Thompson School District Board of Education Study Session 6/04/25
by Lisa Love Blankenship
Live streaming wasn’t available during this meeting. A video version of the meeting was posted on YouTube the next day. The video starts during the Head Start Grant agenda item, omitting the opening meeting activities.
This meeting was a study session, providing board members with a time to gather information and discuss topics that will be voted on later, and to hear updates on other programs or topics.
Head Start Grant will continue quality program
Director of Early Childhood Education Lamb Caro and Interim Assistant Superintendent of Learning Services Sara Rasmussen presented goals and results from the 2020-2025 Head Start grant period, including attendance rate, enrollment rate, parent participation, and school readiness measures.
Caro noted that the program is considered to be of high quality and it is often recommended as an example for other Head Start programs. No significant changes will be made to the program for the 2026-2030 grant period. In setting new goals, they consulted Colorado standards, their own past data, input from community, staff, families, TSD Head Start Policy Council, and the school board. The next board meeting agenda will include approval of the grant.
Task force recommends adopting online platform edmentum
Interim Assistant Superintendent of Learning Services Sara Rasmussen and Director of Curriculum and Learning Design Tiffany Jones described the process of selecting a new online learning platform for Thompson Online (TOL, a full-time online program), Secondary Options for Achievement Resulting in Success (SOARS, a hybrid program), and the Credit Recovery program. The platform needs to meet accessibility requirements, and needs to be used for both middle school and high school students.
An Online Task Force was established, and the task force members selected five platform options to review. They selected three of these to test with students and teachers. After this trial process, the task force collected feedback from all stakeholders (students, teachers, administrators, families, community members). More information about the process is available in the document Appendices for Online Program Adoption for Thompson Online (TOL), Secondary Options for Achievement Resulting in Success (SOARS), and Credit Recovery
After reviewing all of the data, the task force is recommending adoption of the platform edmentum for three years. This platform is also used by the St. Vrain, Poudre, and Windsor school districts. Board members expressed appreciation for the thorough selection process.
Sale of Monroe Elementary School will benefit physical updates for other TSD schools
Assistant Superintendent of Operations Todd Piccone presented a plan for allocating nearly $5 million from the sale of the Monroe Elementary building, a school that was closed in 2023 due to low enrollment. Closing on the building sale is set for July 8.
Piccone noted that there are many high priority needs, and the proceeds will cover only a fraction of them. One high priority need is to address ADA issues in buildings across the district. The proposed plan includes hiring a third party to assess ADA issues. According to Piccone, though the funding won’t be available for addressing all of the potential ADA-related needs, having the third party assessment will enable the district to create a plan for eventually dealing with issues as funds become available.
Other items on the proposed list include:
- Work on some of the ADA compliance issues
- Repairs to the Mountain View High School swimming pool and tennis courts
- Repair to an underground gas line at the Thompson Valley High School pool
- Abatement for mercury found in floors in two buildings
- Shot clocks (countdown timing devices) at sports venues, as required by the Colorado High School Activities Association
The next board meeting agenda will include approval of a plan for allocating the building sale proceeds.
Exiting Superintendent will be evaluated
Director of Human Resources Thomas Texeira spoke about the process and timeline for evaluating the superintendent, a board responsibility. The board will follow this process, though Superintendent Marc Shaffer is leaving TSD and will be starting a new position effective July 1. Individual board member evaluations will be compiled, and a final year-end review completed by the end of June.
Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) Legislative Update includes dress codes, chosen names, phone use, school finance formula and more
Board Member Stu Boyd discussed several laws that were recently passed by the Colorado legislature and signed by Governor Jared Polis, focusing on the parts of the laws that are relevant to schools, as described below.
- HB25-1320, School Finance Act - Implements a new public school funding formula, phased in over several years, that increases per–pupil funding. Mechanisms are in place to pause the implementation if certain economic conditions arise.
- HB25-1230, Changes to Traffic Violation for Overtaking a School Bus - Permits a municipality to, with approval from a school district's board of education, install and utilize automated vehicle identification systems (AVIS) on school buses to detect a vehicle that violates current law by overtaking a stopped school bus.
- HB25-1312, Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals - Provides that, if a local education provider enacts a policy related to chosen names, the policy must be inclusive of all reasons that a student might adopt a chosen name. Provides that a dress code adopted by a local education provider must not create any rules based on gender and must allow each student to choose from any of the options provided in the dress code.
- HB25-1135, Communication Devices in Schools - Requires schools to adopt and implement a policy for student communication device possession and use during the school day.
- SB25-276, Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status - Limits the information that a public school can collect about students, except as required by federal or state law, and requires school districts to have a policy that aligns with the language and intent of the bill.
The Landing supported 27 youth and young adults in first 90 days
Matthews House Executive Director Nicole Armstrong, attending along with TSD Assistant Superintendent of Operations Todd Piccone, spoke about the initial months of operation of The Landing, a year-round shelter for young people ages 15-20 experiencing homelessness or crisis situations. Operated by The Matthews House, a nonprofit organization, the shelter provides safe temporary housing, mental and physical health support, family reunification services, educational support, and life skills training.
Partners include Poudre and Thompson School Districts, Loveland’s Community Kitchen, Sunrise Community Health, and SummitStone Health Partners, among others.
In the first 90 days, The Landing supported 27 youth and young adults, and had over 360 overnight stays. Armstrong shared stories about the growing pains of learning to work in this space with these young people, and she shared a success story about a struggling TSD student who has secured a job and made noticeable progress toward graduation and housing security.
Board members offered comments of strong support for this program, and noted the importance of filling this need in the community.
Classified Staff Advisory Council (CSAC) without staff member dues
CSAC Chair Alicia Orebo, CSAC Co-Chair Tara Flores, and CSAC Secretary Amy Calmbacher presented information about the Classified Staff Advisory Council, a group of 10 volunteer classified staff members from across the district, serving as a communication and problem-solving resource for classified staff issues, concerns, and ideas. CSAC members meet regularly with the Superintendent and other members of the Executive Leadership Team, bringing proposals and recommendations on topics including salaries, the evaluation system, and the overall climate affecting classified staff. Though CSAC represents all classified staff members, there are no membership fees or monthly dues for staff, who are always welcome to reach out with concerns to CSAC.
Board member Nancy Rumfelt asked about issues that were raised at the previous board meeting by the Thompson Education Support Professionals Association (TESPA), a union representing classified staff, noting that during the public comment session, a number of TESPA members indicated that they felt that their needs haven’t been addressed, and were supportive of having TESPA represent them.
The CSAC representatives responded that they don’t know why some classified staff members might not be aware of their services, but they intend to work this summer on solutions to increase awareness of CSAC.
Though CSAC presented updates at board meetings in the past, this hasn’t been done during the past several years. The presenters agreed to work to reinstate that practice so that board members can be informed about any issues the board might need to address.
Equity update points to 5 ongoing strategies
Interim Assistant Superintendent of Learning Services Sara Rasmussen and Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Dr. Maria Gabriel offered an overview of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion department activities for the past year. In addition to many other opportunities offered to students, activities included:
- Holding high school and middle school Student Belonging Conferences
- Helping to develop the TSD Instructional Framework to further the work of eliminating educational disparities
- Providing professional learning to create cultural responsiveness to the changing demographics of the student population
- Hosting student and family surveys and a listening session for families
- Supporting efforts to ensure all facilities are welcoming, safe, and inclusive
Dr. Gabriel went on to discuss the updated TSD Educational Equity Framework, and Educational Equity implementation strategies and progress for the 2024-2025 school year for each of the five focus areas:
- Inclusive Family/Guardian and Community Input
- Inclusive Multilingual Communication and Digital Accessibility
- Culturally Competent and Diverse Staff
- Professional Learning for Equity
- Equitable Resource Allocation
The department has seen positive results, and board members expressed support and encouragement for their continued efforts.
Graduation Requirements may add personal financial literacy
Interim Assistant Superintendent of Learning Services Sara Rasmussen, Director of Curriculum and Learning Design Tiffany Jones, and Director of Career and College Readiness Andy Stevens offered information about the recent evaluation of graduation requirements.
A group was formed to review the graduation requirements policy, gathering stakeholder feedback and comparing policies from other area school districts. Initial observations included:
- Graduation is attainable
- Students are offered a diverse range of courses
- There are options for non-traditional students to graduate
- There is a need for real-life skills education
Upcoming actions include developing a plan to integrate Personal Financial Literacy (PFL) as a graduation requirement. Board members expressed support for the idea of real-life skills education and a PFL requirement.
2025-2026 Budget Update
Chief Financial Officer Bob Ebersole and Director of Finance Zack Mozer presented a detailed update on the TSD budget, including revenue, salaries and benefits, and non-FTE costs for the next fiscal year, as well as an update about the 2025 audit by the firm CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA).
The proposed budget is available on the TSD website. On Monday, June 9 at 5 p.m., in the TSD Administration Building, 800 S. Taft Ave., a community forum will discuss the budget. At the next board meeting on June 18, the budget will be addressed in a public comment period separate from the regularly scheduled comment period, and a vote for approval of the budget will take place.
Board members expressed gratitude about the clarity and transparencynancy in the current budget process.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be June 18, 2025, 6 p.m. in the boardroom at the Thompson School District Administration Building, 800 S. Taft Ave., Loveland.
The meeting will be broadcast live on (Loveland) Channel 14, and also live streamed, 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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