Poudre School District presents $3.9 million curriculum adoption plan, board seeks criteria and contract protections

Poudre School District R-1 administrators on Jan. 27 presented board members with a multi-subject curriculum adoption recommendation that would replace or relicence several core instructional programs across the district. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Insoon Olson and Director Amanda Krieger said the recommended finalists are i-Ready for K–5 mathematics, Cengage programs for English language development, Comprehensible Classroom for Spanish and Wayside for German, selected after a year-long process involving teachers, pilots and community feedback.

The administration said the adoption process involved about 91 volunteers, more than 7,600 staff hours, and approximately $48,000 in substitute pay to allow teacher participation. Staff characterized the adoption as an investment in the district’s instructional core — teachers, students and high-quality materials — and said the recommended licensing package would cover content and digital access for roughly a 7–10 year cycle.

Dr. Olson said the estimated licensing cost presented to the board is approximately $3.9 million over 10 years for the suite of materials; staff noted the district could instead renew current materials for a shorter period at a significantly lower cost, citing an example that renewing the present K–5 math contract for two years would cost about $1.5 million but would provide only the older materials and not updated editions.

Board members focused their questions on payment timing, contract terms and vendor responsibilities. Director Scott Schoenbauer asked whether the district must pay the full licensing sum up front; Amanda Krieger said vendors typically require upfront payment to lock in product updates and terms, though procurement negotiations can structure staged payments. Director Kevin Havelda asked about off-ramps if a vendor becomes insolvent or fails to provide promised services; staff said those legal terms and performance protections are part of contract negotiations and will be reviewed with finance and legal counsel before any action item.

Administrators also outlined implementation plans and costs: a Year 0 of foundational professional learning and leader preparation, followed by Year 1–3 training cycles; staff estimated about $145,000 specifically for teacher-leader substitutions and initial implementation supports. They said the district is prioritizing early, phased implementation to avoid the problems of last-minute rollout and emphasized that the adoption teams used a district rubric, piloting and community engagement to reach recommendations.

Directors asked staff for additional comparative figures before any formal action: the cost to renew current licenses versus the cost to buy new materials, contract term options (shorter terms vs. lower price tradeoffs), explicit off-ramps and remedies in case of vendor nonperformance, and confirmation of digital accessibility contractual guarantees.

Superintendent Nathan Kingsley framed the proposal as a strategic investment intended to raise consistency and outcomes districtwide and said staff will return with more contract details, procurement language, and an itemized action item if the board wishes to proceed to purchase. "We cannot intervene our way to excellence," Kingsley said, urging investment in foundational instructional materials rather than piecemeal fixes.

Next steps: staff will prepare an action item with contracts, proposed payment schedules and legal protections, and will provide follow-up cost comparisons and implementation timelines before the board votes on any purchase. If the board moves forward it will be asked to weigh term length, budget timing and vendor performance clauses.