Thompson School District Board of Education Regular Meeting 8/20/25
by Lisa Love Blankenship
A livestream of the special meeting portion is available here:
Before the regular meeting, the board met in executive session to receive legal advice from the TSD attorney about proposed settlements in two cases, Johnson v. Thompson School District R2-J, United States District Court Colorado, Case No. 1:24-CV-01627, and Roane v. Thompson School District, Larimer County District Court, Case No. 2025CV030576.
Board president Barb Kruse announced that the board made no decisions and did not take any votes during the executive session. She did not give further details about the cases at this time, but since approval of the settlements appeared on the consent agenda for the regular meeting, documents about the Johnson case are available in the agenda packet.
A recording of the regular meeting portion is available here:
New Superintendent Dr. Bret Heller reported on recent TSD events, and introduced several new district administrators.
- Opening school year activities included a welcome for new teachers held at Mountain View High School, and an all-staff event hosted at Ray Patterson Stadium.
- Dr. Heller held a series of meet and greet events across the district.
- For the third year in a row, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation named Namaqua Elementary School one of America’s Healthiest Schools. Namaqua is the only school in Colorado to earn the 2025 All-Star Award for achieving excellence in all nine areas of student health.
- Loveland High School junior Caleb Waldron took first place in the Big Questions category of the National Speech and Debate Tournament, held this summer in Des Moines, Iowa. Caleb is the first Speech and Debate national champion in Loveland High School history.
New district administrators include:
- Jeanette Ryan, Principal, Lucille Irwin Middle School
- Jamie Zupparo, Principal, B.F. Kitchen Elementary School
- Vivian Pankow, Interim Principal, Peakview Academy at Conrad Ball
- Michaela Bradshaw, Principal, Winona Elementary School
- Carmen Polka, Executive Director of Early Childhood and Elementary Schools
- Brandy Grieves, Executive Director of Secondary Schools
- Tiffany Rogers, Chief Human Resources Officer
Dr. Heller reported that since only half of the TSD schools are air-conditioned, the district released all students early on Wednesday and Thursday this week due to high temperatures. Current staffing for bus driving doesn’t allow for releasing students only in the affected schools.
He addressed the issue of starting school after Labor Day, but it’s a challenge because Colorado imposes a strict schedule for standardized testing, and timing is set by the College Board for AP, PSAT, ACT, and SAT tests. Starting school after Labor Day would reduce instructional time for TSD students by at least 20 days before taking these tests. Dr. Heller has reached out to the Colorado Department of Education to see if they would be open to holding a second testing window for schools with later start dates.
Board members shared individual comments and updates about their participation in recent district events.
- Denise Chapman spoke about attending the welcome back celebration at Ray Patterson Stadium, and noted the energy and excitement throughout the event.
- Alexandra Lessem is looking forward to a good year, and she noted that people are excited about having Dr. Heller here.
- Nancy Rumfelt shared a book that she read called Start with Why, by Simon Sinek. She found the book relevant in terms of building trust and perceived value.
- Stu Boyd attended the celebration at Ray Patterson Stadium, and agreed that it was an entertaining and informative event that celebrated a sense of community.
- Amy Doran also spoke about community and belonging. She attended the recent Families Partnering in Education meeting as the board liaison, and noted the sense of community in the Head Start program.
- Dawn Kirk mentioned the annual board retreat, which is a chance for board members to start the year, spend some time together, and discuss priorities.
- Barb Kruse spoke about the event for new teachers held at Mountain View High School, welcoming them to TSD.
During the Public Comment session, two community members spoke about providing supportive environments for transgender students.
In addition, one community member spoke about the importance of the community understanding district needs addressed in the upcoming bond issue. Someone else called in expressing concern about class size.
Two Thompson Education Support Professionals Association (TESPA) representatives spoke in support of the dedicated and hardworking TSD classified staff members, and of TESPA’s hope to become a bargaining agent for the staff.
The comments start at minute 53 in the meeting video.
The board unanimously approved several previously discussed items.
- Approval of Personnel/Extra Duty/Coaching Recommendations
- Approval of Expenditures over $50,000
- Contracts greater than $50K
- Approval of Gifts/Donations
- Approval of OCR Certified Athletic Trainer Agreement
- Approval of proposed settlement in the matter of Roane v. Thompson School District, claims in Larimer County District Court, Case No. 2025CV030576
- 2025-2026 Board of Education Meeting Calendar
Board member Nancy Rumfelt requested that the board discuss the proposed settlement in the Johnson v. Thompson School District case separately from the rest of the consent agenda. She expressed concern that in the June consent agenda there was an item to consider $200,000 for this lawsuit settlement, but the settlement did not exist at that time. Rumfelt also noted the importance of making ADA compliance a priority.
Board member Dawn Kirk responded that her understanding was that the $200,000 was not a settlement, but rather money put aside to make some of the related ADA improvements in a timely manner. Assistant Superintendent of Operations Todd Piccone verified that the June budget item was for ADA repairs projected in the settlement. He acknowledged that the settlement was not completed at that time, but TSD knew the terms of the settlement, and that this expense needed to be approved early so that the work could begin over the summer.
Dr. Heller noted that he and his staff have had conversations with the district’s law firm about handling lawsuit situations and getting information to the board in a timely manner. Board member Alexandra Lessem added that this has been an important learning experience, and expressed hope that the upcoming ADA audit will provide helpful information.
The board unanimously approved the proposed settlement in the matter of Johnson v. Thompson School District R2-J, claims in United States District Court, Case No. 1:24-CV-01627.
There were no further discussion items on the agenda, but Nancy Rumfelt requested a future update about the proceeds from the sale of Monroe Elementary, since the sale price was reduced.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be a Study Session on September 3, 2025 at 5 p.m. in the boardroom at the Thompson School District Administration Building, 800 S. Taft Ave., Loveland.
Meetings are broadcast live on (Loveland) Channel 14, and also livestreamed, linked from the Board Meetings web page.
Board Members
Present: Vice-President Stu Boyd, Denise Chapman, Amy Doran, Dawn Kirk, President Barb Kruse, Alexandra Lessem, Nancy Rumfelt.
Links
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