It was a long night for people attending the Monday, Sept. 13, District 14 board of education work session and meeting. In a session that lasted more than three and a half hours, board members tackled a considerable agenda that was frequently derailed by heated discussions on board transparency and the school bond measure on November’s election ballot.
The first topic broached during the work session centered on recording and sharing the board’s monthly meetings. Traditionally, the board has not shared them directly with the public, relying instead on approved minutes typed during public meetings and shared on the district website weeks later.
The August special session to finalize the bond language for the November ballot was recorded via Zoom, and Treasurer Jack Sharon requested that the video be shared with the public on the board’s page of the website. He felt it contained valuable information for taxpayers who may not have attended the special session.
Additionally, he felt that the meeting minutes were too vague, further justifying the need to share the video. During the official meeting, the board voted to make the video available online, although the location where it will be hosted was not determined.
After a lengthy discussion, the board moved on to other business.
Vice President Natalie Johnson presented a proclamation for the district to recognize October as Arts Month. It included a call to “celebrate and promote the arts and culture in Manitou Springs and to specifically encourage the greater participation of our schools in taking action for the arts and humanities in our community.”
The work session also included a brief discussion of current policy proposals the board is reviewing in support of transgender students and staff, as well as the district’s current policy on administering medical marijuana to students.
Director Gary Smith asked why the medical marijuana information needs review. Superintendent Elizabeth Domangue explained that at least one parent has expressed issues with the district’s current policy and that further exploration is needed.
During the regular meeting, parent Melissa Durham spoke about medical marijuana during the public comment period. Her son, an eighth-grader, uses medical marijuana to control his seizures.
Currently, he cannot store his medication at the school nurse’s office, in accordance with district rules. This requires Durham to drive to the school to administer her son’s medicine, a nasal spray, in an emergency.
Durham said that the alternatives to this form of medication are either invasive intervention or a call to emergency services and potential hospital stay. She also explained that the extra time to perform any of the three options currently available can severely impact her son.
She said that Gov. Jared Polis signed SB 21-056 in May, which removes the ability for school principals to opt out of medical marijuana administration in schools.
The bill summary states, “The act removes the discretion from the school principals and requires school boards to implement policies allowing for the storage, possession and administration of cannabis-based medicine by school personnel.
“The act allows school personnel to volunteer to possess, administer or assist in administration of cannabis-based medicine and protects those who do from retaliation.”
The bill doesn’t require anyone to volunteer, nor does it punish anyone who declines.
Districts are shielded from punishment for adhering to the policy, as well, with the bill summary stating: “The act provides disciplinary protection to nurses, anyone licensed pursuant to Title 12, and school personnel who administer cannabis-based medicine to students at school.”
Durham asked the board to read the bill and reconsider the existing policy.
The focus of the public comment period then shifted to the topic of the upcoming school bond.
Former Mayor Ken Jaray spoke via Zoom about the school bond vote. Jaray said that he initially supported the bond because he believed that every board member had been allowed to speak on the topic and that adequate research had been done.
He then said that he spoke with an unnamed board member, who said they were not able to adequately discuss the bond measure in recent meetings and had been given only three minutes to discuss the topic during the Aug. 30 special meeting.
Jaray expressed concern and asked that the board give more consideration in the future. He then discussed what he believed to be discrepancies between the initial bond amount proposed and the bond’s actual cost over time with interest.
The board then heard from Kolleen Johnson, director of student success, about the district’s career technical education programs.
The district has continued its partnership with the local housing and building association, which gives students valuable skills for working in fields such as construction after graduating. The district plans to participate in a two-year home-build program that offers hands-on opportunities to learn new aspects of construction and building.
The district is also focusing on enhancing its commercial arts program, including offerings such as printmaking, metalsmithing and photography. Participation in the commercial arts, particularly photography, is growing.
The district has also continued to grow its computer and health sciences programs. The latter has increased opportunities for student internships through Peak Vista.
Johnson also mentioned concern about the technical theater program. Changes in career technical education at state and federal levels may negatively impact program funding from those sources in the future — there seems to be the viewpoint that these programs do not qualify as technical education.
She said that participation in those programs is significant and that support for them is important, regardless of funding or designation as a career technical program.
The end of the meeting included a lengthy discussion on the board’s internal engagement. Sharon repeatedly expressed frustration over not being able to discuss the bond issue or add the potential discussion to the nightly agenda.
He said that he believes taxpayers are not getting the full picture of the bond’s cost and details. Domangue noted that all the information Sharon was asking for is on the district website and had been discussed in multiple meetings.
Sharon argued that the existing content is not detailed enough and doesn’t include the bond’s ultimate cost after interest.
A simultaneous discussion started about how the board sets its agenda and what topics are appropriate to discuss. The board also discussed the propriety of emailing information to one another outside of public meetings and the professionalism of such communication.
Sharon requested another meeting to express his concerns about the bond. Smith said that although he felt the issue was already resolved, he was willing to have another meeting to “put the issue to bed once and for all.”
Vidovich commented that the meeting might not accomplish that, since Sharon could always request another meeting if not satisfied. After more heated discussion, the board ultimately voted to hold a meeting about the bond before or after its upcoming executive session, starting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23.
The executive session will be closed, but the bond discussion will be public. The board then adjourned.