by Jaye Sudar
WALSENBURG– After a brief shuffling of the agenda, the RE-1 board, minus Board President Jerant and board member Valerio, went into executive session to discuss personnel issues. After 45 minutes, the board reconvened. The tone of the room was somber as the audience returned.
Two items were then added to the agenda. The first was the approval of Dawn Olson′s contract. The second and more important was the resignation of Toni Brgoch. The vote to accept her resignation as Business Manager for the district was a 3-2 vote. It had been rumored that a part time position had been proposed to help ease in a new business manager. While the actual contents of the executive session are not known, the outcome of those talks is that August 31 will be Brgoch’s last day in Huerfano RE-1. The rest of the district business was completed in record time as Diego Bobian had to leave at 7:30 pm. After he left the board lacked a quorum.
At the end of the meeting, Gaye Davis stated that she was extremely disappointed and that her job will be 10 times harder with Brgoch gone. She apologized to Brgoch as well for all the times there had been contention over funds. Liz Schneider gave accolades for Brgoch’s efforts to keep the school district financially sound. She stated that if it were not for her efforts during negotiations, that process would have been much more difficult. Schneider stated that Brgoch’s departure is a huge loss for the district.
The principals reported that the schools were revving up for the opening day of school on August 23. Gardner has enrolled 87 students for this year. Doc Siders stated there will be a ′Meet the Teachers Night′ on August 18 at the high school. Athletics are moving into full swing, and the Gifted and Talented program is being revamped.
When not in use by the schools, the new track and field are available to the public. Davis reported that the district is on the shortlist for a CDE grant to bring the high school into ADA compliance for the locker rooms and bathrooms. It was also stated that the buses have not been inspected for the year due to the fact that Gary Vigil′s contract has yet to be finalized.
Superintendent Olson reported that the CSAP scores were in and available to the public through the newspapers. The scores will be discussed in more depth at the next board meeting.
In other business, the district approved hiring of instructional aides, cooks, and substitute teachers, bus drivers, cooks, custodians and secretaries for the district. They accepted the resignation of Ruth Vigil with regret. Two families gave notice to the district as required by state law that they are homeschooling. The Peakview Student Handbook was approved, and the Athletic Handbook tentatively approved. A contract for concrete work at the Sports complex was approved as well as a donation of a refrigeration unit for the complex. The purchase of 25 new computers was approved, and a graduation policy was accepted.
