District highlights: staff awards, maintenance agreement, phone-system RFP, curriculum and student travel
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Summary
At its Jan. 13 meeting, the board spotlighted staff, reviewed a maintenance agreement with Pueblo County, considered a phone-system RFP for roughly 300 phones, recommended a Spanish curriculum to support the Seal of Biliteracy, and heard JROTC travel requests. Substitute hourly-rate changes to meet Colorado's $15.16 minimum wage were presented as well.
The Pueblo County School District 70 board covered several noncontroversial items at its Jan. 13 meeting, including staff recognition, intergovernmental maintenance, technology procurement, curriculum recommendations and travel approvals.
Kate Pincheck presented the PCEA spotlight recognizing longtime staff including Carrie Rodarmell and paraprofessional Renee French for dedicated service. Superintendent DiPietro and other board members praised the Canvas community classic event and noted strong community engagement.
Abe Armanderes, parks operations manager for Pueblo County, summarized a long-standing maintenance agreement between Pueblo County Parks and Recreation and District 70 that goes back to a 1970s land-use grant; he said Runyon Sports Complex fields are managed separately from county parks staff and that responsibilities for specific fields, tables and trash collection are assigned in the agreement.
Monroe Robinson briefed the board on a phone-system RFP recommending RingCentral to replace an aging VoIP system covering about 300 phones across the district under a proposed four-year lease. Board members asked about fallback options if internet service is interrupted and noted the district has not replaced handsets systemwide in several years.
Dr. Anthony Martinez recommended that the board adopt the Wayside Publishing Intraculturas Spanish curriculum levels 1—4 to support the Seal of Biliteracy and AP pathways. Stephanie Russell presented proposed hourly-rate increases for certain substitute positions to align with Colorado's new minimum wage of $15.16 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2026; she said the increases would be retroactive to Jan. 1.
First Sergeant Jonathan Lemaster and Sergeant Major Arnold Lewis presented requests for JROTC travel: Lemaster sought approval to take 32 cadets to Albuquerque Jan. 30'Feb. 1 for the Cibola skills meet at a $50 student cost; Lewis discussed a trip to Sandy, Utah for a rifle match that is funded by the U.S. government and will include seven students.
What happens next: Items will proceed through the district's usual implementation processes (inventorying gifts, executing phone-system contracts if approved, formal curriculum-adoption steps and scheduling any action items for future meetings).
