (5/3/2025)
• D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, April 8 – Discussion of Priority 2 academic excellence, superintendent search (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, March 17 – Board posts superintendent position internally, receives updates on Home School Enrichment Academy and Transitions Services (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, Feb. 18 – Board recognizes achievements, hears about Arts Education and Career and Innovation Center (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)

• Executive director finalists named
• Policies updated
• Highlights
• Executive director finalists named
• Policies updated
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

Monument Academy (MA) held two special meetings and one regular board meeting by Zoom in March. Both special meetings consisted primarily of executive sessions, the second of which yielded finalists for MA’s open executive director position. The board also updated policies and heard administrative and committee reports.

Executive director finalists named

The MA board held a special meeting on Thursday, March 21 to go into executive session to interview and discuss candidates not yet named as finalists for the position of executive director. Before entering the executive session, it added another item “to discuss personnel matters re: an employee grievance and legal advice related to the grievance process.”

The board returned after two hours and unanimously advanced the finalists for the executive director position: Joshua Yancy, Colin Vinchattle, and David Stanfield. Vinchattle is currently MA’s middle school principal.

A special meeting will be held on April 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the East Campus Gym to hear from the finalists.

No action was announced regarding the grievance issue.

Policies updated

The MA board unanimously approved an update to its policy IKE-MA Promotion, Retention and Acceleration of Student. Interim Executive Director Kim McClelland said this came to her attention from a registrar and she noticed some red flags in the processes which required a replacement policy. She spoke of the need to use the school’s Multi-Tiered Support System (MTSS) to ensure proper interventions and support. She noted that in the past, parents had wanted to hold students back so they could do a sport again. The policy addresses how to handle cases for students who have an educational support plan such as an IEP, 504 or ALP. It also requires that elementary students be administered the Light’s Retention Scale before any final retention decision.

The board also unanimously approved the updated policy 1525 State Assessments Refusal Policy. The changes include updating the form and deadline information and by adding the requirement for counseling should a parent/guardian choose to excuse their student from testing once it has begun.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights included:

• MA held a special board meeting on Sunday, March 10 to go into executive session for legal advice on specific legal matters related to personnel contracts, investigations, and processes and for negotiations and advice to negotiators regarding employment contracts and agreements; and for personnel matters related to the high school and central administration. The board reconvened after an hour and half, taking no action.
• The board went into executive session after its regular meeting on March 14 for negotiations and advice to negotiators regarding executive director interviews and contract discussions and to discuss specialized details of security arrangements or investigations. They returned after more than two hours, taking no further action.
• McClelland spoke with D38 interim Superintendent Amber Whetstine about adding language to its charter contract to confirm that MA can offer homeschool enrichment. The board unanimously approved the language proposed by its legal counsel.
• The board unanimously approved funding of $99 for election software for the upcoming board election and asked the Governance Committee to amend the policy so that the authorization would be automatic for future elections.
• Financial consultant Glenn Gustafson reported that he was very optimistic that financial plans are coming together and that MA is poised to finish the year on target for its budget. His number one priority for the FY24-25 budget is to restore East Campus to financial viability.
• Gustafson said the School Finance Act was still in limbo but task force recommendations would result in a reduction in D38 funding, though that might get delayed until FY25-26. Board President Ryan Graham pointed out that could impact MA to the tune of $700,000 and suggested the community reach out to representatives.
• Graham said that when school starts in August, both circulation roads should be available.
• Board member Emily Belisle said the Curriculum Committee proposes pausing the implementation of the new math curriculum to discuss changes in the curriculum adoption policy. Board member Karen Hoida said the Governance Committee supports this proposal.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The board will hold a special meeting on Thursday, April 4 with the executive director finalists. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at see https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Monument Academy School Board, March 10, 14, and 21 – Board selects executive director candidates

By Jackie Burhans

Monument Academy (MA) held two special meetings and one regular board meeting by Zoom in March. Both special meetings consisted primarily of executive sessions, the second of which yielded finalists for MA’s open executive director position. The board also updated policies and heard administrative and committee reports.

Executive director finalists named

The MA board held a special meeting on Thursday, March 21 to go into executive session to interview and discuss candidates not yet named as finalists for the position of executive director. Before entering the executive session, it added another item “to discuss personnel matters re: an employee grievance and legal advice related to the grievance process.”

The board returned after two hours and unanimously advanced the finalists for the executive director position: Joshua Yancy, Colin Vinchattle, and David Stanfield. Vinchattle is currently MA’s middle school principal.

A special meeting will be held on April 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the East Campus Gym to hear from the finalists.

No action was announced regarding the grievance issue.

Policies updated

The MA board unanimously approved an update to its policy IKE-MA Promotion, Retention and Acceleration of Student. Interim Executive Director Kim McClelland said this came to her attention from a registrar and she noticed some red flags in the processes which required a replacement policy. She spoke of the need to use the school’s Multi-Tiered Support System (MTSS) to ensure proper interventions and support. She noted that in the past, parents had wanted to hold students back so they could do a sport again. The policy addresses how to handle cases for students who have an educational support plan such as an IEP, 504 or ALP. It also requires that elementary students be administered the Light’s Retention Scale before any final retention decision.

The board also unanimously approved the updated policy 1525 State Assessments Refusal Policy. The changes include updating the form and deadline information and by adding the requirement for counseling should a parent/guardian choose to excuse their student from testing once it has begun.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights included:

• MA held a special board meeting on Sunday, March 10 to go into executive session for legal advice on specific legal matters related to personnel contracts, investigations, and processes and for negotiations and advice to negotiators regarding employment contracts and agreements; and for personnel matters related to the high school and central administration. The board reconvened after an hour and half, taking no action.
• The board went into executive session after its regular meeting on March 14 for negotiations and advice to negotiators regarding executive director interviews and contract discussions and to discuss specialized details of security arrangements or investigations. They returned after more than two hours, taking no further action.
• McClelland spoke with D38 interim Superintendent Amber Whetstine about adding language to its charter contract to confirm that MA can offer homeschool enrichment. The board unanimously approved the language proposed by its legal counsel.
• The board unanimously approved funding of $99 for election software for the upcoming board election and asked the Governance Committee to amend the policy so that the authorization would be automatic for future elections.
• Financial consultant Glenn Gustafson reported that he was very optimistic that financial plans are coming together and that MA is poised to finish the year on target for its budget. His number one priority for the FY24-25 budget is to restore East Campus to financial viability.
• Gustafson said the School Finance Act was still in limbo but task force recommendations would result in a reduction in D38 funding, though that might get delayed until FY25-26. Board President Ryan Graham pointed out that could impact MA to the tune of $700,000 and suggested the community reach out to representatives.
• Graham said that when school starts in August, both circulation roads should be available.
• Board member Emily Belisle said the Curriculum Committee proposes pausing the implementation of the new math curriculum to discuss changes in the curriculum adoption policy. Board member Karen Hoida said the Governance Committee supports this proposal.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The board will hold a special meeting on Thursday, April 4 with the executive director finalists. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at see https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Board passes parental rights policy
• Board resignation
  • Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

Monument Academy (MA) held its regular meeting on Feb. 8 where it passed a parental rights policy after much discussion. It held a special meeting on Feb. 22 to reorganize after a board member’s resignation.

In addition, MA reviewed its Q2 academic dashboard, approved moving forward with its homeschool program, heard administrative and committee reports, and discussed its assessment opt-out policies.

Board passes parental rights policy

Board President Ryan Graham reviewed the history of MA’s parental rights policy, which describes how to handle transgender students. Based on past discussions, the current version strikes out the example of trying out for sports and the statement that parents may view their child’s Fourth Amendment right to privacy as being violated by the actions of the transgender student and are encouraged to seek legal counsel. Graham read the entirety of the policy JRT Parental Rights Policy which can be found at bit.ly/ma-policyJRT.

Earlier, several public comments were made by members of the audience supporting the board, its resolution, and encouraging it to pass this policy. Commenters included former El Paso County State Rep. Tim Geitner, who is the board president for Liberty Tree Academy which is having similar conversations.

The board’s legal counsel, Brad Miller, of Miller Farmer Carson Law, spoke, and while declining to give detailed legal advice in a public meeting responded to some of the concerns that were raised at the previous board meeting. He noted that there was discussion on whether student rights trumped parental rights and whether the case cited, Troxel v. Granville, was on point. He said we live in a society where courts have sided with the rights of children in multiple instances and claimed that the Colorado Legislature was trying to eliminate the role of parents. He said that even if the board was the Rosa Parks of this current age, what they are proposing wasn’t direct civil disobedience nor a blatant violation of the law which is yet to be clarified.

Miller went on to say that, speaking of religion, the board might get accosted with the idea that Romans 13 and other New Testament verses say that the government is an extension of God’s authority, and [MA] should be subject to it. But if the board looked to Acts and Ephesians it would be reminded that while it is subject to human institutions it should also obey God rather than men. The Colorado Legislature, he said, has placed schools like MA in the role of being accessories to a very consequential moral redefinition of individual identity. His view, he added, is that every society that has attempted to redefine personhood has failed.

He went on to address the concern for risk avoidance, saying he had consistently informed MA that the proposed policy would elevate MA’s risk of being sued. It could be that the cost would be significant, he said, or potentially the adoption of this policy could augment MA’s enrollment and encourage various forms of support and money. He also suggested that non-action could force families to consider whether the risk of public education could outweigh its convenience.

Miller said that concerns about needing policies on sports and bathroom monitoring could be addressed by administrative regulation and that MA did not need to remove its statement that affirmed a parent’s right to sue over perceived violation of their child’s privacy, although it had already done so. Finally, he noted that the legislature was considering proposals that would directly conflict with this policy and the board might need to reconsider it next year.

Board Treasurer Joe Buczkowski pointed out that the policy did not prohibit “biological males” from competing on girls’ sports teams or from using girls’ bathrooms. Two issues, he said, serve as his opposition to this policy. Firstly: How many different battles of parental rights are the school willing to take on, and what is the cost of those battles. Secondly, he felt that the policy could be considered to be prejudiced against the voluntary contact student because it requires a principal to call home even if that is against the express wishes of the student.

Buczkowski noted that the rights of a student who wants to transition might conflict with their parents’ rights, and he wasn’t sure MA wanted to get into that battle. He went on to say that enforcement of the policy required staff and teachers to know a student’s biological sex, which was impossible to know. The policy requires staff members to monitor bathrooms, and he did not want to put them in the position of making those policies without the board.

Returning to the question of financial implications, Buczkowski said the board should reduce financial risk as much as possible and that MA had a track record of making very bad financial decisions. He specified that when building the East Campus, the financial projections were beyond the building’s capacity based on the number of classrooms. The gymnasium, he specified, is useless for middle school and high school competitions and would cost millions to fix it. He said there was no budget for a parental rights legal battle and that MA was in the hole by $150,000 to $160,000 needed in fundraising just to balance its current budget. He suggested MA consider having the board members that vote in favor agree to indemnify the school on all financial costs or to do a fundraising campaign to set aside a reserve for these legal costs.

Miller suggested that board members who vote no should indemnify the school should there be a lawsuit if they do not take action. Board Vice President Lindsay Clinton expressed her support for the policy, saying that when she drops her kids off, she does not give up her parental rights. She noted that they are in the process of hiring an executive director who must support, uphold, and enforce board polices. Board member Craig Carle also expressed his support for the policy, saying he understood the risks for the school but wanted to show courage in the face of adversity. Board member Matt Ross said that the board must not let fear of man but rather the fear of God drive its decision. He said he believed the God of the Bible was watching their decision. Board member Emily Belisle said that this policy is not radical and did not attack anyone’s lifestyle but was instead a way to maintain order in schools and required that parents be kept informed on matters that greatly affect their child.

Graham read his statement supporting the policy, saying the opposition had impugned the board by saying it had not done its research on the conflict between parental and child rights. He said it was not the principal’s role to subvert the authority of a parent in their child’s life and that there were a multitude of schools where one could abdicate their parental authority and the school would be glad to exploit that. He said that tonight’s town hall is not to wage war against any schools but to go after those who have set their sights on our children. Although some say MA is creating a hostile environment, he said, MA’s goal was to protect all students, citing a disputed statistic on transgender youth suicide rates. Graham said that MA protects the truth and was being ridiculed, mocked, labeled, and threatened. He thanked the Lord for the courage, conviction, and resolve of many of the board members he served with, saying “we can win and, God willing, we will win, even if we get tossed in the fire.”

The board passed the policy on a vote of 6-1 with Buczkowski voting no.

Board resignation

At a special meeting on Jan. 22, Graham reported that Buczkowski had resigned from the board on Feb. 12 thus leading to a vacancy. Buczkowski’s term was set to end on June 30. Per the board’s bylaws, Graham said, the board could appoint a replacement or run as a six-member board until the June 30 election, and he moved to do so. The board unanimously approved the motion.

Graham noted that Buczkowski had been the board treasurer and that position needed to be filled. Carle agreed to serve as treasurer.

Buczkowski had been on both the Finance and Governance Committees. Carle was already on the Finance Committee and Graham offered to join as the second board member. Board member Karen Hoida was already a member of the Governance Committee and Belisle offered to step in as the second board member. Belisle asked for a second member to join her on the Curriculum Committee and Clinton agreed to do so.

Graham noted that, per their respective bylaws, the Monument Building Corp. and Monument Foundation, two 501(c)3 organizations which hold the West and East Campus debts, required a MA board member representative. Since Buczkowski, as treasurer, had been on those two boards, Graham formally moved that Carle replace him as the MA board representative. The board unanimously approved this motion.

Finally, the board unanimously authorized a change in the approved bank signers to remove Buczkowski and replace him with Carle.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Carle spotlighted student Addison Michalak, an MA middle schooler who competed as the United States of America Track and Field (USATF) national junior championship placing fifth in the 3K cross-country 11-12 girls’ division. She was named USATF girl athlete of the year.
• Acting Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson noted that the Employee Retention Tax Credit program had been suspended by the Internal Revenue Service in December due to rampant fraud, then reopened with a much earlier deadline of Jan. 31. MA has submitted for $1.3 million in payroll costs and might receive it in summer of 2024 but has been advised to sit on it in case of an audit. He also noted that MA was due $180,000 from the charter startup grant it received and must now find eligible expenses for which it could be reimbursed. Finally, he reported that the interim School Finance Committee had proposed changes to the School Funding Act that could result in School District 38 as a whole losing $3 million.
• Analytical Diagnostics consultant Jennifer Strawbridge presented the MA mid-year academic data shown in the meeting highlights at: bit.ly/ma-20240208-highlights.
• The board unanimously approved moving forward with the Monument Academy Homeschool Partnership program after getting full support from Gustafson to invest in it knowing it may need to be subsidized for two years from West Campus cash reserves.
• School Culture and Assessment Coordinator Anna Arndt brought the board’s attention to a new policy for state testing which gives students a score even if they only partially complete a test. Toward that end she asked the board to consider changes to its policy 1525 State Assessment Refusal Policy and allow administration to alert parents to upcoming changes to that policy. The board agreed to allow a letter to be sent and the policy to be reviewed at its next meeting.
• Director of Academics Tine Leone described the process used to replace the Saxon Math curriculum, which is going away, with Reveal Math. She thanked everyone involved and said that after the public review period the board will be voting on March 14. She hopes to order teacher editions of the curriculum before people leave for the summer.
• The board unanimously approved the executive director hiring timeline in March and April, which includes a screening committee meeting, a regular board meeting, a special board meeting and executive session, informal interviews and site visit, another special board meeting and executive session and an April 4 community town hall, culminating with a public vote on hiring the new executive director on April 11.

**********

The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at see bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Financial risks of parental rights policy
• Audit presentation
• Homeschool Partnership program
• Executive director succession plan
• Enrollment and election policies updated
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

Monument Academy (MA) held its regular meeting on Jan. 11 where it discussed a second attempt at its parental rights policy regarding transgender students, including the risk of being sued. MA also heard a presentation on a possible homeschool enrichment program and an executive director succession plan.

The MA school board held a special meeting on Jan. 5 to pass a time-sensitive policy on enrollment and board elections. The meeting ended in an executive session for legal advice on matters related to policy adoption and implementation and for discussions related to Title IX processes, employee performance, and student issues. No action was taken upon return from executive session.

Financial risks of parental rights policy

Board President Ryan Graham noted that the MA board heard an initial read of its Parental Rights Policy, provided feedback, and asked for a revised draft at a previous meeting. MA requested and received community input, which included approval, disapproval, and concerns. He took it upon himself to write a new draft to incorporate that feedback. The crux of the issue, he said, is that parents have the right to the control, care, and custody of a minor child wanting to transition to a gender that does not align with that assigned at birth. The new policy, he said, tries to support that position while following the laws that govern MA. Graham then proceeded to read aloud the new policy draft, which can be found in its entirety as part of the meeting highlights at www.monumentacademy.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/January-11-2024-Board-Highlights.pdf.

A parent spoke during public comment to support the policy creation and the previous resolution regarding parental rights and transgender students. Board Vice President Lindsay Clinton and board member Craig Carle expressed support for the policy.

Board Treasurer Joe Buczkowski asked that the legal opinion be read aloud. After reaching out to MA’s lawyer, Brad Miller, Graham read Miller’s email verbatim. After advising MA to remove the gender verbiage from the original policy title, Miller said that conventional wisdom would be to adopt the original (milder) version of the policy or no policy at all, which current political winds would support, noting that current courts would probably uphold individual students’ rights over that of parents and peers. Like Susan approaching Aslan the Lion, said Miller, a decision to adopt the new policy would not be safe, but the question is whether, like Aslan, the policy is good. Miller went on to say that, like public officials who supported masks, quarantines, distance learning, and vaccines, public officials who blithely dismissed parental rights may be seen to be wrong in future years.

Miller affirmed that there is a level of risk accompanying the new policy. There are viable legal arguments, he said, that the governing party adopted enforceable laws that mandate a charter school to acquiesce to expressions of dysphoria on the part of students, and it well may be that the law will be found to be consistent with the Constitution. Just as there have been arguments about other challenging topics such as abortion, same-sex marriage, slavery, the age of consent, and women in the military, it also may be true that courts may disagree, and it may take years to resolve. He said that the recent dialogue on financial risk was well-timed but outside of his scope, and MA may wish to continue that discussion. Miller said that now is the time for each board member to step forward and stand as representatives rather than a democracy and decide.

Buczkowski presented some concerns he has with the current draft language. These items can impact the finances of the school, he said, and the board and community need to be aware of it. The policy, he said, tries to be many things: It has elements of the proclamation, the resolution, and a sports, bathroom, and discipline policy. A policy serves as instructions to staff on what to do, but this policy does not provide clarity and confidence in those actions. This policy, he said, perhaps unintentionally, prohibits girls from being on boys’ sports teams, which has been accepted for decades. Board member Emily Belisle noted that MA currently has girls who play on the football team.

Secondly, the policy refers to the resolution saying that parents are encouraged to seek legal counsel, which, Buczkowski said, is not quite accurate. He noted that for other disciplinary actions such as bullying, verbal abuse, vandalism, or theft, there is no such language, and that could be seen as prejudice since the threat of legal action only applies to transgender students.

Thirdly, Buczkowski said the policy could be seen as a threat or intimidation. The process of transitioning at the school involves contact with the principal and ends with the paperwork requirement, which is immediately preceded by the threat of legal action. In any other case of needing a form for such things as a prearranged absence, an application for a sports team, an approved driver, or a parking permit, the process must be frictionless. MA cannot tell parents there could be legal recourse against them when the student hasn’t done anything. He noted that getting your name changed legally at the courthouse does not include the court saying that others may view your actions as a violation of their privacy and encourage those who do to seek legal counsel.

Buczkowski said he was trying to make sure not to expose the school to legal action but that, as written, a female student could sue the school for the right to play on a boys’ team, parents and students could sue because transgender students are treated differently from other students on disciplinary matters, and MA might be sued on issues of students’ vs. parents’ rights. Finally, he said, MA needed to develop its bathroom monitoring policy carefully or risk a lawsuit. He asked the board to consider and discuss whether these are really the battles and opponents they imagined with this policy. He said this policy was battling MA students and parents rather than state and national laws, which were the real opponents. He suggested breaking the policies apart and making the gender transition policy as frictionless as possible. If the board adopts this draft, it will expose the school to a lot of unnecessary financial liability, he said.

Clinton, noting that the policy had been reviewed by legal counsel, asked Buczkowski if he had brought his concerns to Miller and wanted to see what Miller thought. Graham said he didn’t see this as a sports policy, and striking through the one line was easy. He also said he was fine with removing the threat of legal action since it was covered in the resolution. The “hill he would die on,” Graham said, was the requirement for principals to notify parents of a student who expressed an interest in transitioning. Though it might not be legally OK, and he had been told MA might be sued, he hadn’t yet seen a lawsuit. If MA is sued, Graham said, he would bring it back to the community as the voice of the district to dictate MA’s direction. Board member Matt Ross said the goal of avoiding all lawsuits was different from the goal of protecting kids and expressed support for the changes.

Clinton confirmed she wanted to see a vote at the Feb. 8 meeting, given upcoming field trips and leadership changes. She noted that Buczkowski had voted on the resolution in June. Buczkowski replied that all board members signed the resolution, which also said the board affirms that MA shall support the privacy and dignity of each student and shall not discriminate against individuals based on sex, gender expression, and identity. He said he would love to hear more from legal on the student vs. parent rights issue and what body of law supports this policy. Graham said he would revise the draft policy and ask legal counsel to join the Feb. 8 meeting.

The draft policy can be seen in the Jan. 11 board highlights linked above, and the entire discussion can be seen online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8-CCdmpyY0&t=28s.

Audit presentation

Tom Sistare of Hoelting & Company Inc., MA’s audit firm, joined the meeting via Zoom to present MA’s annual audit report. Noting that Hoelting’s team was out last July for internal control testing and had designed the audit based on those tests, Sistare reported an unmodified or clean opinion on the financial statements. He said there were no internal control findings.

Homeschool Partnership program

Interim Chief Operating Officer Kim McClelland presented a potential homeschool enrichment program for MA to offer to families who choose homeschooling over enrollment at MA. She worked with Janyse Skalla, who had done some distance learning work for MA during the pandemic, to make sure that MA’s program stands out by offering personalized learning. A lot of families start homeschooling and get overwhelmed and wish they had support, she said.

McClelland recommended MA focus on kindergarten and first grade to start and hire one program manager/consultant to oversee administrative duties. One full-time teacher would lead the instructional classes that are required to receive funding. MA should hire a classroom assistant for lunch and recess monitoring, she said, and those three positions would make up the core of the MA Homeschool Partnership (MAHP) program. Classes would be held on Tuesday and Thursday with a maximum of 44 students and a minimum of 25 students required to break even. The program would be funded by the state, with each student receiving 50% of per pupil revenue (PPR). MA could decide to start with fewer students and accept an initial loss.

McClelland said she had discussed a marketing plan with Marketing Manager Kendra Kuhlmann and discussed developing a section on MA’s website and holding a Town Hall meeting to gauge interest. She said startup costs would be $3,000, and MAHP would have a curriculum lending library for homeschool parents.

The board consented to extend Skalla’s contract through the Town Hall meeting to move forward with considering the program.

Executive director succession plan

McClelland, who has been acting as executive director (ED) for MA, gave an overview of a succession plan for her position. Graham said the board could approve this plan at the meeting so it could post the position in early February.

Noting that choosing an ED is one of the board’s most important responsibilities and that she has enjoyed being at MA but was not throwing her hat into the ring, McClelland laid out the steps, committees, and processes needed:

1. Understanding strategic priorities, strengths, weaknesses, and competencies.
2. Standing up three essential committees: Informal Advisory, Screening, and board HR committees.
3. Communication and transparency.
4. Transition and onboarding.
5. Setting and following a timeline.
6. Talent pipeline and emergency ED plan.

The committee will draft the job description, including compensation, and post it in early February. The screening committee would review applications, and the HR subcommittee would choose the three top candidates. In mid-March, before spring break, a special board meeting would be called for candidate interviews. In early April, the board would identify the finalist and start the transition process.

Enrollment and election policies updated

At its Jan. 5 meeting, the board considered policy JG-MA Enrollment and Placement. The policy, which MA had vetted and approved by legal counsel, sets the date to Aug. 15 by which incoming students must be 5 years old while grandfathering in any student who has been added to MA’s waitlist by Jan. 5.

The board then considered policy BBB-E-MA Board of Directors Election Process, which has been reclassified to follow the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) nomenclature and had various spelling and grammatical corrections as well as terminology corrections. The most substantive change was to supply a missing form required by applicants. The board unanimously approved the policy and indicated that board member Ross should use them to start the process for the upcoming election of two three-year-term board positions.

For more discussion on these policies, see www.ocn.me/v24n1.htm#ma. All MA board policies can be found at www.monument.academy.net/school-board.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• McClelland noted that the high school had been hit hard by a virus in December, resulting in 40 missed exams, which it was working hard to make up.
• McClelland said that HR Director Krista Pelley was working hard on the ABACUS payroll system transition, which was going smoothly.
• McClelland reported intent-to-return rates use a range as some students are undecided and show for elementary school 82-90%; middle school 91-96%; ninth grade 26-37%; and 10-12th grade 81-83%.
• Graham reported on the Highway 105 project that lights were removed and access to the church was closed. The project is working to complete a road to connect to the top of the “S” curve to create a loop in front of the school. He said the goal is to get vehicles off Highway 105 to provide safety, but that traffic was still backing up onto 105. West Campus administration is diligently looking at solutions as it works through Phase 3 over the next four months, he said.
• Buczkowski said the governance committee was working on prioritizing policies to review.
• Board member Karen Hoida said the Safety and Security Committee is pleased that a second school resource officer (SRO) has been added.

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The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at see bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy (MA) articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Midyear budget
• Enrollment/retention marketing plan
• Fundraising plan
• New and updated policies
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) School Board met on Dec. 14 and went directly into executive session to discuss the purchase of real property and for legal advice on matters regarding the parental rights policy. No action was taken afterward. Treasurer Joe Buczkowski noted that the governance committee had received many community comments on the parental rights policy, has been researching the topic, and hopes to address this more in the January meeting.

The board also heard about its amended 2023-24 budget, plans for fundraising, and updates on a variety of policies.

Midyear budget

Financial consultant Glenn Gustafson reminded the board that the state allows for a midyear process where schools can amend their budget based on new information such as fund balances, final staffing numbers, and final per pupil revenue (PPR) amounts. For FY2023-24, the bad news is that MA’s enrollment was flat from last year and down from the enrollment projection. This represents a loss of $1.1 million in PPR, as well as $71,000 in mill levy override money and some student fees.

MA has had to make significant adjustments to its budget but has tried to keep cuts away from the classroom, Gustafson said. MA restructured its teacher compensation to be more competitive and has fully funded its debt service bond payments. Gustafson said that the team went through every single line item looking for opportunities. He noted that tax revenues come in between February and July. Increased interest income has helped, along with new special education (SPED) grants. A $400,000 emergency connectivity grant was received, which had been applied for by MA’s former CFO Marc Brocklehurst. He noted that thanks to Operations Manager Jake Dicus, there were facility rental revenues from both campuses and that MA had used gifts and donations to help balance the budget but was still a little short at East Campus.

Under expenditures, Gustafson added a line item for MA to purchase land for a parking lot at West Campus and looked at revising its HVAC, copier, shredding, custodial, and custodial supplies contracts. He thanked principals for enforcing color copy rules since each color copy costs 10 times what a black-and-white copy costs.

In summary, he thinks MA is well-positioned for the 2024-25 fiscal year when he is expecting a 5% increase in PPR or about $700 per pupil. He said that MA will not have the big costs for the modular buildings this coming year nor the big Internal Revenue Service (IRS) penalty it had two years ago. MA will be more conservative with its budget and try to make sure it will be in compliance with bond covenants. Finally, he noted he was working on restructuring the Finance Department with his transition.

The board unanimously approved the resolutions to appropriate funds for the midyear amended budget, to use a portion of its beginning fund balance as required by state statute, and to approve an interfund borrowing resolution. The interfund borrowing resolution allows MA to borrow $250,000 from its general fund and $100,000 from the preschool fund. The resolution does not specify the use of the borrowed amounts but states that the loans must be repaid when those funds are required to meet obligations or no later than three months after the beginning of the following budget year. In last month’s article on MA, Buczkowski noted that the Finance Committee had discussed borrowing from the West Campus to lend to the East Campus (see www.ocn.me/v23n12.htm#ma).

Enrollment/retention marketing plan

Interim Chief Operating Officer Kim McClelland introduced Kendra Kuhlmann from Marketing, Elementary School Registrar Lena Gross, and Secondary Campus Registrar Laura Polen to present their strategic plan for enrollment and retention.

Gross said the team had made changes they hoped would make a true difference. They had gotten a 96% response rate from the West Campus and an 89% response rate from the East Campus. They added “undecided” as an option and asked what the most important factor would be in parents’ decision. The team expected to begin calculating the enrollment numbers and sharing them with the administration team.

Polen said the previous year’s enrollment process has been revised and streamlined. One change was to have a separate form for preschool since they ask about potty training. The data is automatically transferred from a Google form to a spreadsheet, eliminating manual data entry. The data is displayed by grade, and they can see waitlist numbers and priorities by applying a filter in addition to showing who has an MA sibling and tracking MA’s responses by email or phone.

The team also created email template responses that they can customize and have coordinated on tour information. Polen said that the team does a pre-enrollment record request, and Kuhlmann added that they might meet with parents to discuss attendance issues and create an attendance contract. Polen said that the ParentSquare system has been very helpful in getting out information and ensuring they are not duplicating efforts. The team has exit interviews if a student leaves midyear, if they accept but don’t show up, or if they don’t send in their “intent to return” survey. They can generate reports on who intends to report, wait lists, and seat offers for daily review, Polen said.

Gross said the team focused on celebrating community and connectedness after reviewing data and performing a market analysis. Kuhlmann said they surveyed students and families on what they were looking for in a high school. The top words and phrases were community, safe, academics, and quality teachers. Gross said the team used SchoolMint to determine micro factors for choosing alternative education and found that top responses included student achievement, innovation and programs, customer service, and school safety. The team has made an effort to increase its availability. Other families’ opinions outweigh data. They noted that 26% of MA’s students come from out of district, which is more than other charter schools.

Finally, Kuhlmann said that MA has taken ownership of its Google sites for both campuses, which will allow it to ask for Google reviews and to leverage Google Analytics to understand how its website is being used. Gross emphasized that communication is key, and that MA should keep in touch with families who have been offered seats between February and August. The team suggests hosting a summer festival and facilitating a quarterly information night for prospective families. Gross also said they would initiate an incentive program for current families to bring in new families offering free dress passes for K-8 students or a preferred parking pass for high school students.

Fundraising plan

Dicus gave a presentation about the current state of fundraising as well as ideas for the future. He explained that there is a difference between fundraising and donations, with the former raising funds for specific programs or projects and the latter giving without expecting something in return. The annual gala is MA’s biggest fundraising event; Grandparents Day is a fundraiser and there is an opportunity to sponsor library book dedications. School sponsorships are another way to support MA at various levels; MA has a brochure that includes MA’s mission and vision. Finally, grants are another form of fundraising that includes the $400,000 connectivity grant already awarded, as well as a Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant, the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) program, and a school security grant that is in process.

For donations, the Lynx Fund has been a success, said Dicus. People can donate monthly or on a one-time basis or $1,996 (the year MA was founded) as Lynx Legacy donors or repeat donors. MA received a school furniture donation worth $99,000 for the cost of $5,000. A family donated track uniforms. Greater Grounds Landscaping redid the West Campus playground and is adding turf for a total value of $20,000.

Toward the end of the year, MA started offering facility rentals and has developed a pipeline.

For next year, Dicus expects to see some modifications to the gala, adding mobile bidding and early bird pricing. The gala already has some committed sponsors with more in the pipeline.

MA has an end-of-the-year matching campaign it is presenting on its Facebook and parent pages. It is trying to streamline using ParentSquare so that it can track communications and will use GiveSmart for all campaigns. He hopes to prepare new families with a packet that outlines the next year’s expectations and allows them to donate when paying school fees. Dicus said he should have focused more on the Giving Tuesday campaign but prefers to focus on progress over perfection.

New and updated policies

The MA board unanimously approved seven policies related to finances. Buczkowski said these were the easiest to approve since they don’t conflict with any existing policy. The policies are DK Annual Budget, DC Borrowing, DD Grants, DID General Fixed Assets & Inventories, DIE Audits/Financial Monitoring, DK Payroll Procedures, and DKD Travel. Gustafson noted that DK is the one non-standard policy that covers rules on who can authorize permanent employees, stipends, and extra duty pay. It lays out how to manage any payroll mistakes. He modeled this policy after a D11 policy he wrote when he worked there. Only the board can approve compensation, he noted, and this puts structure around that process.

The board also discussed at length modifications to policy JG MA Enrollment and Placement, which replaces 1511 Admissions Policy. The policy has been updated with the current version of the MA vision statement and adds a section on enrollment restrictions for kindergarten and first grade. The new section requires students to turn 5 years old on or before Aug. 25 to start kindergarten. Students who have been added to MA’s waitlist via a Letter of Interest before Jan. 1, 2024 or who have successfully completed pre-k at MA for the 2023-24 school year will be grandfathered. Similarly, students must turn 6 before Aug. 25 to enroll in first grade.

The policy also clarifies the wait list procedures required by parents and suggests that the Placement Test section could be covered in the Student/Parent Handbook. McClelland said the changes should be messaged to families since it’s enrollment season with the caveat that is pending approval of the board. Graham said it would be wise to have legal review the policy. Vice President Lindsay Clinton said that 11 families would be impacted by the modified policy and that this might affect some incoming siblings. McClelland said that the age requirement changes had been discussed at the curriculum meeting, where they said they have very young kids. She said that since the state had approved fully funding kindergarten, it is becoming more of a daycare, and MA is a school of excellence. Gross noted that choice enrollment starts on Jan. 2, and board President Ryan Graham said it should be reviewed by legal and brought to a special meeting on Jan. 5 for approval, so it would only be a few days.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Board member Craig Carle spotlighted Athletic Director Mike Svendsen and parent Kristy Davis. He said Svendsen had done a great job with the athletic program and got MA’s high school membership in the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA). Davis was recognized for her help with the West Campus shade structure, which will be completed next year.
• Kim McClelland said she would bring a possible homeschool proposal to the board at the January or February meeting.
• The board unanimously approved the 2024-25 elementary and secondary school calendars.
• Gustafson reported that the audit for the 2022-23 schoolyear was finalized, which is about 2 1/2 months earlier than the previous year. MA has submitted all the information on the ERTC to the lawyer for due diligence, but he noted that the IRS has suspended accepting applications due to the level of fraudulent claims.
• Graham reported that the Knollwood roundabout might be ready by the time MA returns from break. The road on the south side by the retaining wall would not be ready until summer.
• Board member Emily Belisle thanked the teachers who served on the Curriculum Committee and noted that it looked like the favorite might be Reveal Math, but it would be presented to the board for approval and to the community for review and would not be in place for the next academic year.
• Board member Matt Ross reported on midyear survey results for the Student Accountability and Advisory Committee (SAAC) of West Campus. He said that 95% of respondents were likely to recommend MA but that high-level learners needed more challenges and that the math curriculum needed to be updated. Most respondents feel that ParentSquare is working for improved communication and want the board to incentivize teachers to attend community events.
• Clinton said SAAC East had not met in December but would meet in January to review survey results.
• Buczkowski said the governance committee met multiple times and would be prioritizing policies a charter school should have in batches of six or so for reading and approval following a framework for how and when to update policies in the Colorado Association of School Boards format.
• Graham noted that the upcoming election would fill two vacancies and is normally conducted by the vice president. Since Clinton is running for re-election, she has a conflict, so the board voted to appoint Ross to conduct the election.

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The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Jan. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy (MA) articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

• Gender transition policies
• Plans to address East Campus budget issues
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) School Board met on Nov. 9 to hear a first reading of a new gender transition policy, to discuss how to address East Campus budget issues, and to hear committee reports.

Gender transition policies

The MA board heard a first read from the governance committee on a JRT Gender Transition and Parental Rights Policy to codify its June 27 resolution on gender issues and student protection. See www.ocn.me/v23n8.htm/ma0627. The resolution:

• Declared that anti-discrimination state laws SB08-200 and HB21-1108 exposed students to gender dysphoria.
• Encouraged students to set boundaries and report boundary violations to staff.
• Said MA would violate state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
• Mandated that minor students who wish to express a different gender be affirmed by their parents or guardians, update all related school records, and follow their expressed gender dress code.
• Directed administration to notify the community that a student whose expressed gender differed from their biological gender might be in bathrooms or locker rooms.
• Advised parents to consult with their attorney about bringing legal action against the parents of children they felt violated their child’s Fourth Amendment right to privacy.
• Affirmed that political leaders have a moral obligation to challenge laws.
• Appealed to the MA community to contact their representatives.

The policy, developed by board Treasurer Joe Buczkowski and board Director Karen Hoida and approved by legal counsel, is called JRT Gender Transition and Parental Rights Policy. Its purpose is to provide a procedure by which a student can transition to a different gender with respect to school records, policies, and facilities. The draft states that MA supports the rights of students to transition and the rights of parents to oversee the care, custody, and control of their minor children. The policy defines various terms and provides a background focusing on the fourth and fifth bullet points above.

The procedures include the staff’s initial contact with a student who wishes to transition, referral and follow-up by the school principal with the students and their parents, required record changes, and community notification.

Buczkowski said that the committee received input from the administration and the principals and wanted to address the concerns of all involved, so it took a few months to develop. Board President Ryan Graham asked for advice on soliciting community input. MA’s lawyer, Brad Miller, advised that there is an exception to the Open Records Act that would let them keep this as a private draft. Hoida noted that it was public now since they read it aloud and asked about the process for feedback. Miller said it could be published in the board packet, the minutes, or on the website. Miller advised against using Google Docs for all board members to add comments as that would constitute a board meeting. Miller advised the board not to vote on this at the next meeting, saying if substantive changes exist, the final version should be discussed in an open meeting before voting at a subsequent meeting.

In discussion, Graham and board Vice President Lindsay Clinton objected to the statement that MA supports a student’s right to transition. Hoida suggested a better word would be acknowledge rather than support. Board Secretary Emily Belisle suggested simply saying that supports all students. Miller said the statement could be eliminated without changing the substance. Belisle wants the policy to better reflect the resolution, especially the part that supports “natural law and moral truth,” to address how this affects the community, to change some of the definitions and word usage, and to change some procedures. Graham noted that some of the language came straight from the Colorado Revised Statute and asked Miller, who said it would be legal advice that would require an executive session.

Belisle suggested that the principal should inform the parents and schedule a meeting. Buczkowski said that was left out to protect students for whom a forced conversation might not be in their best interest. Board Director Matt Ross suggested that this gave unwarranted trust to students. Hoida said that if the school said they would contact the parents, the student might not want to proceed with the transition. Clinton said she would want to know as a parent, and the policy should protect parental rights and not give authority to students.

There was a discussion about how to handle discipline, and interim Chief Operating Officer Kim McClelland said it was on a case-by-case basis depending on whether it was a student or staff violating policy. Belisle pointed out that this policy assumes a binary choice of genders, which is not always the case; Buczkowski said it’s not a problem unless they choose an opposite gender.

Buczkowski thanked the board for its input and said a lot of the changes were minor wording changes, but the biggest question was when staff needed to tell the principal and when the principal had to contact the parents, even against the will of the student. The policy was drafted to try to be realistic about the relationships students may have with coaches and teachers with whom they may be closer than their parents. It would be easy to just say minor students and their parents must come to see the principal, he said, but asked if that was realistic.

Graham said that community feedback is encouraged. Belisle said that all staff and teachers are mandatory reporters, and it’s incumbent on them to report concerns about home life. Miller said there is another set of laws that hasn’t been addressed about a student’s rights around mental health and counseling that interposes in this discussion; he said he would prefer to talk to the board privately in more detail.

A second reading will be conducted at its Dec. 14 meeting. The board solicits community feedback on this draft policy, which is available at: https://bit.ly/ma-draft-gender-policy. Feedback should be submitted directly to McClelland at kmcclelland@monumentacademy.net no later than Dec. 1.

Plans to address East Campus budget issues

Buczkowski reported that the Finance Committee reviewed the audit results and the substandard state of the debt service coverage ratio and cash reserves as of June 30, 2023, at the East Campus. The committee discussed plans for the West Campus to lend $300,000 to the East Campus and the importance of establishing a balanced budget for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year. It also talked about cost-cutting measures to bring the East Campus budget back in balance. A lot of the 2024 budget depends on the results of the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) application MA submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which might not be known by the time the board is required to set a budget, he said.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Clinton spotlighted Deborah Hulting, who has been a kindergarten teacher and is now an art teacher. She exudes warmth, fun, and patience with artists of all ages, Clinton said.
• Graham reported that a road is being constructed on the south side of the school to connect to the top of the “s” curve. The roundabout at Knollwood and Highway 105 may be completed in December or January.
• Board member Emily Belisle reported that the Curriculum Committee learned that MA could continue to use the current Saxon Math for another year, and the committee decided, in consideration of the budget, to table moving to a new curriculum. This will provide extra time to review the proposed final candidates: Reveal Math and Everyday Math.
• Ross reported for the Student Accountability and Advisory Committee (SAAC) of West Campus that MA had collected the most food in a recent food drive, and he highlighted recent and upcoming PTO events. SAAC reviewed questions for the mid-year survey, which was available on Nov. 15 and will be open until Dec. 1.
• Clinton reported for SAAC East that it began reviewing questions for the mid-year survey and noted that MA hosted the district Parent and Community Advisory Committee (PCAC) at its west campus on Nov. 14. She also gave a roundup of activities for the East Campus PTO.
• The board discussed the quarterly dashboard and how to interpret the data and plans to improve achievement and behavioral outcomes.
• The board unanimously approved the Emergency Operating Procedures with changes discussed at a previous meeting.
• The meeting ended with an executive session to discuss property transactions; to address D38 charter contract updates and related financial and bond covenant issues, and school security protocols and proposals; to discuss personnel performance and contract matters regarding school principals, Human Resources, and executive director; and to address related hiring processes and conflict of interest questions regarding a substitute hiring possibility.

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The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)

By Jackie Burhans

• Budget challenges explored
• Employee Handbook and leave policy
• Highlights

The Monument Academy (MA) School Board met twice in October. In both sessions, they reviewed the finances, including the 2023-24 budget, and explored the challenges caused by lower than projected enrollment. The board also continued to discuss the employee handbook and leave policies. Finally, the board heard committee reports from board members and spotlighted its science teacher.

Budget challenges explored

At the Oct. 5 meeting, financial consultant Glenn Gustafson reported on the September financial statements and reviewed the fund accounts. He said the business services expenses were significantly over budget due to the conversion from the Netchex payroll system, as were the maintenance and operations expenses due to costs on the modulars. He noted that the budget anticipated 1,180 students, but the actual number was hovering around 1,100, which represented a significant decrease of $1.3 million. The good news, he said, was that MA stopped hiring as soon as they saw the drop in enrollment. He added that money budgeted to purchase the leased parking lot at West Campus might have to go. However, he noted that MA had reduced its expenditures with D38, received $350,000 in special education (SPED) revenue, and increased its interest income.

At the Oct. 26 meeting, the board heard more about the administration’s effort to amend the proposed 2023-24 budget. Gustafson noted that charter schools are funded on a per-pupil revenue (PPR) basis, so enrollment is a key driver. When a school district needs a new neighborhood school, they can run two ballot issues—a bond to pay for building the school and a mill levy override (MLO) to fund its operations. If passed, the district’s general fund is not impacted since the bond and MLO are paid out of property taxes.

In MA’s case, paying back its bonds costs 25% to 30% of operating expenses. Gustafson said he had been talking with state Sen. Paul Lundeen about how to increase charter capital funding to make it a more level playing field but that, as an employee of the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), he is not allowed to lobby. At the Oct. 5 meeting, Gustafson discussed the possibility of applying for a Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant to get money for its building.

He explained that Lewis-Palmer D38 was providing funds to MA based on enrollment but that he had been having trouble reconciling the numbers on the spreadsheet used with the numbers from the state intercept program, which takes money to pay for the bonds. It turned out that the district had been relying on a spreadsheet they got from CDE that was incorrect. When they received a corrected spreadsheet, it turned out that MA owes D38 about $189,000. He said he would ask D38 for help but that MA was overfunded. Additionally, since the intercept is tied to the bonds, West Campus will see a reduction in expenses of $100,000, and East Campus will see an increase in expenses of $300,000. He said West Campus net revenue will increase from $400,000 to $500,000, while the East Campus loss will increase from $70,000 to $350,000. Gustafson said that MA would still meet the bond covenant requirements for cash on hand.

Gustafson also noted that he was very optimistic that MA would get an Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) refund and estimated it would be around $1 million. This is non-recurring money that should not be spent on annual operations costs, he said, suggesting that a good use of it might be to buy the modulars to get out from under onerous leasing terms. He noted that the application had just been submitted and would take six months to process and another month to receive the payment.

The board then turned to the enrollment shortfall to try to understand how to avoid this problem in the future. Gustafson noted that enrollment was 116.5 below budgeted projections but only 4.5 below last year’s enrollment, so essentially flat. Interim Chief Operating Officer Kim McClelland said while it wasn’t possible to forecast with 100% accuracy, in March MA had looked at the currently enrolled students, families who had indicated an intent to return, and seats that had been offered and accepted.

MA estimated 1,022 returning students plus 184 seat offers for a total of 1,206. By April, returning was 1,016 plus 186 seat offers for a total of 1,202. The proposed budget was submitted in April, she said, but by May 31, the returning students dropped by 23 to 992, and the number of seat offers increased by four for a total of 1,187 students. By August, the number of returning students had dropped to 930, down by 62. McClelland said that when MA noticed the drop, it decided not to hire staff. They had originally thought they’d end up with five classes in each of three grade levels. At this point, she said, the registrars stopped offering seats going over the policy on student-teacher ratio. When they opened offers again, they only got two of the 13 potential students. The board explored different ways to market the school, keep parents engaged, and change registration processes in the future.

Board President Ryan Graham noted that from March to August, elementary had the biggest drop of 55 students, with middle school down 16 and high school down 17. McClelland said the registrars sent out a survey to families of students who did not enroll. The biggest reason was that families chose to homeschool their kids; some left due to program opportunities and school environment; and a few families had moved. McClelland said she would like to see a history of returning student rates and conversion rates and timeframes. Board Vice President Lindsay Clinton said she did not see the trend of homeschooling changing and had discussed with Graham whether MA could create a homeschool program.

McClelland said it takes time to put together a homeschool program but could come together for the next fall with a dedicated person to get the program going. She would need to know where to pull from the budget and where to find the space to run the program, noting that closes off the use of that space for students who bring in full PPR. She noted that six months might be feasible but not for a full K-12 homeschool program, and it might take three years to build out fully. The board, she said, would need to decide if it needed the program to break even initially or whether it could sustain a loss due to the start-up costs. Graham noted that almost 5% of MA’s enrollment left for homeschooling.

Gustafson reiterated that MA needed to reduce its budget to match the loss in revenue. He mentioned that, due to the budgeted revenue expectations, the staff had been given a larger-than-normal pay raise and that he expected it to be lower next year. He also said he would add the SPED funding MA had received along with $220,000 in fundraising, which he had hoped not to depend on. After going through the budget line by line with the leadership team, they came up with a portion of what is needed to bring the budget into balance but are still $311,000 short. The plan is to increase revenue, cut staff and other expenses, and legally reallocate as many expenses as possible from East to West Campus. He said they would save money from staff vacancies, pursue grant opportunities, and optimize interest income. The ERTC money would save MA’s bacon this year, but it would still need to solve the budget issues for next year. Graham proposed to have the Finance Committee review the budget and asked if they could push the budget approval from the Nov. 9 meeting to the December meeting to have more time. Gustafson agreed so long as the leadership team understands they cannot spend the money shown in the current budget. McClelland said that MA is under a spending freeze. The deadline for the budget is Jan. 31, 2024.

Clinton raised the issue of the $29 million balloon payment due on the East Campus bonds in May 2026. She said that MA had been discussing for two years the goal of presenting as attractive a package as possible to refinance the bonds. Gustafson said that if MA were to refinance right now, the annual debt service would require a cut in the budget. He is looking into the interest rate outlook and noted that Cesar Chavez charter school had a similar problem. He told Lundeen that there would be a charter school crisis if the state did not provide help. The bond for East Campus was a bad deal that expected interest rates to remain low and to be refinanced every five years, he said. McClelland noted that it would be better if both schools could be covered under one bond since elementary programs help offset the high school costs.

Employee Handbook and leave policy

At the Oct. 26 meeting, McClelland thanked the board for adding the draft handbook leave plan to the agenda, saying that with all the feedback, including meetings at each campus, MA was now proposing a grandfathering option that was better than the original plan. McClelland noted that some changes to the handbook were required for legal compliance and that, per the strategic plan, they were looking to improve the leave policies. She noted that the Employee Handbook is a living document that can be changed anytime. She said she had reviewed the new plan with the West Campus principals but hadn’t shown it to the teachers yet pending board review.

Graham said the West Campus feedback asked why not wait until the next contract cycle. He agreed wholeheartedly that they should honor the contract and let teachers decide next year if they want to agree to these changes. McClelland and Director of People Operations Krista Pelley explained that the current handbook limits the payout to 20 days at $50 per day for anyone separating, and the changes would give them full payout for all their accrued days.

Board Director Karen Hoida said it sounded like this was an incentive for people to leave. Pelley said the payout was unavailable for those who haven’t served five years, so it also serves as a retention benefit. She said staff can continue to accrue days and, if they’ve been grandfathered, don’t have to leave now to get the payout. Hoida said they can say they are grandfathered but it won’t help if they’ve lost trust. Clinton said this wasn’t well communicated and some teachers might feel their contract doesn’t mean anything. She would love to see and attend another meeting with teachers to show their feedback was considered. Pelley said staff can continue to accrue days and, if they’ve been grandfathered, don’t have to leave now to get the payout.

Graham said that he heard that some teachers still can’t access the new SDS payroll system to see their hours and are being told the board has to approve something before they can see it. Pelley said she had given everyone a breakdown as of Aug. 1 but didn’t let them access it directly due to the need to convert from hours into days. Graham said it wasn’t right that teachers have to make an appointment to come and ask about their leave. He said from the teachers’ perspective, something was proposed in September that they didn’t see, and they felt something nefarious could be happening. When they don’t have access to see their accrued leave, it is all unsettling, he said.

McClelland said that the system switchover was not operationally planned out as well as it could have been and was not rolled out effectively. Pelley said they would have access as of Monday to payroll information. Clinton said these changes probably started with good intentions to improve policies, but it feels like signed contracts can be changed anytime. She felt that required legal changes should be implemented, but any improvements should be in the next contract.

Graham said he would prefer to have a meeting during teachers’ paid time, and he would attend. He asked that the required Employee Handbook changes be brought back for approval at the November meeting. The changes could exclude or include the leave policy changes depending on feedback from the teachers.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Board member Craig Carle spotlighted Karl Brown, eighth-grade science teacher, for stepping up as a leader for his grade level team and the school, providing excellent instruction and setting high expectations.
• Graham reported that the recirculation road around the West Campus is complete.
• Board member Emily Belisle reported that the curriculum committee discussed new math curricula and would send the three options to West Campus teachers to solicit feedback and then to the parents and community according to the new curriculum policies. The committee hopes to bring the new math curriculum to the board in December for approval and that it could be implemented in the next academic year.
• Graham thanked the East Campus administration team for getting the modulars up and running with a certificate of occupancy, noting that this had been a long project.
• The board unanimously approved the list of authorized signers on the raffle bank account.
• The board unanimously approved the board calendar for 2023-24 to continue with the second Thursday of the month.

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The MA School Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. See more information at see https://bit.ly/ma-boe.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.

Other Monument Academy articles

• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Aug. 8, 16, and 29 – Board sets non-legal name change policy (9/7/2024)