Graduation ceremony looks to be moved to June 21
A graduation ceremony to honor the Holyoke High School Class of 2020 will be held, but the actual date is pending, Superintendent Kyle Stumpf told the Re-1J School Board at its April 21 virtual meeting.
Originally scheduled for May 17, the in-person graduation date has now been pushed back to Sunday, June 21. However, if limitations are still in place for the size of gatherings at that point, the next alternative date is Sunday, July 19.
Stumpf said an April 20 webinar via Zoom conference was held with seniors and their parents to discuss alternatives. A virtual graduation did not appeal to the seniors, who voiced that they want the ceremony as traditional as possible with friends and families in attendance.
While numerous options are being discussed, Stumpf said one involves using the football field or some outdoor space for graduation to allow for more social distancing.
Even though the in-person graduation will not be held Sunday, May 17, Stumpf assured the board that something will be in place to honor the graduates that day.
The school is working with the health department to make sure that anything planned is an approved approach within the framework of the Safer at Home guidelines.
Yard signs, a parade through town, door or porch decorations, a minibus tour with the local radio announcer giving graduation information, and many other ideas have surfaced as a way to pay tribute to a class that missed out on so much its senior year. Final details will certainly be made public prior to May 17.
In further report of the modified education plan that has been in place in the district since March 30, Stumpf addressed Gov. Jared Polis’ recent announcement that schools will remain closed for in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year.
In light of that, Stumpf told the board that they’ve been changing the education focus from “only review” to “how and what we’re growing from this experience” in case it needs to be done again in the fall.
Stumpf emphasized the importance of using what’s being done now so that parents have more understanding next fall if it should come up again.
Budget waiting for school finance act
The 2020-21 budget process has been delayed due to the lack of a school finance act. Stumpf told the board that he’s hearing that the Joint Budget Committee will resume after May 1 and will be required to get the school finance piece done by the end of May.
“We don’t want to panic anyone — but realistically, we need to be mindful that rural funding could go away,” said Stumpf. “We need to consider what that does to us in our district.”
Budget and Finance Director Ben Rahe presented three “very preliminary” budget options but noted that no one can really speak with confidence at this point about how the numbers will look.
The first option, the worst scenario, reflects a 5% reduction in per pupil revenue, leading to a true loss in revenue of $475,000, combining state funds and rural funding that the district has been getting the last few years.
The second estimate reflects a 1% loss in PPR. Along with rural funds, that would represent about a $250,000 loss in revenue.
If by some miracle, the PPR stays steady, Rahe looked at a third estimate. He noted that the big thing is rural funding. He is hopeful that by mid-May they will have more solid numbers for budget purposes.
Reviewing third-quarter financials, Rahe said things were operating as normal until the global pandemic came to our doorsteps.
“While most businesses have had to endure shutdowns and lay off employees due to a lack of cash flow, we, along with every other school district, have been fortunate to continue to receive our local tax and state equalization payments,” Rahe said.
While there is no reason at this time to believe the rest of the year won’t play out as normal financially, Rahe emphasized that the district must prepare for what this shutdown might cause financially over the next few years.
Rahe has created a “coronavirus 2020” line item to track anything out of the ordinary with regard to spending as a result of the coronavirus.
Some savings examples include the after-school Academic Opportunity Center costs, fuel, athletic travel and general district travel. These alone pencil out to a rough estimate of over $30,000 in savings. However, increased costs for such things as Chromebook repairs will be factored in as well.
Rahe said they can look at ways to use those savings this year or put them directly in the reserves for use down the road.
Stumpf said transportation repairs will be minimal, and they’ll be asking Glen’s Diesel to do annual inspections in May since there’s downtime when the buses aren’t being used. Additionally, the upswing in Chromebook repairs and weekly technology orders are being tracked for clear records of the financial impact.
Other business
In other business at the April 21 meeting, the Re-1J school board:
— Heard from building principals about attendance at the March 9-10 parent-teacher conferences. Total conference attendance at Holyoke JR/SR High was at 56%, while attendance at Holyoke Elementary was at 95%, not counting an isolated class in which the teacher had a family emergency and was not there.
— Reviewed adjustments in the superintendent evaluation timeline, moving the formal evaluation to the last meeting in October to stay away from November elections and potential board member changes, and changing the informal evaluation to February.
— Approved second reading and final approval of Colorado Association of School Boards’ policies on electronic participation in school board meetings, school board member conduct and school board member financial disclosure.
— Gave first-reading approval to policies that were presented April 7 on students in foster care; student fees, fines and charges; and memorandum of understanding for school stability for students in foster care.
— Reviewed CASB revised policies presented by Stumpf on executive sessions, nonresident student application for admittance, preparation for postsecondary and workforce success, and crisis management.