Monument Academy School Board, July 17 – Board prioritizes marketing plan, passes policy on religious opt-outs

• Board organization
• Swift action urged on marketing plan
• First read of religious opt-out policy
• Highlights

By Jackie Burhans

The Monument Academy (MA) school board met in July to elect officers, and appoint committees, urge the creation of a marketing plan, and pass a policy to allow for religious opt outs to curriculum, take other board actions and hear reports. There were no committee updates.

Board organization

Board member Craig Carle was sworn in for his second term and the board voted to retain its leadership positions with President Ryan Graham, Vice President Lindsay Clinton, Secretary Jilinda Dygert, and Treasurer Carle.

The board confirmed the following committee assignments:

• Curriculum West – Clinton
• Curriculum East – Matt Ross
• SAAC West – Clinton
• SAAC East – Dygert
• Governance – Dygert, Graham
• Finance – Carle, Graham
• Building and Facilities – Graham
• Resource Development Committee – Carle, Clinton

Swift action urged on marketing plan

Clinton pressed Executive Director Collin Vinchattle to act urgently on a long-delayed marketing plan, citing concerns about upcoming refinancing decisions and declining enrollment.

Vinchattle said the team has been evaluating data, identifying top-performing channels such as social media and Google banner ads, and developing a plan following a three-hour strategy session earlier that day. Some initiatives are expected to launch with the new school year.

Clinton expressed concern over the lack of visible progress, pointing out that marketing was identified as a top need at the board’s retreat over a year ago. Clinton also questioned whether any external marketing firms were evaluated. Vinchattle confirmed that while pricing had been researched for social media content creators, no full-service marketing firm had been considered, citing budget constraints.

Current marketing efforts are handled primarily by the school’s marketing director, who oversees social media, tours, events, the website, and more, he said.

Graham supported a more aggressive approach, urging collaboration between Vinchattle and board members Clinton and Carle over the next 30 days. “We cannot get to August and then punt to September,” Graham said. “We are at a very critical juncture.”

The board discussed reallocating Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) funds to bolster the marketing budget, which currently includes $10,000 for content creation.

Board members agreed to reconvene in August to review a revised marketing plan and updated budget, with input from Clinton and Carle. The plan is expected to guide outreach ahead of key fall events and MA’s upcoming thirty-year anniversary.

Dygert said she appreciated the foundational work Vinchattle had done on the seven tenets and educational philosophy that could go into the marketing plan.

First read of religious opt-out policy

Graham introduced and read policy IRJB-MA Parental Notification and Opt-Out for Curriculum Materials Potentially Conflicting with Religious Beliefs in its entirety.

The policy allows parents to opt their children out of any curriculum that may conflict with their religious beliefs per a recent Supreme Court ruling. Schools must notify parents in advance when instructional materials pose “a very real threat of undermining” the religious beliefs parents wish to instill in their children. Teachers must identify sensitive content and provide alternative assignments. The policy lays out guidelines, training, and processes, saying it will be implemented neutrally for any religious or secular perspective. The policy says the school will continue to comply with Colorado anti-discrimination laws and ensure that all students feel safe and supported. The draft policy is available at bit.ly/ma-boarddocs for the July 17 meeting.

Graham noted that some of the wording needed to be revised as it said “district” and should say “school.” He also said it should be explicit that kids who are opted out will be taken to a different classroom. Clinton expressed concern that it had an exception for spontaneous selection of curriculum, saying that there were processes for curriculum selection and review. Carle asked if teachers were being trained on what topics might raise concerns and Vinchattle said he was working with lawyer Brad Miller to explore what the guidelines might look like. Dygert asked if there was a list of current curricula available for parents. Vinchattle noted that there were documents on the scope and sequence for core knowledge, and some loose documents on what High School students read but said those could be formalized.

Graham said the topic would come back to the board in August.

Highlights

Board meeting highlights include:

• Executive Director. Vinchattle updated the board on his action plan that resulted from the organizational audit that was performed in the past year, highlighting accomplishments in academics, budgeting, professional development, educational philosophy, job descriptions, and curriculum.
• Finance. Director Laura Polen reviewed May numbers by school and fund, saying that total income for all three schools is $707,000 less the cost of the modulars and the parking lot purchase. There was a loss of $58,000 overall for May, but MA is still ahead on a year-to-date basis. Polen is preparing for the 2024 audit.
• Staff Welcome Breakfast. The board unanimously voted to authorize up to $2,000 to provide breakfast to the staff on the first full day of work on Aug. 7. Vinchattle invited the board to come in and introduce themselves to new and returning staff at the West Campus.
• AeroLab Contract. The board approved a contract with AeroLab, pending legal review, to provide programming for MA’s homeschool enrichment program for middle and high schoolers. See www.falconaerolab.org for information.
• Design Advisory Committee. In anticipation of the build-out of phase 2 facilities at the East Campus, the board approved the creation of a committee to include two board members, Carle and Graham, two executive administrative members, two staff members and two parents.
• Executive Session: The board ended its meeting with an executive session for negotiations and advice to negotiators regarding the legal engagement and fee structure for a lawsuit in support of girls safety and equal opportunity. No action was taken after the executive session.

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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 is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Campus. The agenda and packet are available at bit.ly/ma-boarddocs.

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

Other Monument Academy School Board articles

• Monument Academy School Board, June 12, 27 – Board passes sports fairness policy, joins in suit against CHSAA (7/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, May 8, 9 and 29 – Board adjusts budget for low enrollment, anticipates tax credit revenue (6/7/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, April 10 and 24 – Proposed high school dress code draws concerns (5/3/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 26 and March 13 – Board returns focus to gender ideology, hears concerns about discipline enforcement (4/5/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Feb. 13 – Board expresses interest in Grace Best building (3/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Jan. 6 and 9 – Board hears bond refinancing, action plan (2/1/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Dec. 17 – Board hears academic dashboard report (1/4/2025)
• Monument Academy School Board, Nov. 18 and 21 – Board responds to organization audit (12/5/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Oct. 17 and 24 – Board hears financial audit, improvement plan, internal review (11/2/2024)
• Monument Academy School Board, Sept. 12 – Board discusses parental review of library materials, adopts management system (10/5/2024)