News from
Sheridan School District No. 2
Contact: Mark
Stevens
[email protected]
303-495-8699 (mobile) • 720-328-5488 (office)
News
Release
April 11, 2018
Juanita Camacho Appointed to Represent District B; Seat Filled for
First Time Since 2007
Sheridan Board of
Education president Bernadette Saleh, following state law, appointed Juanita
Camacho to represent District B on the Sheridan Board of Education. The action
brought the board up to its full capacity of five members for the first time
since 2007.
The appointment and announcement was made at the start of the board’s regular meeting Tuesday, April 10. Camacho immediately took the oath of office and took her place on the board dais. Camacho’s term expires in November, 2019. She would need to seek re-election if she chooses to do so at that time.
Camacho initially
applied earlier this year but the board, in the middle of a superintendent
search process, decided to delay bringing her on board.
“We have operated for more than a decade with less than a full board of directors, despite appeals and campaigns from time to time to find potential candidates,” said Saleh in making the announcement. “For that reason, we are very pleased that Juanita has stepped forward and we are very pleased that we will now function with a full, five-member board.”
A longtime resident of Sheridan, Camacho’s children attended and graduated from Sheridan schools.
Board president
Saleh also announced that the board will soon schedule a special meeting to
discuss next steps and a timeline on the superintendent search process. That
meeting will be open to the public. The board interviewed three finalists
earlier this month. No consensus emerged on which candidate to offer the job.
Potential
Changes to School Finance Law
Chief Operations
Officer Kristen Colonell outlined potential changes to the Colorado state laws that
govern school finance and focused on one bill, House Bill 1232 that is backed
by 171 of the 178 school superintendents statewide.
If approved in its current form, said Colonell, Sheridan would see an increase of revenue of nearly $4 million, a nearly 30 percent increase in the district’s general fund budget.
The proposal
would ensure that all districts receive additional funding in a more fair and
equitable manner to support current academic standards and accountability
systems, said Colonell. Based on student needs, the new formula would better
serve all students, particularly those who are currently underserved and those
who face the greatest challenges finishing high school prepared for college or
a career.
The current school finance system, adopted in 1994, has been underfunded for years. The proposed formula, said Colonell, is a “student-centric” formula that starts with a base cost for all students and then makes adjustments based on student needs. The proposal tied to an initiative on the November ballot that would raise $1.6 billion through a graduated income tax and affect the highest 8 percent of the state’s earners.
Superintendent Michael Clough acknowledged that the broad backing by superintendents may be causing some “angst” among legislators, who may prefer to find their own solution. Superintendent Clough said the bill faces “tough sledding” as it moves through the legislative process.
Short-term
Disability & Health Insurance Premiums
Sheridan will phase out the use of a decades-old “sick bank,” used to let employees help each other out when it comes to taking a short-term leave for medical emergencies or medical needs.
Participation in
the bank has dwindled dramatically, Chief Operations Officer Kristen Colonell
told the board, and the district will move to a short-term disability insurance
product sold by the private sector. Use of the policy will begin on July 1.
Colonell said staff will be briefed in meetings around the district.
The district is facing a major increase in its health insurance premiums. Due to an extremely heavy claim rate—130 percent of premiums paid—Kaiser Permanente will increase Sheridan’s health insurance rate next year by 15 percent. The rate at which Sheridan employees and family members are using health insurance is so high, she said, that other carriers will not offer a bid on the business.
Recruitment
Continues
Superintendent Clough reviewed out-of-state trips to Michigan and Texas to recruit teachers. He also noted that the University of Northern Colorado, which produced 1,600 teacher candidates in the md-1980’s, this year graduated 400-450 teachers looking for work. Across the state, said Clough, there were only 88 teachers graduated who are capable of teaching secondary mathematics and Denver Public Schools alone needs to hire 160 to keep pace.
Expedited
Teacher Contracts
Sheridan will
institute a new process to accelerate the process of issuing contracts to new
teachers. The process allows staff to tender the contracts and not wait for formal
board approval. The new process includes the right to fine a teacher who signs
the contract and then changes his or her mind. Too many teacher spots have gone
empty at the start of the school year, said Superintendent Clough, because
teachers are shopping around for the best deal. Superintendent Clough said it
will be important to follow-through on the fine and not make it an empty
threat.
Sheridan
High School
Principal Shirley Miles gave the board an upbeat update on progress on Sheridan High School. Principal Miles noted that the changing context today, “that the marketplace of products and ideas is increasingly global” and that competition for skilled labor is increasingly stiff. Effective teachers make the most difference in improving student academic performance, said Miles, and for every child to succeed a school must hold students and staff to high expectations. Miles said Sheridan High School is focusing on continuous improvement in every area.
All the objectives for mathematics under the school’s Unified Improvement Plan have been accomplished, said Miles, and work remains in writing and with the prep classes for college-entrance exams.
Miles noted that that tardy rates (students late to class) have dropped by nearly 40 percent in 2018 (compared to the same period in 2017). At the same time, in the third quarter of the academic year there were 53 percent fewer D’s and F’s given by teachers when compared to last year.
Adding 25
additional classes, said Miles, gave students more opportunities to be
successful; particularly in math with the addition of pre-Algebra and Algebra
2AA and 2BB. The emphasis on accountability for both students and staff
contributed to the improvements, she said. Those accountability steps included
requiring that lesson plans be submitted and reviewed, increasing observations
and walkthroughs, conferencing with students concerning their grades and
increasing parent communication.
Solidifying the school’s processes and procedures will help us have a smooth start in the fall of 2018, concluded Miles.
Public
Forum
A variety of
speakers, some from the Sheridan Educators Association and some from a group
known as Sheridan Rising Together for Equity, urged the board, sometimes in vehement
fashion, to select a particular superintendent candidate. The meeting was held
in the cafeteria at the Early Childhood Center to accommodate the large turnout
of community participation. Other speakers thanked the board for their work as
volunteers and urged that the selection process result in a superintendent
candidate who is the best fit for Sheridan and will work for the interests of
all students in the district.
Consent
Agenda
All consent
agenda items were approved.
About
Sheridan School District 2
Located southwest
of Denver, Sheridan School District 2 seeks high-level post-secondary options
for all students through continuous improvement of quality instruction. More: www.ssd2.org
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