(Please note, updates highlighted in blue)
 
Date:   May 2, 2008
To:      BVSD Employees
From:   Superintendent Chris King
Re:      Outline of BVSD Reorganization for 2008-09 School Year

For the past several months, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Ellen Miller-Brown and I have been focused on how best to redirect existing BVSD resources to meet the needs of our most challenged students and attain the ambitious five-year achievement, equity, and organization goals established by our Boulder Valley Board of Education in November 2007.

I have stated many times that BVSD does an outstanding job of meeting the educational needs of approximately 20,000 of our more than 28,000 students. I also believe that one of our greatest challenges is to meet the remaining 8,000 students where they now are academically and give them and their teachers the tools necessary to bridge the achievement gaps confronting each of them.

This effort has been made possible by restructuring or eliminating central office positions at the instructional coordination, clerical, and now at the cabinet level. With BVSD Chief Operating Officer Robert Hammond’s appointment as Colorado’s new Deputy Education Commissioner, I have made the difficult decision to eliminate his position and direct net cost savings from that decision (approximately $100,000) into intervention instruction.

I made this decision with Robert’s advice and assistance for the reasons below:

• Robert’s scope of work accomplished year in and year out has been extraordinary and it would be extremely difficult to find a person of his caliber to effectively assume his tremendous and varied workload.
• Robert’s many areas of responsibility can be broken out and assigned to several key BVSD administrators in an organizational model that I believe is more compatible with my leadership approach – less hierarchical and more hands-on in both the instructional and operational areas of BVSD.
• BVSD’s new intervention-based reorganization should represent a district-wide commitment to student learning. Part of that commitment is to share at every administrative level the personnel and fiscal challenges this change brings.

While further details are still being finalized by Ellen, the cabinet, and me prior to identifying the specific intervention resources available to individual schools, the senior administrative organization and areas of responsibility have been determined for 2008-09.

Beginning with the 2008-09 BVSD fiscal year on July 1, 2008, the following personnel and organizational changes (in bold) will take place:

• The three Assistant Superintendents for School Leadership, Dr. Sheri Williams (Elementary/K-8), Sandy Ripplinger (Elementary) and Dr. Deirdre Pilch (High/Middle) will continue to report directly to the Deputy Superintendent. New Assistant Director for Early Childhood Education Donna Arnold will report to Sheri and Sandy.
• A new Assistant Superintendent for Operations will be hired. Until then, Joe Sleeper will head BVSD Operations on an interim basis. Steve Hoban (Operations & Environmental Services), Mike Cuskelly (Maintenance), and Bob Young (Transportation) will report to Joe.
• Director of Bond Planning, Engineering and Construction Don Orr will report directly to me.
• Chief Information Officer Dave Williamson will report directly to me. Kevin Cubillas (Enterprise Technology) and Len Scrogan (Instructional Technology) will continue to report to Dave.
• Leslie Stafford will become Chief Financial Officer and report directly to me with Bill Sutter (Budget), Sue Anderson (Interim-Nutrition Services in place of Food Services), Gail Casella (Community Schools), Susan Riederer (Community Schools), and Chuck McElwain (Accounting) reporting directly to Leslie. Sharon Meyer (Procurement & Materials Management) and Denitta Ward (Bond Contracts) will report directly to Bill.
• Dr. Jonathan Dings remains Chief of Planning and Assessment reporting directly to the Deputy Superintendent with Assistant Directors Mike Wilcox (Enrollment) and Brigitte Mutter (Research & Assessment) reporting to Jonathan.
• As Assistant Superintendent for Learning Services, Dr. Judy Skupa will continue to report to the Deputy Superintendent with two Directors for Curriculum, Dr. Mary Pittman and a new director to replace Dr. Judy Slinger who is retiring in June 2008, continuing to report to Judy.
• New Executive Director of Student Success Karen Daly will report directly to the Deputy Superintendent with Director of Literacy and Language Support Services Jorge Garcia reporting to Karen and a new Assistant Director for Interventions (ELL Focus) reporting to Jorge. Assistant Directors for Interventions Barb Goldsby (Special Education), Catalina Martis (Family Engagement) and the two new Assistant Directors for Intervention (Elementary and Secondary) will report directly to Karen.
• Executive Director for Institutional Equity Dr. André Lanier will report directly to the Deputy Superintendent.
• Becky McClure will become Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and report directly to me. Her direct reports to her (Human Resources Directors Jeanne Aguilar, Shelly Landgraf, Steve Landrigan, and Bob Jamieson) will remain unchanged.
• Briggs Gamblin will become Director of Communications and Legislative Policy reporting directly to me. He will, along with his current communications duties, manage the development of BVSD’s annual draft legislative platform, our contract lobbyist and oversight of BVSD’s legislative advocacy. Maela Moore (Communications Manager) will continue to report to Briggs and be responsible for day-to-day division staff and operational oversight.

These changes reflect an organizational and leadership model more in keeping with districts of our approximate size in Colorado. They will allow me to take a more hands-on approach to directing BVSD staff in a manner that brings central administration functions closer to student learning.