Parents, staff and students urge PSD action on library staffing, dyslexia screening and services for students with disabilities

Several community members used public comment at the Poudre School District board meeting on April 8 to press the district on staffing and services for students with disabilities, library staffing cuts and changes to dyslexia screening policy.

Lori Maggio Huber, K–12 district media facilitator and media specialist at Eyestone North and South, told the board she was informed last month that both of her media positions would revert to classified staffing because of budget cuts. “Balancing the school budget on the backs of the school libraries to absorb deficits is not only a hurtful idea, it is rash and short term thinking,” Maggio Huber said. She said six certified elementary media specialists had been lost at the elementary level and urged the board to re‑consider cuts affecting foundational reading supports and equity of access.

Student and parent speakers also addressed special education and screening. Ashley Hulke, an 11th‑grade student at Rocky Mountain High School who identified herself as a student with an invisible disability, praised district supports and federal protections, saying, “Without IDEA and CEC, I don't know where I'd be.” Ashley described accommodations that she said allowed her to participate in positive‑youth development classes and to succeed academically.

Several public speakers urged the district to take stronger action on dyslexia screening in Colorado. Anna Labeda asked the board to move the district’s position on SB 25‑200 (a dyslexia screening bill under consideration in the state legislature) from “monitoring” to “supporting.” “For the dyslexic learner and caregivers, timely knowledge is literally life changing power,” she said, describing her experience with late identification and the effect on a child’s reading trajectory.

Denny Lawrence, speaking about integrated services and autism, urged more direct outreach and better inclusion of 504 parents in district communications. Lawrence also asked the board to seek input from the sensory disability community as the district considers a new phone/earbud policy.

Other public comments raised different concerns: Eric Sutherland urged the district to investigate perceived abuses of urban renewal authority affecting mill levy distributions; Kane Young and another speaker criticized book selections and asked for parental controls.

Board members did not debate those requests immediately during the comment period; however, board members and staff later acknowledged questions raised about literacy, dyslexia screening, integrated services communications and library staffing during committee reports and the superintendent’s budget briefing. The board approved a resolution in support of the Week of the Exceptional Child earlier in the meeting, and several speakers tied their comments to the district’s integrated services and literacy programs.

The district did not record immediate policy decisions in the public‑comment period; staff were asked to follow up on several community requests and the board’s legislative committee said it would continue to monitor SB 25‑200 and other legislative priorities.

Speakers requesting follow‑up included requests that the district: clarify how it communicates screening data to parents, ensure 504 families receive integrated‑services communications, consult disability services experts on device policy, and reconsider library staffing cuts in light of literacy priorities.