District 20 celebrates passage of $83.14 million bond; superintendent recommends reappointing building fund director

Superintendent Haber and board members on Dec. 2 thanked voters for approving bond measure 4B and described planned building projects, financial impacts and an associated staffing recommendation.

Superintendent Haber said the community's support for the 2024 bond "will transform schools across District 20, ensure our facilities meet the needs of every student, and build a new Air Academy High School that will inspire students for a generation to come." She identified the bond amount in informational materials as $83,140,000 and told the board the final assessed valuation from the El Paso County assessor produced a larger-than-expected decrease in the district's bond levy: "the bond levy decreased even more than 1.019 mils, with the actual decrease being 1.281 mils," she said.

Superintendent Haber and other speakers listed projects tied to the bond and to already planned work: rebuilding Air Academy High School, improvements to infrastructure across the district, a new PK-8 design process for Douglas Valley, and a planned center for career and technical education at Challenger Middle School including an esports component. She said the district will post regular updates at aasc20.org.

The board also considered a personnel recommendation tied to the district's building-fund operations. The administration introduced Chris Garnhart as the recommended executive director for the building fund. Superintendent Haber explained the reappointment is procedural: the prior position was created under the 2016 bond as a temporary role tied to that bond's projects, and the passage of the new bond restarts the hiring process for positions that are bond-funded.

Chris Garnhart addressed the board, thanking the interview committee and his team and noting his current role leading the 2016 bond program. He told the board, "I'll do you proud," and acknowledged the project team supporting bond execution. (Garnhart said he would not perform a backflip during the meeting.)

The board did not take a final public vote on Garnhart's reappointment during the portions of the transcript provided; the administration described the position as a continuation of the 2016 program under the new bond. Superintendent Haber repeated that the district will continue to share implementation plans and timelines with the community as planning and construction progress.

The board and superintendent repeatedly emphasized gratitude to volunteers and the campaign teams who supported the bond. Director Wilburn thanked volunteers and named several community leaders and co-chairs by name.

Ending: The district said it will publish project updates and timelines to its website and will continue regular communications about design and construction milestones as bond-funded work moves into design and delivery phases.