Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education, Dec. 12 – Results of calendar survey discussed; mid-year compensation action approved

District calendar survey
Financial planning—mid-year compensation discussion
Bus purchase discussion
Mill levy certification

By Harriet Halbig

The Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education had lengthy discussions on budget matters, the district calendar, and bus purchases at its Dec. 12 meeting.

District calendar survey

Following the defeat of the proposed mill levy override in November, the district sought to find ways to compensate teachers other than through salary increases. One of these ways is to offer them more time to balance their work and family lives.

A survey was distributed to teachers, families, and students in early December. There were 2,261 respondents to the survey, of which 1,443 were parents/guardians, 332 were staff, 181 were staff who were also parent/guardians, and 288 were students. The survey remained live for a week following the board meeting.

Assistant Superintendent Amber Whetstine detailed the results for the board.

She said that there was non-support for the idea of changing the calendar to a more extended year. There was also little concern about aligning the district calendar with those of adjoining districts.

There was general approval of the current calendar, but many would prefer to have full-day staff development programs rather than delayed starts.

A recommended change was closing district offices when classes are not in session to save on utilities.

There was a great deal of support to consider four-day weeks—52.6% of parents and 79% of students were in favor, preferring to have Friday be the day off.

Board President Chris Taylor asked if there is an impact on achievement with four-day weeks. Whetstine responded that achievement has not been shown to be impacted, but growth is, especially among special education students who would have less frequent contact with their teachers.

Superintendent KC Somers commented that, were the district to adopt the four-day week, we would still be required to provide the state-mandated number of student contact hours. This could be done by lengthening the school year (begin in earlier August and end in later May) or lengthening each day by a few minutes.

Whetstine said that 120 (of 176) districts in the state are now on four-day weeks. The closest of these are in Cañon City and Pueblo. According to Somers, many are in rural areas.

Taylor asked whether Somers was convinced that this change would help with recruitment and retention of staff. Somers said that respondents were not directly asked whether they would stay or leave based on this decision, but it seems to be a solution favored by many.

Taylor said he is not satisfied that the district is considering only this one solution in depth. He asked to be supplied with alternate options at the January work session.

After further discussion, Somers was instructed to further research the option of four-day weeks in addition to other ideas.

Board Treasurer Ron Schwarz said that changing to a four-day week would not overcome the disparity in compensation between D38 and neighboring districts and that utility savings during times when the schools would be closed would be small.

Financial planning—mid-year compensation discussion

Chief Business Officer Brett Ridgeway reviewed the budget as it stood at the end of November, saying district spending is below that forecast in the budget, largely due to unfilled positions and such other aspects as a mild fall. He determined that about $1 million in funds from the general fund could be applied to a mid-year compensation action.

Ridgeway said that the use of recruiting and retention bonuses at the beginning of the school year were successful, especially in hard to fill positions. He also said there have been good investment opportunities through government pools and a similar school investment organization now offering 3% returns.

Ridgeway said the proposal was presented to the Staff Collaboration Committee the previous week. Decisions to be made included who were eligible for the bonus and the basis for deciding the amount. Members of the committee requested that Medicare and PERA (public employee retirement association) fees should be included.

The decision was made to invest 1.75% of total base pay to those with a regular working relationship with the district, which would total 796 people. There also would be a flat rate of $500 to each individual.

There was a discussion about whether to include administrative staff, who would not have benefited from the mill levy override. It was decided that administrative employees who work in the schools (principals and assistant principals) and those who directly interacted with the schools, such as assessments and special education, should be included. As a result, only seven people would be excluded.

Those who received recruitment or retention bonuses would be exempted from the percentage but would receive the flat sum.

Taylor commented that this should help with retention and recruitment but regrets that it was a one-time action.

The board approved the action.

Bus purchase discussion

At its November meeting, the board was requested to purchase four new school buses with excess funds in the transportation fund. It was ultimately decided to purchase two buses with ESSER (elementary and secondary school emergency response) funds and postpone a decision on two more until the December meeting.

Executive Director of Operations Chris Coulter reported that 47% of the district’s route buses currently have over 200,000 miles on them and the cost of fuel and maintenance is high as a result of their age. The average age of the fleet is 9.4 years with an average mileage of 134,000. Warranties on buses run for five years and the fuel efficiency of new buses is twice that of the older buses.

Taylor asked whether Coulter had considered leasing buses rather than buying them. Coulter responded that they have gone with the lowest bid.

Somers commented that they did not wish to incur a large debt when the funds to pay for the buses are available in the transportation fund.

Taylor clarified that there is currently $648,000 available in the transportation fund and that the two buses would cost $270,000.

Director Matthew Clawson commented that there is a predicted recession or depression on the horizon and the district currently has a backlog of $50 million in deferred maintenance and other projects. He expressed concern that an emergency such as a boiler replacement should be prioritized over new buses. He wished to delay the decision until D38 has done all it can for the teachers.

Schwarz said that the buses would be paid out of capital funds, not operating funds.

Clawson suggested deferring the decision until next fall.

Following further discussion, it was decided to develop a list of district priorities. Schwarz said that once the list has been developed, let’s begin. Taylor requested an inventory of district facilities and their condition.

Coulter commented that the district is seeing great benefit from the Schreiber electric project to reduce utility coasts and resulted in a $5 million bite out of the $50 million in deferred maintenance.

As no motion was put forward, the subject was tabled.

Mill levy certification

Ridgeway explained how property taxes are structured and how the district determines its proposed mill levy taking into consideration its bond responsibilities and the 1999 mill levy override which provides $4 million annually. He said that this year the county does not assess residential buildings, but on the grounds of new commercial development, the district will assess 40.5 mills.

The proposal was passed.

When discussing the consent agenda, board Secretary Tiffiney Upchurch suggested that the board’s meeting dates and agendas should be made available to the public more readily than just on the website. Communications Director Mark Belcher said he could include them in his newsletter and on social media.

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The Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education usually meets on the third Monday of the month at its learning center, 146 Jefferson St. in Monument. Due to a conflict with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the January meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 23.

Harriet Halbig may be reached at harriethalbig@ocn.me.

District calendar survey

Financial planning—mid-year compensation discussion

Bus purchase discussion

Mill levy certification

Other D38 Board of Education articles

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