On Tuesday, September 5, 2023, the Gilpin County School District RE-1 Board of Education met at 7 p.m. for a regular meeting. All members of the board (Cherokee Blake, Kirsten Goodlet, Joe Marr, Joe Stranaly, and Sarah Swanson) were present in person or virtually. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dave MacKenzie presided over the meeting.

MacKenzie opened the meeting with congratulations and gratitude to the Gilpin Booster Club for their $15,000 donation to the school. He was appreciative of all the work that the booster club does for the school. The funds will be divided up among sports, arts, band, choir, theater, and the junior class.

Cherokee Blake was congratulated on her term of service and contributions to the RE-1 school board. School Board President Joe Marr thanked her for being a solid member of the board for the last four years. Blake said that she is looking forward to some retirement time. Mackenzie reported that the school board election in November had been verified and signed off on, with six candidates running for three four-year positions. The election features two incumbents (Joe Marr and Joesph L. Stranaly) and four first-time candidates (Victoria Edwards, Laura Mayer, Rana Silver, and Tami Velasquez).

During his superintendent report segment, MacKenzie spoke about the ongoing capital projects regarding furnishing and installing ramps, paths, and parking spaces to the main building, elementary playground, and outdoor sports facilities for people with disabilities. Requests for proposals have been sent out with an October deadline.

The board voted unanimously to approve the General Fund revenue and expenditure reports for May, June, and July of 2023. The ending bank balance on July 31 was $644,420.60.

There was a discussion between the superintendent and the board regarding Board of Education Initiatives. One initiative this past year has been strategic communications. Swanson spoke about the need for a communications assistant who could help with social media and the front door. Mackenzie suggested contracting the work in the short term. The position would be full-time for ten months.

Goodlet spoke about the student engagement initiative and thought it would be valuable to have the Backto School night be more of an Open House format and have one in both fall and spring. She thought that it would attract more people and be fun.

MacKenzie spoke about some of the changes involving the Mental Health initiative including physically moving the K-12 counselor to the elementary school for two days, with the other two days in the secondary school. MacKenzie praised the Jefferson Center school-based therapist and thought she had been doing a great job. All the board members spoke positively about the motivational speaker Bobby Jones who had spoken to elementary and secondary students twice a month. They thought the students enjoyed his talks and were going to look for grants to help fund this effort in building resilient students.

The final initiative discussed concerned District climate and culture. Student surveys ask the same questions regarding satisfaction with the school environment and experience. There was discussion whether to review the surveys to determine if they are still effective. Also, under climate and culture, the board discussed Jefferson County’s Board of Education decision to close the Coal Creek Canyon K-8 school. MacKenzie suggested that postcards be mailed to the parents and offer them the benefits of open enrollment in Gilpin. MacKenzie recognized that Gilpin was a long way away even using Gap Road, and the parents would need to provide transportation.

District Accountability Committee (DAC) Chairperson Victoria Edwards gave a brief first reading of the DAC 2023/24 charges and noted that they are similar to those of previous years. The board will have a second reading and discussion at their September 19 meeting.

Also under new business, the board discussed the Board of Education Candidate Forum scheduled for October 11 at 6 p.m. in the school auditorium. It was determined that the superintendent and the board members who are not running for reelection will develop the questions for the Forum and then distribute them to the candidates so that the candidates can prepare their answers. Students from different grade levels will be involved in asking the questions.

Because there are six candidates and time constraints, the board decided not to allow any questions from the audience at the Forum. Anyone can send the board questions they would like to ask the candidates and the board will consider including them in the final list of questions.

The final business of the night was selecting a representative to the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) Fall Conference and Delegate Assembly ,which is going to be held October 6 and 7 in Glenwood Springs. Cherokee Blake put her hand up and will be the Gilpin RE-1 representative.

The board adjourned at 8 p.m. and set their next meeting for September 19 at 7 p.m. in the Gilpin School board meeting room. Their website is gilpin.k12.co.us/en-US/board-ofeducation. The Gilpin County RE-1 School District is on multiple social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.