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Council Notes Feburary 20 2025

2/20/2025 Council Meeting Minutes
Horizons K-8 School
Meeting Agenda:  Copy of Council Meeting Agenda (Detailed)-February 20, 2025.docx - Google Docs

Call to Order: 5:35 PM

Facilitators: Jasmine GBC, Kristin Hauger, Travis Lockhart, Sarah Wise

Notetaker: Michelle Bargo

Present: Jasmine GBC, Adam Brink, Julie Cohen, Lindsey (incoming K parent), Marybeth Lockhart, Travis Lockhart, Karen Dimetrosky, Allyson Desart, Kristin Hauger, Sarah Wise, Suzanne Tadros, Barb Anderson, Elizabeth Parady, Teresa Joseph, Michael Joseph, John Bogosian, Jim Freund, Christina Edwards, Rachel Mentz, Matthew Arnold, Becky Bincelette, Audra DeGraff, Paul DeGraff 

Present online: Gina Gravina, Kevin Course, Lauren Yedell

  • Quorum established

5:35  Mindfulness Meditation - Kristin Hauger

5:40  Community Open Comments - Sarah Wise

  • For the first time in Horizons’ history it was necessary to cancel the 3/4 Winter Sports trip due to extreme cold.  The bus cost (about $5K) became a credit but it came out of the 24/25 budget.  The credit will apply to the 25/26 budget.  Adam inquired if the Council Budget could loan the 3/4 team the money with the expectation that they would pay it back next school year. 
  • Suggestion to circulate the Council Notes in Skylines.
  • Vacuum update: The vacuums were ordered through BVSD but BVSD doubled the cost.  This has gone back to BVSD to negotiate for the originally quoted price.
  • If there are changes at the federal level that impact BVSD and Horizons, this will be communicated by the administration.

5:48  SAC/ Principal’s Report - Jasmine GBC

  • The budget for 25/26 is in development.
  • FRC recommended adoption of the new salary schedule for the Director of Operations position.
  • FRC agreed that Fund 11 should have a reserve of 10-20% because the Council Budget is more at the discretion of parents who spend it at Council meetings.
  • CMAS participation: It is helpful to have your students participate in CMAS because if schoolwide participation drops below ,94% rate then our school’s score drops.  
  • DAC: BVSD did not pass the new Bel Swan charter.  BVSD recommended that Bel Swan reapply after correcting some issues in special education and finances.
  • Peak to Peak: Still involved in lengthy negotiations with BVSD to renew their charter.
  • Horizons is the next BVSD charter up for charter renewal in 26/27 but that process begins over the summer of 2025.  We need to bring our special education costs down.  New BVSD rule:  BVSD will not allocate more special education FTE even if a charter’s special education needs increase.  And, BVSD controls our special education dollars.  It is not clear that this policy is legal.  
  • Our last SAC meeting of the year is 4/17/2025.

6:02   Hawks Happenings

  • Karen Dimetrosky - Karen presented about the “Science of Reading” which is evidence-based reading instruction.  The Learning Lab uses the Orton-Gillingham program which is important for children with dyslexia and valuable for all children.  Karen shared some OG cards and sand trays.
  • Kelly Wade - Middle school special education teacher - In math Kelly has been using “Three Act Tasks” which are short sound-free videos:  1. Kids make estimates.  2. Kids revise their estimates.  3. Kids attempt to solve the problems based on the videos.  She has also been working on executive function and task management with 7/8 students..

6:18  Committee Reports

  • HCG - Barb Anderson - HCG works on creating community connections.  Taste of Horizons is on 2/28/25 from 6-8.  (Please plan on attending the entire time.)  There are also Friday Coffee Connections, classroom liaisons, a family mentoring program, and a new HelpAtSchools link to help pair teachers with free items for their classrooms.  There’s a neurodiversity support group and an upcoming BVSD neurodiversity “policy” discussion led by Kate Batchel on 2/28/2025 from 11:30 - 12:30.  Family Board Game night is 3/6/25!  Horizons HCG has its own website now.
  • EDB - Allyson Desart - EDB has a Banned Book Club and is reading The Parent-Teen Connection.  Jasmine GBC and Quinn GBC just led an excellent Coffee Connections on the topic of Black History Month.  EDB has been bringing library books about diversity into all of the classrooms K-8.  There’s an EDB Facebook page.
  • Development Committee - Kristin Hauger and Theresa Joseph - The spring gala theme is Prom Rewind.  The committee is looking for sponsors and donations for the auction.  Please attend the gala!  It will be the place to be on 4/26/25.  Hawks Bucks is at $87,000, which is amazing!  The goal is to earn $100,000 during this school year.  #BigKidsPlayToo is the push to create updated playground spaces.  At the 2024 Gala, the paddle raiser event raised money for this project.  The committee is currently choosing a designer and hopes to begin (& complete!) Phase 1 this summer.  Phase 2 of the project will be designed by a masters class at CU.  This month, a retired CU professor traveled to a conference in London and did an entire presentation about the nature play area of Horizons’ playground.  

6:44  Other Items for Discussion

  • Each item brought to Council tonight will have: 1 minute proposal, 5 minutes for discussion, and 1 minute for concordance.
  • Open Enrollment Seat Acceptance Window Change (from 10 calendar days to 5 calendar days) - Jasmine GBC - We would like to change this because when the Open Enrollment process is slower it prevents potential incoming students from getting offers in a timely manner.  This is the biggest problem as we try to fill seats in August and September.
    • Motion to change the Open Enrollment seat acceptance window from 10 days to 5 days.  Barb Anderson
    • Seconded: Theresa Joseph
      • Concorded
  • Change Open Enrollment Preferences:  Horizons currently has OE preferences for children of licensed faculty members, siblings, children of unlicensed staff members, and children who qualify for free and reduced lunch.  This discussion is to combine all children of faculty and staff as a single OE preference.  (Long ago in the past there was a problem with parents working 1 hour shifts as paras to try to get spots at the school for their children.  This is no longer happening or even possible based on current hiring practices.)
    • Motion: A motion to combine current OE preferences 1, 3, and 4 so that the first OE preference is given to children of all faculty and staff of who are .4 FTE or higher.
    • Seconded: Michael Joseph
      • Not Concorded
  • Additional Discussion
    • Motion: Michelle Bargo
    • Seconded: Elizabeth Parady
      • Not Concorded
  • Additional Discussion
    • Motion:  Michelle Bargo
    • Seconded: Travis Lockhart
      • Not Concorded

7:33 Other Items

  • Motion to change the May Council meeting from 5/15/25 to 5/8/25.  Michelle Bargo
  • Seconded: Teresa Joseph
    • Concorded

Adjourned: 7:34