Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 16 and 23 – Board appropriates ERTC funds

Finance director recognized
Funds appropriated for academic proposal
Athletic proposal detailed
Staff bonus approved
October Count report
Policy updates
Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) School Board met twice in October to appropriate money from the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) funds it received, spotlight Finance Director Laura Polen, hear the October Count report, and revise policies.

Finance director recognized

Board President Ryan Graham recognized Polen, who recently achieved her Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations from the Association for School Business Officials International. The certification is granted to highly qualified individuals and has multiple requirements, from work experience to education, as well as a comprehensive exam that tests competency in business management topics and a commitment to high ethical standards. Recipients commit to ongoing professional development and recertification every three years. Graham congratulated Polen on this significant accomplishment.

**Above:** At its Oct 15 meeting, board President Ryan Graham recognized Finance Director for her significant achievement in becoming a Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations from the Association of School Business Officials International organization. From left are board members Craig Carle, Jilinda Dygert, Vice President Lindsay Clinton, Polen, Graham, and board member Matt Ross. Photo by Jackie Burhans.

Funds appropriated for academic proposal

MA received a total of $2.2 million in non-recurring ERTC funds available to certain employers for payroll taxes paid during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although public schools were not included since they are governmental entities, MA was eligible through its building corporations, which are 501(c)(3) organizations.

At its Oct. 16 meeting, the board unanimously approved appropriating ERTC funds for the academic proposal that had been previously presented at a special meeting on Aug. 25 with financial costs submitted later.

The academic proposal totaled $19,650 and included:

Class trips to help attract and retain middle and high school students – $6,000
Stipends for 10 after-school clubs to attract and retain students – $10,000
Digital message board for communications, ads, and events – $3,000
High school information day for eighth-grade students – $650

Athletic proposal detailed

The athletic proposal generated additional questions at the Oct. 16 meeting, and the decision was postponed until the Oct. 23 special meeting. Questions covered the possible inclusion of a 15-person bus, the cost of uniforms and helmets, facility rental costs, coaches’ stipends, as well as a discussion of which sports programs might be added.

Executive Director Collin Vinchattle said the team had drilled down into the data and refined the proposal with survey data, program information, and a budget. Athletics are expensive, he said, but are important to families and students. Although MA is more of an arts school, athletics make a difference, he said.

Athletic Director Lannie Vance summarized the survey, which received 152 responses on four questions: student grade level, current sports involvement, desired sports to add, and influence on family decisions to stay at MA. For the 73 families with students in eighth grade or higher, 62% indicated adding athletics would make at least a slight difference in their decision.

The top high school sports requested were Boys Golf, Football, Girls Golf, Girls Soccer, and Lacrosse. Vance reviewed each sport, showing team size, equipment costs, pros, cons, and other items of consideration. She also showed how many athletes were currently participating in sports at the middle and high school level, as well as the number of males and females by grade level.

Vance said the recommended high school sport additions were broken into Tier 1: cheer, eight-man football, boys and girls golf, and Tier 2: boys’ and girls’ soccer, girls flag football, and boys volleyball. There was a lot of discussion with the board about eight- vs. 11-man football, varsity vs. junior varsity, and the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) cycles. The board also talked about grants, having the only boys volleyball team in the district, having enough practice space, and a concern about pulling students from other sports due to seasonal schedules.

Graham asked about startup costs such as equipment versus recurring costs, such as stipends and tournament fees. For 2026-27, the total costs would be about $92,000 with recurring costs of around $60,000, Graham said. Vance noted that some sports do more fundraising and pay for their own personalized equipment and uniforms, while others are provided by the school. She said she was waiting to hear details on costs for golf practice facility usage. Graham asked about increases in liability insurance due to sports like football; Operations Manager Jake Dicus said he would reach out to MA’s representative.

Graham said MA needed to move forward with athletics because they have promised families to build an athletic field. He asked Polen about MA’s ability to cover recurring costs after the first year. Polen said ERTC funds would cover the first year, but recurring costs might impact other items and decrease interest income. It would depend on the debt service resulting from refinancing MA’s East Campus bonds and the results of MA’s investment in marketing on enrollment.

Graham suggested appropriating funds for fiscal year 2026-27 to start, so MA can get more information on insurance and course costs for golf. He moved to approve appropriating funds for Tier 1 sports (cheer, eight-man football, boys and girls golf) from the ERTC funds, not to exceed $125,000. The board unanimously approved the motion.

Staff bonus approved

Vinchattle noted that MA could not increase salaries for staff this year due to concerns about enrollment and state budget shortfalls. He said the windfall of ERTC funds and other budget aspects allowed MA to propose a 5% bonus for returning staff that would be excluded from the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) plan.

Graham noted that Vinchattle had asked to be excluded from the bonus but proposed that he be included. The board unanimously agreed to approve the staff bonus pool capped at $250,000. The board then unanimously approved the corresponding resolution authorizing bonus pay for fiscal year 2025-26 for eligible staff. The bonuses were paid on Oct. 26 so that the monies are available ahead of Christmas.

October Count report

Registrar Lena Gross presented the October Count report to the board, showing final numbers for the schools and discussing trends for the 2025-26 school year. She said MA met its goals of increased communication to enhance the understanding of parents and families of the importance of October Count, saying it ties into the state plan for funding schools. MA was able to account for every fully enrolled student and had a 98% attendance rate on Oct. 1, with additional students documented as attending during the two-week count window.

Gross said that East Campus has 451 full-time-equivalent (FTE) students, including 16 High Performance Program (HPP) students, and West Campus has about 564 students, noting that students participating in the Monument Academy Homeschool Partnership (MAHP) program and half-day kindergarten students are counted as ½ FTE. The 2025-26 budget had called for 476 at East Campus, including 25 HPP students, and about 569 students at West Campus.

Gross said MA’s decline in enrollment was consistent with state enrollment trends, noting that Colorado’s birth rate was declining faster than the national average. One report showed that K-12 enrollment has fallen for the last five years and is at its lowest since 2014.

Gross said that 25.84% of MA’s students reside outside of the D38 district, including Cheyenne Mountain School District, showing MA’s regional appeal. Graham said that people were leaving Colorado because of legislation against parental rights.

Policy updates

The board unanimously approved the following policy updates, which were reviewed by MA’s legal counsel:

1512 – Open Records Policy. Renamed to KEC-MA with updated language, job title, and hourly charge.
1513 – Staff File Access Policy. Renamed to BHC-MA with more technical language, changes in procurement, more specificity, allowing only relevant portions, and a confidentiality statement as well as a job title change.
1516 – Personal and Property Search. Renamed to JIHS-MA with updated language on cell phones, interrogation by law enforcement, and notification of parents. Parts C2 and C3 were combined.
1529 – Non-Smokable Marijuana Administration. Renamed to JLCDB-MA with updated technical language and a change to the role of the school nurse. Board member Jilinda Dygert noted that non-smokable marijuana is not kept on school grounds, so a parent or medical professional would come to campus to administer the substance.
1530 – Parent Notification of Alleged Criminal Conduct by a School Employee. Renamed to KDBA-MA with new technical language and changed format to include bullet points.

Board policies can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ma-policies.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

Executive Director. Vinchattle reported on homecoming, concerts, athletics, and parent-teacher conferences, along with updates on Phase 2 expansion of East Campus.
Finance Director Polen reviewed the August financials by school and fund and said MA has final audit papers that it will present next month to D38. She said MA is waiting for a meeting with S&P to get its financial rating.
Curriculum. Vice President Lindsay Clinton combined the report for both the East and West Campus, which had a similar agenda. The committees reviewed board policies, examined proposed edits to the core curriculum and rubric, and discussed pacing, scope and sequence, supplemental curriculum requests, and field trip evaluations.
Student Accountability and Advisory Committee (SAAC) West. Clinton said the committee received a human resources presentation from Director of People Operations Krista Pelley and was reviewing edits to its bylaws.
SAAC East. Dygert reported that the committee is looking for a vice chair, heard from D38 about the budget, saw a presentation on gifted and talented, and brainstormed how to increase participation in the mid-year survey.

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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 was moved to Thursday, Nov. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. The agenda and packet are available at tinyurl.com/ma-boarddocs.

Jackie Burhans can be reached at jackieburhans@ocn.me.