MEEKER | The Meeker School Board of Education held its regular meeting at the district office last Monday night. Five out of the seven board members were present. Board member Joe Nieslanik and board secretary Hanna Borchard were absent. Borchard was excused as she was chaperoning a sixth-grade field trip to the YMCA.
Elementary Principal Michele Cheesman and High School Principal Amy Chinn were in attendance, while Baron Middle School Principal Katie Johnston joined the meeting via Google Meet.
All three principals reported that they successfully navigated the first week of school. Board member Tony Theos highlighted the efforts of the custodial staff at the elementary school, as mentioned in a letter from Cheesman.
“I recognize them. That’s a big task to be getting ready for every teacher, every part of the staff, but for them to have everything ready for the first day of school is an accomplishment,” Theos said.
Board member Heather Sauls noted some exciting developments at the high school level, specifically mentioning the high school band.
“This is the first year in 15 years that there’s a high school band that’s dedicated to the high school, which is not middle school and high school combined,” Sauls said.
Superintendent Chris Selle also praised high school band director Raquel Neesham.
“She’s doing a good job of building enthusiasm for the music programs. There’s more interest at the high school level than there has been in quite some time,” Selle said.
Chinn added her own commendation for the band, saying, “I walked into the band room and they were playing ‘Sweet Caroline.’”
Superintendent Selle’s report highlighted enrollment in the district, which was higher than anticipated.
“Enrollment is higher than what we anticipated, which is a good thing with regard to finance. We’re scheduled this year to get about $12,000 per student, but because of how averaging works in Colorado, we won’t see it,” Selle explained. He provided an example, illustrating that the district won’t see an increase equivalent to the enrollment jump due to a five-year averaging process used in cases of declining enrollment.
Selle also discussed attendance rates, revealing concerning data from the 2023-2024 school year.
“I looked at data prior to the school level, prior to the 2023-2024 school year. The middle school had the lowest attendance rates, while the elementary and high schools were about the same,” Selle said. He noted that absenteeism rates were higher than desirable.
“Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% of school days or more, which equates to 14 and a half days for us,” Selle said. “Just under 20% of our kids are missing almost four weeks of school.”
Selle mentioned that while most students and parents have no attendance issues, a significant portion of the population struggles with attendance, particularly when pressured over the issue.
The board approved the consent agenda and moved to approve the action of line item two regarding student fees, deciding to keep them unchanged for the current school year.
The board’s next work session is scheduled for Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. in the district office.
By JARED HENDERSON
