MEEKER | The Meeker School Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting last week for the month of May.
Board President Bill DeVergie, Vice President Tom Allen, and board members Ann Franklin, Joe Nieslanik, Heather Sauls, and Tony Theos were in attendance that evening. Board Secretary Hanna Borchard and Meeker High School Principal Amy Chinn were excused due to freshman orientation that night. Barone Middle School Principal Katie Johnston was also excused as she remains on maternity leave.
With no changes to the agenda, the board moved to approve it as presented and transitioned into district celebrations. Superintendent Chris Selle shared several highlights with the board and the public that evening.
Selle first recognized progress made through the district’s early literacy grants.
“We are making outstanding progress with our early literacy grants and efforts at the elementary school,” Selle said. “We have the lowest number of students identified with a significant reading deficiency since I’ve been in the district. We’re actually in the single digits in terms of percentages of students with a significant reading deficiency in grades K through three.”
Selle credited the achievement to teachers and staff in the room, as well as literacy consultant Diane Ewing, who wrote the original grants, and Kaleyne Turner for her continued support.
“That’s a pretty high bar when you look at state averages,” he said. “There aren’t many school districts in the single digits. What that really means is that our kids are going to be strong readers, and if you’re a good reader, that unlocks the door for all the other academics.”
Selle also recognized Meeker High School for receiving the John Irwin Schools of Excellence Award from the Colorado Department of Education.
“That award is given to schools with high academic achievement on their school performance framework,” Selle said. “Really good test scores on PSAT and SAT are what that’s awarded for.”
Selle noted that high school math teacher Naomi Etchart attended the ceremony on behalf of the school, while he and Principal Chinn were at the state track meet to watch their kids.
The Barone Middle School band was also celebrated for their performance at a recent music festival at Elitch Gardens.
“They got a couple of gold ratings,” Selle said. “We came home with all the kids we went with, so that’s a good thing as well. But most importantly, they’re heading in the right direction with our music programs right now.”
The board recognized several teachers that evening. Danielle Zollie, Hallie Blunt, and Jordan Brown were acknowledged for completing their induction program.
Nancy Richardson and Kathy DeVergie were also honored. Richardson will be relocating at the end of the school year, and DeVergie will be retiring at the end of year.
“Mrs. DeVergie has taught in the elementary school for 19 years, and she is retiring—we are sorely going to miss her,” Selle said. “Nancy Richardson served multiple roles in the district, totaling about 15 years, including as a teacher, paraprofessional, substitute and volunteer. Both have been instrumental in our literacy work, but more importantly, they’ve loved and nurtured our kids and helped hundreds grow into young men and women we are proud of.”
Later on during the meeting Superintendent Chris Selle presented the board with a preliminary budget for the next fiscal year, which they must approve by the end of June.
“Our preliminary budget is really just a list of expenditures and revenue,” Selle explained. “You can go and see all our revenue sources on the first couple of pages, and then the expense line items. At the bottom, you can see we’re currently tracking a deficit in our general fund—nothing out of the ordinary for us.”
He said payroll adjustments have helped save the district money, and the numbers presented are more accurate than previous estimates.
“This is every single line of expenditure, every single line of revenue,” Selle said. “The final budget will likely change a bit over the next month, but not significantly.”
The budget includes general fund, food service, activity fund, bond redemption, capital reserve, and trust and agency funds.
There were no changes to the consent agenda, which was approved as presented. Among the action items:
1a: The board approved Molly Doan as a classroom teacher. “We’re excited about having her full-time again,” Selle said. “She was a paraprofessional for a year, took some time off for her licensure program, and has been in the building three to four days a week. She’s one of our go-to subs and we’re confident she’ll be successful.”
1b: The board approved a post-retirement contract for counselor Marci Kirkpatrick.
“As long as an employee is doing a good job, it’s in our benefit to allow a post-retirement contract,” Selle said. “We save money—about 10.7% on salary—and gain flexibility.”
1c: The board accepted resignations from fourth grade teacher Melanie Neton and food services employee Kim Gould.
The board discussed capital and maintenance projects scheduled for this summer. Projects include finishing carpet installation at Barone Middle School, installing additional water bottle fillers (estimated at $6,700), crack sealing parking lots, and adding air conditioning to the south side of the elementary school.
Toward the end of the meeting, Selle brought up the upcoming school board election in the fall. He noted that the district had received a few inquiries about who would be up for re-election the last couple of months.
Board member Joe Nieslanik suggested a proactive approach so they don’t get 13 candidates running again like they did four years ago.
“Maybe we should write together a letter to the editor stating what’s been accomplished and where the district stands,” he said. “When there’s no communication, people rush to fill that vacuum. But if they see a framework, they might not feel the need to jump in.”
Selle encouraged board members up for re-election to decide their intentions by the June meeting, as the board will not meet again until early August.
With no executive session scheduled that night, the board adjourned. A work session is scheduled for June 9 at 7 p.m. at the district office.