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OCN > 2403 > Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 8 and 22 – Board passes parental rights policy 6-1; member resigns

Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 8 and 22 – Board passes parental rights policy 6-1; member resigns

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.
Above: At the Feb. 9 meeting, Monument Academy board member Craig 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. Pictured are Carle, left, and Michalak. Photo by Jackie Burhans.

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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, 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.

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