Superintendent outlines online school launch, $1.68M Pioneer safe-entry project and $1.6M in cuts after student losses

Superintendent Rob Sanders summarized district progress and challenges, reporting on student achievement initiatives, staffing and finances. He said the district lost 142 students last year and is down roughly 50 additional students this year, a decline that has produced approximately $1.6 million in budget cuts to date.

To respond, the district plans an online school starting in the fall capped at 100 students (maximum 10 from outside the district); a policy will be submitted to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to secure program approval. Sanders said the online program will be tied to the high school and middle school and that principals are preparing a student handbook and graduation-requirement guidance.

Capital work includes a Pioneer Safe Entry renovation budgeted at approximately $1,680,000. The board discussed financing via a five-year certificate of participation (COP) to keep interest payments local; the COP sells as a five-year note with semiannual payments. The chief financial officer later specified the COP interest rate at 4.25% and that the June 1 payment of $243,008.72 is budgeted at $256,000.

Sanders also reviewed pathway-to-graduation concurrent-enrollment participation (46 ninth graders currently enrolled) and increases in Title allocations, noting a preliminary Title I allocation rose from $628,000 last year to $947,000 this year. The superintendent said the district is using a mix of reserves, grants and budget adjustments to fund priority capital and program items while preparing for long-bill outcomes from the state.