RFSD Weekly Community UPDATE
April 16, 2012
From Judy Haptonstall
384-6001
Budget discussions regarding the uses of the mill levy override will be held as part of all board meetings through April 24th. Due to low attendance at the Basalt and Carbondale web cast sites, we will not be doing a web cast for the April 24th board meeting which will be held at the district office in Glenwood. On April 24th, the IBB committee will be presenting their recommendations for expenditure of the mill levy funds. Information regarding these recommendations will be available to staff and the public by April 17th.
A Year of Celebrations!
Schools Saving Energy!
School energy clubs will be spearheading efforts this month to conserve energy use in schools. All electricity savings generated from Spring Break through April 27th will be returned to school energy clubs to provide incentives and fund activities aligned with energy conservation. This already amounts to $2,300 in savings just for Spring Break! The total amount saved by each school will be published in May. Building staff will make all the difference in this effort, so be sure to turn off and unplug whenever possible!
Superintendent Search Update
As a result of the board workshop on March 14th, a Leadership Profile for the recruiting of a new superintendent was developed and is available at bit.ly/zj6tfj. This profile will guide the selection process which continues on April 25, 26, and 27th when the Board will conduct initial interviews to determine three semi-finalists. Full day interviews will be conducted with the three semi-finalists on April 30th, May 1st, and May 2nd. Each candidate will be interviewed by a seven panels of stakeholders throughout each day. The seven panels will be representative of community members, parents, the Leadership Team, classified supervisors, district office administrators, certified staff, and students. A finalist will be announced by June 1st. If you have questions, please contact Nikki Jost at njost@rfsd.k12.co.us. Schools should be selecting a teacher representative from their buildings to participate on the teacher interview panel. Please check with your principal if you are not sure who your representative is.
Communications Audit
The Roaring Fork School District and the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) will be conducting a Communications Audit which will be done May 14th and 15th. Representative groups across the district, including community members, parents, and staff will be asked to provide input to facilitators from CASB regarding the effectiveness of communication both internally and externally.
Community members and parents will be contacted by Bill Lamont this month to ask for your participation in the audit. As a former board member, Bill has generously volunteered his time to help contact non-school participants for this important project. Teacher and classified representatives will be selected in each building with the help of principals and Building Leadership Teams. The goal of the project is to get feedback from all of the district constituents regarding how the district might improve and increase communication. This audit has been funded through the generosity of the Aspen Community Foundation and the Manus Fund.
Just FYI – Last Day of School
The last day of school is June 7th which is a half day for students followed by a half day of check out for staff.
Board Meeting Notes from April 11th
· 5:00 – Meeting Called to Order- Employee Recognition for Transportation and Tech Departments
· 5:15 – Executive Session
· 5:45 - Superintendent Search Update and Final Budget Recommendations for Mill Levy Override funds
· 6:45 – Polices on second reading – Passed on second and third reading
o Policy JICDE – Bullying Prevention and Education
o Policy JICDD – Violent and Aggressive Behavior
· 7:00 – Open Forum
· 7:15 – Discussion/Information Items
o Technology Audit and Budget Recommendations
§ Recommended upgrades for bandwidth and wireless access
o School Closure Recommendations
§ Neither GSES nor GSMS were recommended for closure to outside of district or attendance area enrollment at this time. Both are very close to optimum capacity which will be carefully monitored.
o Report on K-3 Transitions
§ Regarding increased transitions for elementary students this year, most student saw no increase in transitions while students who were advancing quickly or those who needed more support typically had an additional transition when compared with last year.
o Middle School Summer School Request
§ The board approved the middle school request on the condition of receiving information regarding specifics regarding program plans and a commitment from the private funder.
o GSHS Bleachers
§ Request was approved to replace bleachers
o Staff Reports
o Board Reports
· Action Items
o Routine Personnel
· 9:15 – Open Forum
· 9:30- Adjourn
Board Members Office Hours:
Richard Stettner- Please call 925-5802 to schedule
Daniel Biggs – Please call 870-948-4228 to schedule
Terry Lott Richardson – Please call 970-404-0531 to schedule
Matt Hamilton at the Third Street Center in Carbondale in the offices of Healthy Mountain Communities and Roaring Fork Community Development Corporation, located near the café. Hours are from 4:30-6:30 the second Tuesday of each month. No appointment necessary, first come, first served.
Weekly Calendar
April 16th – School Improvement Plans due to Judy by 9:00 a.m.
April 17th – Middle School Administrators’ Meeting from 9:00-11:00 at Basalt Middle School
April 19th – Elementary Administrators’ Meeting from 9:00-11:00 at Basalt Elementary School.
Upcoming Events
April 23rd and 24th – Regional superintendents’ meetings in Grand Junction
April 24th – BOE meeting to approve recommendations for mill levy override expenditures at 7:00 p.m. at the district office