Sharing the love of books Ms. Katie’s Montessori Kindergarten students proudly share their beautifully illustrated season books while studying trees and the yearly weather cycle. PHOTO BY CURT HALSTED[/caption]

On Tuesday, February 1, 2022, at 7p.m. the Gilpin County RE-1 Board of Education (BOE) met under snowy conditions to discuss potential upgrades to the Finance Department and address concerns with Food Service staffing, salaries, and the future of hot meals. Board members remain hopeful that in-school learning will continue unhindered as the Omicron surge wanes and staff holds steadfast through absences and lack of substitutes.

The Board introduced Seth Gordon, who is the first student representative to attend a BOE Meeting as part of a new Board/Student Engagement program. The program is in the early stages of its development and is aiming to educate students on how the BOE operates by providing them first-hand experience. Seth was able to sit in during the meeting to provide his insight and ask questions during a segment at the end of the meeting’s agenda.

An Executive Session was voted to be postponed until the next BOE Meeting (Tuesday, February 15 at 7 p.m.) due to weather-related absences. With no other items on the agenda needing to be changed, members of the Board issued their congratulations to the district’s basketball teams for their recent victories. Board members also wished to give recognition to the educational staff for their hard work and dedication to keeping in-school learning intact during the rocky month of January.

The Teacher/Student Presentation portion of the agenda was postponed until the next BOE Meeting. With no public comments or concerns scheduled to be addressed, the Board moved forward and voted on recent Consent Items.

Board members unanimously approved to slightly amend the School Calendars for years 2022 through 2025 to move the end date of the third quarter to the Thursday before Spring Break. Members also approved an increase to substitute teachers’ daily rate of pay from $100 to $125 in an effort to incentivize job seekers and bring in more staff relief.

Finance and Budget Director Joseph Tinucci led a discussion on updating the department’s systems to be more streamlined and user-friendly. This update heralds many institutional changes, such as limiting the need for paper payroll checks by providing direct deposit. Though the new system will require some minor training, Tinucci explained how teachers will be provided detailed procedures for their new transactional responsibilities.

Teachers will not only have easy access to view and edit their personal payroll information, including their benefits and tax withholding information, the new system will also provide them access to their departmental budgets. With this access, teachers will be able to order classroom materials directly through the district’s Amazon account, giving them more power and freedom in managing their own classrooms.

The Board acknowledged that though needs were being met with the former, outdated system, this new system will provide a much needed transparency between staff and the BOE in regard to budgetary concerns and questions. Tinucci confirmed that this transparency will provide teachers with the ability to financially plan their own opportunities for growth, including available training programs.

Board members expressed their excitement at the prospect of a new financially open and educated staff environment and are looking forward to evaluating the progress in September of this year.

Food Services Director Jane Yerkman, in her scheduled report, addressed the BOE with grievances over staffing and salaries. Yerkman delivered her estimations of a salary disparity in comparison to other department heads, with the alleged disparity being to blame for problems with staff retention and recruiting.

The numbers provided by Yerkman claim that with annual increases and new rate-of-pay raises, newer hires in her department are making more than previously hired, tenured, staff. Additionally, the claims point to a lack of a proper yearly 3% cost-of-living increase.

Salary negotiations were not on the agenda for the meeting, but the BOE heard Yerkman’s case before addressing the concerns of hot meals and student traffic in the cafeteria. Yerkman and the Board both agreed that food service in the district has shifted dramatically post-COVID, and that a desire to return to normalcy is felt by all parties. However, Yerkman’s message was clear, that after the last two years her department feels underappreciated and isn’t being heard at the negotiation table.

Yerkman continued to cite drastic changes in her department’s workload, not only in preparation and cleaning time, but from an influx of students because meals are now being provided free. Yerkman explained that she doesn’t have any issue with the new free meals program, nor does she object to some students “doubling up” on meals. However, the numbers provided indicate that she and only two other staff members were currently serving over 450 meals a day.

With students being formed into groups and populating the cafeteria in shifts, this requires food service staff to deliver meals to other assigned meal areas in the school. This delivery system is said to cause strain on the staff of three, considering one staff member must be stationed at the point-of-sale (POS) system at all times. Yerkman also expressed concern about maintaining food temperatures in this delivery system when, or if, hot meals return to the menu.

The Board and Ms. Yerkman struggled to find a solution to the many concerns surrounding the return of hot meals. The BOE shared some of the complaints being raised by parents who feel the current Grab n’ Go program isn’t popular with their kids and doesn’t provide enough options for students with dietary restrictions. Yerkman expressed that she isn’t fond of the Grab n’ Go menu either, though she maintains that she hasn’t been directed by the Board to begin preparing and serving hot meals.

Yerkman also raised the issue of student traffic in the cafeteria if hot meals were to return. The BOE rejected that narrative, however, believing that students will continue to frequent the cafeteria in shifts and that the cafeteria capacity of 166 is well within the realm of safety.

With the BOE wanting to find a path back to normalcy, they acquiesced that the conversation going forward needs to be about the logistics of serving hot meals in cafeterias again. Yerkman remained firm in her position that the Food Services Department needs to see changes in salary, and at least one more staff member, in order to make hot meals a reality.

The Board required Yerkman to provide data of cost per meal, both pre- and post-COVID, to support her claim that the department’s workload has expanded. The BOE also asked Yerkman to provide daily attendance tabulations and sources for the numbers she provided concerning the alleged salary disparities.

Mask mandates for all schools and county government buildings have been extended through February 15, 2022 by the Gilpin County Board of Health. During their Pandemic Review, the BOE indicated that they’ve seen a decrease in positive test results in both staff and students since January 18.

Members of the Board expressed their hope that the coming implementation of free at-home testing will move Gilpin County closer to “herd immunity.” Though the BOE, students, and parents are all weary from the on-again, offagain mask mandates, the Board are accepting it in stride and continue to urge parents to keep their children home if they’re symptomatic.

Student representative Seth Gordon concluded the meeting with his insight and questions about the business covered on the agenda. Gordon was informed by the BOE about the typical procedures for conducting salary discussions and that the salary concerns raised in Yerkman’s report was a unique occurrence.

The BOE discussed their desire to keep the Food Service Department happy, though doing so requires navigating several roadblocks. Gordon commented on how it isn’t always possible to make everyone happy and also expressed his dissatisfaction with the constant confusion over mask mandates.

The Board/Student Engagement program will continue to grow with a different student representative for every BOE meeting.

Items on the agenda for the next BOE meeting include the postponed Executive Session as well as the return of the Teacher/Student Presentation. Student and staff mental health support and district culture initiatives are also scheduled for discussion.

The Gilpin County School District RE-1 Board of Education will hold their next meeting on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 7 p.m.