Lewis-Palmer District 38 Board of Education, Dec. 5 and 11 – Board installs members, discusses four-day week and fall surveys, and announces departure of superintendent

Departure of superintendent announced
Four-day week discussion
Fall survey discussion
Recognitions

By Harriet Halbig

Following certification of November election results, the Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education held a special meeting to administer oaths of office and elect officers as required by state statute.

Newly elected members of the board are Dr. Patti Shank and Todd Brown. Continuing members are Kris Norris, Ron Schwarz, and Tiffiney Upchurch.

Following the oaths of office, Upchurch was nominated to serve as president and Norris as vice president. There were no other nominations for the two offices, and they were elected on a voice vote. Shank was elected secretary and Schwarz was elected treasurer.

Upchurch then said that Chief Business Officer Brett Ridgway would serve as assistant treasurer and Vicki Wood would serve as assistant secretary.

Upchurch then appointed Brown as director at large.

Members of the board then signed affidavits of confidentiality.

Following the special meeting, a work session was held to receive a report from Schneider Electric following the end of the construction phase of its program to reduce energy and utility costs for the district and to improve security measures. To view the PowerPoint of this report, please see boarddocs under the Board of Education tab on the lewispalmer.org website.

Superintendent KC Somers then introduced new members to the district’s strategic plan, policies, committee structure, and members of the administration.

Departure of superintendent announced

As part of his board member comment, Schwarz said that Somers had sent an email to staff on Nov. 30 announcing that he has accepted a position in Peoria, Ariz. That district has 36,000 students compared to D38’s 6,500 and 4,000 staff in comparison it D38’s 800.

Schwarz said that statistics show that a superintendent will generally stay in a position for three to six years. He said D38 was fortunate to have Somers for five years and he wished him the best. Somers will finish the school year at D38.

Four-day week discussion

During the Dec. 11 regular meeting, the board had a lengthy discussion about changing to a four-day week schedule beginning in the 2024-25 school year.

Somers reminded the board that the primary reason for considering the change was to determine whether it would help with staff retention since efforts to significantly increase compensation have been stymied. A task force was created last summer to consider the issue.

Assistant Superintendent Amber Whetstine and Human Resources Director Alice Welch presented results of surveys and private conversations with staff on the subject. To view this presentation, please see boarddocs under the Board of Education tab on the lewispalmer.org website.

When asked whether families had been consulted, Somers responded that unless results of the surveys showed overwhelming support from staff, families would not be consulted.

Whetstine said that advantages of a four-day week could include:

Time for staff to attend personal appointments.
Improved morale.
Potential financial benefits if staff desired a second job.
More consistency in calendar since we already have several four-day weeks.

Negative impacts could include:

Interference with athletic programs due to later dismissal times. Athletes potentially would miss class time.
Child care costs.
Families may extend three-day weekends into four days for travel.
Concerns for students who receive free or reduced meals.
Concerns for students receiving special needs services.

Unknown impacts include:

Ease of transition for students.
Impact on learning.
Impact on support for future mill levy overrides (MLOs).
Impact on staff retention.

Somers was asking the board whether they would advise continuing to research the option or take other action. He said that he would feel most confident if the staff showed a 66% or better inclination to stay if the change were made. Some staff said they would leave if the change were implemented.

Somers said the district is coming up on the open enrollment period when parents need to decide whether to keep their children in District 38 and parents in adjoining districts wish to have their children in District 38. For this reason, it would be wise to make a statement one way or another.

Regarding retention, Somers said that he would like to cut the turnover rate in half, but this is not the only way to influence it.

One member remarked that with the rate of new construction in the district and the potential of lower-cost housing, new families may be more affected by additional child-care costs.

Shank commented that it would be unwise to do something so disruptive unless we were convinced it would solve the problem.

Upchurch said she has researched the 120 districts in the state which currently have four-day weeks and there is no solid evidence of impact on student performance. She also commented that, if the district were to gain many new students through this change, it may not have anywhere to put them. No districts have returned to five-day weeks after the change.

Upchurch, Shank, and Brown suggested charging Somers and staff with finding other solutions to the problems of compensation and retention.

Somers said that the board will need to approve the 2024-25 calendar in January.

Schwarz commented that the 20% increase in salary achieved by the staff in the last few years has not impacted the district’s standing compared to adjoining districts. We are still about 8% behind. We need to let the staff know if we are no longer pursuing the four-day week.

Shank agreed that the staff needs to know they are being heard.

Upchurch said she had hoped for a more definitive result from discussions and surveys. She honored the work of the task force and calendar committee but concluded that the board wishes the staff to explore other solutions to the compensation problem.

Fall survey discussion

Welch and Whetstine reported on results of surveys of students, parents, and staff during the fall.

To view the details of the surveys, please see boarddocs.

This was the second time the students had been surveyed and it was shown that they felt safe in their school environment, they knew an adult they could go to for help, and they felt a part of the school community.

The parent and staff surveys were administered by outside vendor Huron Studer Education. Because this was the first year for both surveys, it will be used as a benchmark. Participants included 540 families and 469 staff (out of about 800).

The families responded that they felt the schools were clean and safe, that education of students was a priority, and students and families were treated with respect. They also responded that they would like to receive more frequent messages or feedback on student performance.

Staff respondents said that they felt that their work positively impacts the community and they have a clear understanding of the goals of the organization and a sense of pride in where they work. As for opportunities, staff said they would like more feedback on their performance and better allocation of resources to maximize effectiveness across the district and in each location.

Recognitions

Please see boarddocs for the superintendent update on district achievements.

The board recognized the Palmer Ridge High School state champion girls gymnastics and volleyball teams.

Gymnastics coach Kathy Clowes was named state gymnastics coach of the year and volleyball coach Erica Bradley was named volleyball coach of the year. Corey Anderson was named volleyball player of the year.

Greg Saunders (pictured below) was confirmed as the new principal of Ray Kilmer Elementary. He had served in an interim capacity since last July and had previously been vice principal at Lewis-Palmer High School.

**Above:** At the regular Board of Education meeting, D38 board President Tiffiney Upchurch recognizes newly elected and re-elected board members. From left are Treasurer Ron Schwarz, Vice President Kris Norris, Secretary Dr. Patti Shank, Upchurch, and Director Todd Brown. Photo by Jackie Burhans.

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The Lewis-Palmer D38 Board of Education generally meets at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of the month at the district’s learning center, 146 Jefferson St., Monument. The next meeting will be on Jan. 22.

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

Departure of superintendent announced

Four-day week discussion

Fall survey discussion

Recognitions

Other D38 Board of Education articles