By Harriet Halbig
The Lewis-Palmer School District 38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee (PCAC) discussed a restructure of the district’s committees, an update to the strategic plan, and initiatives related to financial transparency.
Committee restructure
Board of Education liaison Tiffiney Upchurch and Assistant Superintendent Amber Whetstine reported on the board’s discussions regarding the hierarchical structure of district committees.
At its September meeting, PCAC voted to include the Wellness Team and the Financial Advisory Committee subcommittees of PCAC in addition to the Special Education Advisory Committee and the Gifted Talented Leadership Team.
It was determined at the December board meeting that, since these committees as well as building advisory committees are required under state or federal law, they should be independent and hold their own meetings open to the public.
If this change is approved by the board at its January meeting, it will be necessary to change the PCAC’s bylaws.
A draft application form for PCAC membership was proposed for use in the upcoming school year to ensure that all schools are represented by parents and staff in addition to community participation. Technically the board must appoint these members, and this form would make it possible to determine that all are represented.
Committee members were concerned that, by removing the former subcommittees from PCAC, information from them to PCAC would be less forthcoming.
Whetstine responded that the committees are still welcome to report to the group.
When a member expressed concern that a formal application would discourage participation, Upchurch responded that the application was designed to meet state statutes.
The discussion was tabled until February pending board action.
Financial transparency update
In keeping with priority 4 of the district’s strategic plan supporting responsible fiscal practices, Chief Business Officer Brett Ridgway asked for questions regarding recent financial actions.
When asked about the one-time compensation bonus, he said that it was a small step to resolving the gap in compensation between D38 and neighboring districts. The Staff Collaboration Committee, consisting of representatives from schools and administration, approved the bonus.
There was discussion about the recent staff/parent/community survey. Committee members commented that they did not understand some aspects of the survey and hesitated to respond.
Whetstine said that the purpose of the survey was to determine which actions would resonate with the community in the face of the recent mill levy override defeat. The survey indicated significant support for a four-day school week, and the board tasked the administration to investigate the ramifications of implementing it.
District staff approved the use of the survey because it indicated that the district supported them and was willing to take further action to correct the gap in compensation.
Ridgway presented a midyear financial summary. Details can be found on the district website, lewispalmer.org, under Family Resources, District Accountability Advisory Committee, meeting content.
Kilmer School presentation
Brian Pohl, the new principal of Ray Kilmer Elementary, offered a slide presentation about the school.
He said the school stresses academic growth and achievement, human growth, and character development. The school uses the responsive classroom model to ensure that students develop healthy relationships among themselves and staff by communicating daily. The school’s vision is to educate the whole child.
One innovative practice at Kilmer is to devote part of each Friday to Innovation Day. In alternate weeks, students rotate to the Innovation Station where they learn computational thinking and Coyote Time which focuses on computational thinking, engineering design, and robotics.
In the Learning Zone program, students spend 30 minutes each day concentrating on a specific subject. For grades K to 3 this is usually reading. For higher grades this could be math or writing. The concentrated focus could be in or out of the classroom.
To view the slide presentation, please see the website as noted above.
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The Parent and Community Advisory Community meets six times per year. Locations vary. The next meeting is from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 7 at Lewis-Palmer Elementary School, 1315 Lake Woodmoor Dr. in Monument. For further information, please contact tmckee@lewispalmerorg.
Harriet Halbig may be reached at harriethalbig@ocn.me.
Other D38 Parent and Community Advisory Community articles
- D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, Oct. 14 – Board goals feedback; work toward maintaining academic excellence (10/30/2025)
- Lewis-Palmer D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, Sept. 9 – Committee discusses plans for relationship with Board of Education in upcoming school year (10/2/2025)
- D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, May 13 – Budget priorities, 2025-26 committee goals discussed (6/7/2025)
- D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, April 8 – Discussion of Priority 2 academic excellence, superintendent search (5/3/2025)
- D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, Feb. 11 – Selection of new superintendent, treatment of Grace Best Elementary School, budget process discussed (3/1/2025)
- D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, Nov. 12 – Reports on school year calendar, safety and security, and social and emotional wellness (12/5/2024)
- D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, Oct. 8 – Grace Best Elementary School, Career-Innovation Center plans discussed (11/2/2024)
- D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, Sept. 10 – Committee discusses strategic plan, assessment results, bylaws change (10/5/2024)
- D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, April 9 – Reports on human resources, fiscal stewardship, superintendent search, and possible new charter school (5/4/2024)
- D38 Parent and Community Advisory Committee, Feb. 13 – Committee receives leadership hiring and superintendent search update (3/2/2024)
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