Poudre School District details action-team structure, data dashboard and outreach timeline as consolidation planning advances

Dr. Tracy Gile, the district's lead assistant superintendent, briefed the Poudre School District R-1 Board on June 16 about a newly organized action-team structure and a public data dashboard intended to inform scenario development for potential school consolidation or reconfiguration.

Gile said district staff organized nine action teams to break the work into focused deliverables. Four teams are community-inclusive (climate and culture; supporting families and the school-choice process; continuity of programming including early childhood and extracurriculars; and building-utilization planning) and five are primarily staff-led technical teams (HR and employee processes; records, finance and school codes; facility needs; safety, traffic and transportation; and communications and events). Staff estimated the comprehensive planning committee (CPC) composition was roughly 25 people while the new action teams expanded participation; staff reported roughly 62 applicants for the community-inclusive teams and said about 50 people were selected across those teams.

"The action team structure is a structure designed to support the work of building a recommendation," Dr. Gile told the board. She described teams as short-term, deliverable-focused groups; many technical topics (for example, records and school code transfers or facility-condition work) will rely primarily on district staff because of required expertise.

Staff also ran a hands-on "dashboard scavenger hunt" so directors could locate key evidence elements used in scenario work: current and projected enrollments, utilization and capacity, facility condition assessments (scorecards), and per-pupil-expenditure sheets accessible via the dashboard glossary. Dave Montoya and other staff led the walkthrough, showing where to filter by school level and how to pull facility-condition and finance scorecards.

Board members asked detailed questions about action-team membership, meeting cadence and safeguards. Several directors pressed staff on how applicants were chosen and whether those not selected would still have an opportunity to engage. Gile said team leads reviewed applications and selected members and that the teams were expected to meet a minimum of three times (two hours each) over the summer, with some teams meeting more often; staff also said volunteers engaged off contract would be compensated and that a mix of representation (licensed staff, classified staff, parents and administrators) was intended for the community-inclusive teams.

Confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements were another focus. Board members asked about the enforceability of NDAs for volunteers and the consequences of leaks. Staff said the district's legal counsel (Autumn Aspen) drafted two NDAs, one designed for staff and one for volunteers, and emphasized educating participants about the risks and responsibilities of handling draft scenario information.

Directors debated the timing and format of board engagement and public outreach. Staff proposed a phased approach: action teams complete core work in June —September; CPC would synthesize results in mid-September and engage directly with affected school communities; and staff outlined a public-readiness window in late September/early October with the option for a formal board presentation followed by a final recommendation and a vote in October—November. Several board members recommended two-by-two briefings with staff before any broad community sessions; others urged earlier community contact to gather feedback while technical teams were still developing proposals. Directors repeatedly emphasized the need for substantive materials at each public session and for equitable access to participation.

The board did not take any vote on consolidation policy or scenario selection at the meeting. Staff will share the action-team rosters, dashboard links and a proposed calendar for two-by-two briefings and community sessions. The district's staff emphasized that any public announcement should be coordinated so school communities and staff learn about possible scenarios first and so the district could manage communications and provide supports for affected students and employees.

What's next: staff said the CPC expects to finalize a consolidated recommendation timeline and to provide regular updates to the board (monthly action-team progress reports), with the board's opportunity to weigh in through two-by-two briefings and a possible retreat or special session prior to any formal packet submission.