by Jaye Sudar
LA VETA- RE-2 will have to come up with $30,000 more for their contribution to the South Central BOCES services since the Florence and Canon City school districts have left. From $10 to $20,000 more might be needed if the district should decide to aid the RE-1 and Trinidad school districts. At this point in time, Trinidad has to find an additional $175,000 for their contribution to the South Central BOCES services. Stimulus money will help, but not relieve school districts of the increased expense. There has been some talk of asking Pueblo District 70 to join the South Central BOCES which would help cut costs as well.
The Oktoberfest committee, which will be providing two $1000 scholarships for students in RE-1 and two $1000 scholarships for RE-2, is asking for more student participation in the annual event. They have sponsored this community involvement scholarship for 23 years. They presented a request for aid in setting up and tearing down, and the board which will advise students to participate.
The BEST grant was submitted for “Bats in the Attic,” a health and safety issue in the district. The district hopes to hear if they will receive the award by June. As for the Race to the Top educational funds, Colorado does not qualify. Seaney stated that the State Legislature is working to comply with the fund’s guidelines. At this time, Colorado is 51st in the nation when it comes to funding for education.
Payroll outsourcing proved non-viable, and other options will be discussed along with salaries and benefits at the next meeting. A board climate survey has been drawn up and is due to be distributed by May 1 to the staff. The contract with EMC is still with the lawyer and will be discussed at the next meeting.
The school calendar was discussed with the staff. The compromise reached was that there will be a number of Friday in-service days held throughout the year. These half days will provide time for teachers to assess data from various tests, meet with one another and decide the best course of action to improve student achievement.
Sandy Hackbarth and the La Veta Public Library will be working in concert with RE-2 to provide volunteers to participate in a Pre-K thru third grade reading program. Three teachers, including a Spanish teacher, are on the docket for hire for next year.
Two banquets have been given firm dates. The FFA banquet will be April 29 at 5:30 pm at the 4H barn. The Academic banquet will be held May 18. Last, two policies were presented concerning audience participation. They restrict questions and comments from the public to specific times within the meeting. This is necessary to keep the meetings moving in a timely fashion. For more information, contact the school district.
