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OCN > 2305 > Monument Academy School Board, April 13 – MA selects board members, makes progress on finances

Monument Academy School Board, April 13 – MA selects board members, makes progress on finances

By Jackie Burhans

At its April 13 regular meeting, the Monument Academy board selected the sole two candidates as board members, heard positive updates from its interim finance director, and discussed how to handle snow days for the remainder of the school year. The board also heard committee updates.

Board members selected

Vice President Lindsay Clinton had announced in January that two board seat terms were ending on June 30—that of Graham and of Michael Geers, who had been appointed to fill a vacancy. She said there were only two applicants for the seats—Graham and Michael Ross, so there was no need to proceed to an election. She gave the two candidates a chance to speak.

Ross said he had three children at MA and a 2-year-old at home. He said his family loves MA and is committed to their children’s education. He lives in Palmer Lake, runs a small business, and is deeply invested in the community and the next generation. He is an executive pastor at Pikes Peak Christian Church in Colorado Springs in Security-Widefield, where he deals with staff and budget issues. He said he has been in the ministry for 21 years, and his experience is very applicable to what the school board needs. He holds conservative Christian values and is looking for the opportunity to serve. Ross said in the last couple of years, he began observing what was happening in the country, and his eyes were wide and shocked. He believes that children are under attack both physically and spiritually, and he and his wife have decided that this is the time for parents to speak up.

Graham read from a written statement and said he was honored and grateful to have the opportunity to seek re-election. He felt that MA was one of the last beacons of hope, was at the forefront of radical ideologies, and needed to be willing to protect the innocence of children. He also said he was part of MA’s course correction and believes the school is on the cusp of greatness. He spoke of some of the board’s accomplishments of the past three years, including resolutions against critical race theory, testifying at the capitol against anti-charter legislation, and giving voice to parents. He said his vision over the next three years would be to continually stand firm against culture wars, a perpetual battle. He is also committed to ensuring MA can restructure its bonds before its balloon payment of $29 million comes due in 2026, among other goals.

Clinton made a motion to approve by acclamation that Ross and Graham would begin three-year terms beginning July 1. The board unanimously approved this motion.

Positive financial report

MA’s financial consultant, Glenn Gustafson, reported that the school was in a rhythm where it was closing month-end in a timely manner, getting payroll posted, getting the bank reconciliation done, balancing the books each month, and getting the financial results to the board.

He reported a meeting with Brett Ridgway, District 38’s chief business officer, to review several line items that resulted in additional revenue streams that had not yet been distributed to MA. Those revenues have been received and recorded in the March financial statements and have improved MA’s financial position. One example was a Colorado state check for capital funding for FY2021 that was recently received by Lewis-Palmer School District and was quickly remitted to MA. He called attention to the end of the financial report, which showed the elementary school in positive territory with $100,000 net income year to date, noting that the secondary was lagging with a negative amount of $70,000 but was much improved from previous months. Gustafson said it sets MA up well to get through the remainder of the year to be in a much better position than initially thought.

He also dug into administrative costs with Ridgway, mutually discovering outdated allocations, which will be revised for FY22-23.

Gustafson also reported that MA is earning 4.5% on its market account with Integrity Bank, which he called “fantastic.” He still wants to proceed with opening a ColoTrust account, as approved by the board in its January meeting, with a small balance so it could be used easily. The ColoTrust interest is 5%, so going with Integrity Bank only loses a few basis points while supporting a valued local partner. See the article about ColoTrust at www.ocn.me/v23n2.htm#ma.

Gustafson contacted MA’s audit firm CliftonLarsonAllen CPA (CLA) about working on the tax return and will provide any additional information requested. The representative from CLA mentioned that its fees would increase from $12,000 to $30,000 with a similar increase for the school district, noting that he understood that MA might look at other options.

In his final section, Gustafson said Interim Chief Operating Officer Kim McClelland had pulled together the leadership team to work on the budget. Krista Pelley, director of People Operations, is working on the staff allocation for Gustafson to add to the budget, so they are on track with this process. He explained that traditionally, once the board approves the preliminary budget assumptions, there is a blackout period while staff builds the budget. He asked for additional time but said he was still on track to deliver the budget to the board in May for its approval by June 30, as required by law.

Gustafson explained that the Legislature was delayed in releasing the School Finance Act, which delayed the Colorado Department of Education from releasing the exact funding to each district. One serious concern was that the Legislature was considering diverting money from the cost-of-living factor to rural schools, impacting MA and D38 significantly. Local districts could see up to a $6 million loss, and several factions, including school districts, the Colorado Association of School Executives, and the Rural School Alliance, were lobbying against this change.

Note: The state Legislature dropped these changes from the School Finance Act after this board meeting.

In his Finance Committee report, board member Joe Buczkowski confirmed that, of the additional revenues found, a significant amount was applied to the East Campus, which meant the East Campus could end up in the black compared to the budgeted $376,000 loss and that there was now a very low risk that MA’s cash on hand would fall below its 2019 bond covenant requirements. He also confirmed that both First National Bank and Integrity Bank, each of which holds over $500,000 in certificates of deposit for MA, comply with the Colorado Public Deposit Protection Act, which protects deposits of public funds in excess of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) maximum of $250,000. Finally, Buczkowski said MA intended to post the director of finance position in May.

Handling snow days

High School Principal David Kennington discussed options for handling potential snow days and state instructional contact requirements. He noted that MA East could not accommodate another delay or closure after the most recent snow day and remain in compliance with state requirements. Through a joint effort of principals and the COO, the team considered three options:

  1. Extending instructional hours. This could be done by converting the remaining Fridays from half to full days or adding minutes to each school day.
  2. Extending the school year. This could be done by leveraging the May 19 teacher workday but is not a popular option as many parents already have made vacation plans.
  3. eLearning days. Kennington said this was the preferred method, noting that Palmer Ridge High School was already doing this. eLearning would be the least disruptive and would include the opportunity for virtual meetings and synchronous or asynchronous learning leveraging free 40-minute Zoom sessions.

Kennington said most middle school teachers preferred eLearning, with high school teachers splitting between eLearning and extended days. The School Accountability Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the high school parent advisory group preferred eLearning. McClelland noted that the board did not have to vote on the decision but that she wanted them to know which option was preferred, also recounting that the school calendar has fewer half-day Fridays to avoid this issue next year. Clinton said she appreciated seeing the decision process and understood both the objections and the impacts.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

  • The board approved a special budget meeting at the East Campus on May 25 at 10 a.m.
  • McClelland reported that she was now leading a technology committee and had put together teacher feedback, and had created a parent survey
  • Graham reported that the Highway 105 expansion-related project had begun preliminary work with a drone pilot mapping out a parcel for the development of the recirculation.
  • Board member Emily Belisle reported that they are in the draft stages of the new curriculum adoption policy, dividing it between main and supplemental curriculums taught to 75% and 25% of students, respectively. The math curriculum subcommittee was continuing to meet because of expected long-term changes and was looking at pros and cons and narrowing down which curricula the school should consider.
  • Belisle noted that technology had been moved out of the umbrella of the curriculum committee, whose task was to home in on defining MA’s approach and intention for using technology in education. She encouraged parents to provide feedback.
  • Both the East and West Campus SAAC committees reported that end-of-year surveys were being finalized and requested that parents provide feedback.
  • The board adjourned to executive session to discuss security arrangements and the performance and evaluation process for administrators, returning to adjourn the meeting without further action, discussion, or public comments not pertaining to agenda items.

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The MA School Board meets at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The next regular board meeting will be on Thursday, May 11, at 6 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.

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