A message from Superintendent Chris King -
Community invited to July meetings to discuss the tentative BVSD/BVEA agreement
I was quoted in the June 9 On the Inside explaining the financial context underpinning the district’s current contract offer to our teachers through the Boulder Valley Education Association. That offer is now a tentative agreement between the district and the association and will be voted upon by the BVEA membership on August 17 and 18.

I will host at least three public meetings to explain the tentative agreement and our rationale behind it. My goal is to use only about 20 minutes of the beginning of each of these 90-minute meetings for presentation with at least 70 minutes devoted to questions and answers and as informal a discussion with those attending as possible. If these meetings are found to be helpful by those attending, I will have additional meetings scheduled.

The schedule for the first three of these informational discussions is as follows:

• Wednesday, July 8 at Nederland Middle/Senior High School in the library from 1:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.
• Thursday, July 9 at Boulder High School in the library from 5:00 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 15 at Broomfield Heights Middle School in the library from 1:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

This schedule is also being shared by email with BVSD employees, our community Key Communicator list and the media. Staff is also working to arrange the taping of at least one of the sessions for broadcast on cable Ch. 22.

I am hosting these meetings for the purpose of information sharing and open dialogue about the structure of the district’s offer and the values underpinning it. I urge all teachers, parents, staff, and other community members who are interested to attend at least one of these meetings. As I stated before, if more meetings appear to be needed prior to August 17 and 18, I will see that they are scheduled.

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School Food Project Update
Chef Ann Cooper, BVSD's interim director of Nutrition Services, provided the Board of Education updated information on the implementation of the Nutrition Services feasibility study outcomes and also presented a draft of the revised Nutrition/Wellness Policy at the June 9, 2009 board meeting. 

Part of the educational mission of BVSD includes improving the health and wellness of the entire community by teaching students to establish and maintain life-long healthy eating habits. The mission shall be accomplished through nutrition education, hands-on experiential learning in cooking and gardening classes through community collaboration, the food served in schools, environmental education, and core academic content in the classroom.

Click here to view the draft of the Nutrition/Wellness Policy.

Ann Cooper was interviewed by four local news stations on Tuesday. Click on the links below to see the coverage.

KDVR. Com - Fox 31 News
No more junk food? Boulder Schools targeting student nutrition

7 News Denver
Schools in Boulder considering junk food limits

CBS 4 Denver (video)
Old school lunch may become new school in Boulder

9 News.com
School district looks to scrap junk food

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Bond Program hosts bus tour
Earlier this month, BVSD board members, Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee Members and Bond Program staff boarded a school bus to tour a dozen of the phase 1 projects.

With many of the projects finished or nearing completion, it was a great time to see what's been accomplished to date. Over two dozen people joined the tour that started in East County, with visits to Lafayette Elementary, Broomfield High and Louisville Middle School.

The Lafayette Elementary project completed last October. Construction at Broomfield High and Louisville Middle will continue over the summer and wrap up for the start of school in August. In Boulder, the tour visited Summit Middle, Southern Hills Middle, Fairview High, Manhattan Middle, High Peaks/BCSIS, Flatirons Elementary, Foothill Elementary, Boulder High and Casey Middle.  Construction at Summit Middle and Manhattan Middle completed last winter. The remainder of the projects on the tour will wrap up over the summer, with the exception of Casey Middle which is scheduled to open for the 2010-2011 school year and Fairview High which will complete in 2010.

BVSD Print Shop Closed June 26 - July 3
The BVSD Print and Copy Center will be closed next week. They are in the midst of a campus remodel, and will not have electricity. The print shop will re-open for business on Monday July 6th.

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YMCA improves benefit for BVSD employees
The Boulder Valley YMCA has significantly improved the discount for BVSD employees. For BVSD employees, the joining fee is waived and the monthly rate is now $38. For families, the joining fee is also waived and the monthly rate is now $62.50. This is a great new benefit for BVSD employees. For more information, or to change your monthly fee, contact Stacie Hoffmann, Corporate Relations by email or call 303-664-5455.

The YMCA is also hosting this fall’s staff health fair on September 14 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at the Arapahoe YMCA located in Lafayette on the corner of 95th and Arapahoe.

For a list of health clubs offering discounts to BVSD employees, please see our website.

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Under New Management

• Robbyn Fernandez, Principal, Manhattan Middle, effective July 27, 2009
• Ivette Visbal, Assistant Principal, New Vista High, effective July 27, 2009

Other Board Approvals

• Cancellation of the July 14 and 28, 2009 board meetings was approved by the board.
• The board approved the transfer of $3 million from interest earnings to bond program reserve. BVSD staff believes this transfer will increase program reserve sufficiently to cover unforeseen expenses in phase 2 projects. Examples of unforeseen project conditions in phase 1 include asbestos abatement and fire safety.
• The $25,164.00 donation from Sunflower Corporation to Southern Hills Middle School was ratified by the board. The Sundolier natural day lighting system provides diffused natural light by incorporating a mirrored tracking device that concentrates sunlight and transmits into the classroom where a ceiling mounted deflector distributes the natural day lighting throughout the room.
• The board approved increasing athletic fees to provide funding to continue the services of athletic trainers. The proposed athletic fee increase would provide our six high schools with continued athletic trainer services. Without a fee increase, there is no budget to pay the expense of athletic trainers. The Boulder Center for Sports Medicine has agreed to continue to provide one athletic trainer at no expense to the district. In addition, the current trainers have agreed to receive no salary increase for the 2009-2010 school year. In order to fully fund five trainers, fee increases are needed across the board. High school athletic fees would increase to $185.00, middle level intramural fees to $45.00, and middle level interscholastic fees to $85.00.
• The board ratified the tentative agreement through the Meet and Confer process with the BVSD District Leadership Team, Professional Technical employees and the non-represented employees. The compensation package includes steps or the step equivalent for those employees without a step schedule, and a one percent salary stipend to be dispersed in 12 payments with the payroll periods. The Professional Technical and Central Administrative employees do not have a step based salary schedule. The 1.67 percent Salary Step Equivalent is the same as a step increase that is built into other employee group salary schedules. In addition, the employee only cost for health and dental will continue to be provided by the district as well as the increased cost of the district’s PERA retirement contribution. The changes that were approved will take at the beginning of the 2009-10 contract year. Click here to view the entire agreement.
• Amendments to the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee guidelines were approved by the board.
• The 2009-10 budget for the General Fund and other district funds was ratified by the board.
• The board approved the agreement with TEENS, Inc. to provide educational programming through its school, Chinook West Alternative High School Program, for up to 20 Nederland-area students who have struggled in traditional schools and are considered at-risk of academic failure.
• The board authorized Jan Snooks, substitute teacher for the 2009-10 school year, to sell copies of a book she has authored, Victor's Passage, to various parents and/or students, schools and departments within the district.
• The Secondary Curriculum Essentials for Health, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies was approved by the board. For a full overview of the curriculum click here.
• The board authorized the approval to accept bids and authorize construction and maintenance project contracts during July 2009. The Operational Services Department could possibly have significant construction projects ongoing through the summer. Because the Board of Education does not convene regularly scheduled meetings in July, Operational Services will have authorization to accept bids and enter into any contracts necessary to maintain schedules during the month of July. All contracts approved in July will be ratified by the board in August 2009.
• The resolution to comply with the provisions of Senate Bill 181 was approved by the board. The bill is designed to better prepare school districts to respond to emergencies and improve coordination among local and national agencies.

One contract was approved:

• The board approved the award of contract for the purchase of integrated classroom audio/video management systems to Troxell Communication in the amount not to exceed $3,280,000. This per classroom pricing will allow BVSD to install projection systems in over 80 percent of district classrooms, far exceeding our original estimate of 50 percent. The Bond Pilot A/V fund will cover $1,000,000 of this total. The remaining $2,280,000 is being covered by the 2009-2010 Computer 3A pause funds.

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Hats Off! Congratulations to this week's Superintendent's Honor Roll recipients:
During the June 23 board meeting, seven Boulder Valley staff members were honored for their outstanding performance of their respective duties including two BVSD teachers who are 2009 Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence honorees.

Creekside Elementary Teacher Mary Strine was nominated by her third-grade teaching partner Katie Webb, who wrote: “Not only is she a master teacher and mentor, but she goes above and beyond taking kids ice skating, hosting movie nights and taking students out for meals."

Casey Middle School Teacher Kathryn Singey was nominated by Casey Middle School Registrar Carrie Hausfather, who wrote that Kathryn “…uses a combination of  art, in-the-community field trips, computers, and books – of course – to teach reading to the 6th graders here at Casey Middle School." Kathryn also helps coordinate Casey’s annual “Steps for Literacy” program which provides funds for math and literacy efforts throughout the year.

BCSIS/High Peaks Community Liaison Ema Lyman was nominated by Donna Ewing, BVSD Early Childhood Special Education teacher and Teacher for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students for BVSD. In nominating Ema, Donna wrote: “I have worked closely with Ema in the last couple of years to meet the needs of our Spanish speaking children and their families. Ema strives to make a personal connection with each child and their family."

BVSD IT Support Analyst Jennifer Serrano was nominated by Jeanne Sullivan, IT Support Center Coordinator. Jeanne wrote that Jennifer “…looks forward to master scheduling every year! Jennifer received her scheduling certification from Infinite Campus in the summer of 2006 and is regarded as a subject expert by her peers as well as the schools she works with."

Boulder High Biology Teacher Dr. Paul Strode was nominated by Dr. Sam Messier, Director of Science Curriculum for BVSD, for the recent publication of his book titled, “Why Evolution Words (and Creationism Fails)” by the Rutgers University Press.

BVSD’s two 2009 recipients of Amgen Awards for Science Teaching Excellence:

Centaurus High Science Teacher Dr. Emily Haynes and Gold Hill Elementary Teacher Sue Kidder are among just 34 science teachers recognized in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico by the Amgen Corporation on June 17 for outstanding teaching and two out of only four from Colorado.

Emily and Sue each received a personal unrestricted cash award of $5,000. They also each received a restricted $5,000 cash grant to Centaurus High School and Gold Hill Elementary schools respectively for the expansion or enhancement of their school’s science program, science resources, or the professional development of the school's science teachers.

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