SY 2024-25

Horizons K8
Board Meeting Minutes 
6/13/2024

Timekeeper:   Adam Brink                  Process Observer: John Bogosian

Secretary/Minutes:  Michelle Bargo     Facilitators:  Travis Lockhart, GBC

Agenda: Board Meeting Agenda _ June 13, 2024

NO MEETING JUNE 13TH

Horizons K8
Board Meeting Minutes 
8/8/2024

Facilitators:  Travis Lockhart, Jasmine GBC
Timekeeper:  Adam Brink 
Process Observer: Mike Ashmore
Secretary/Minutes:  Michelle Bargo  

Video Link: https://meet.google.com/hpr-noku-xzm  

Call to Order:  6:02 PM

Present: Travis Lockhart, Kristin Hauger, Michelle Bargo, Jasmine GBC, Jim Freund, Mike Ashmore, Emmy Kurtz, Adam Brink, Rachel Clionsky, John Bogosian, Elizabeth Parady
Present Online: Rob Horansky
Absent:  Fran Cohen
Additional community members in attendance virtually: Lynn Pence, Suzy Magliaro

• Quorum established

• Public Comment: None

Consent Agenda:  Reviewed minutes from 5/2/24 and agenda for 8/8/24
Agenda:  Board Meeting Agenda – August 8, 2024.docx - Google Docs

•  Motion to approve: Travis Lockhart
  ​​​​​​ Second:  Adam Brink
  Concorded

Recap of Budget Approval Process: At the first Council meeting of 24/25 let’s review Fund 11 vs. Council, which budget items the board has input on, and which budget items Council has input on.

HOS Update: GBC

• Budget actuals from 23/34:  BVSD has not yet provided actuals.
• Enrollment: We are at 357 students and our target enrollment is 375.
  • 9 openings for kindergarten 
  • 8 openings for 1st and 2nd
  • 5 openings for 7th and 8th
  • 3rd and 4th is over-enrolled by 2 students
  • Long wait lists in grades 3-6
• Staffing: We are almost fully staffed!  We need 2 paras for 5th/6th.  Interviews for STEAM are happening tomorrow.
• Proposed Board Priorities for 24/25: 
  • Vote will be held at the next Board Meeting on 9/5/24
  • 1 - Open enrollment (as it relates to low numbers in the lower grades and long wait lists in the middle grades):  The board’s role in this is simply to allow the faculty to explore this topic and either hold steady or make changes as needed.
  • 2 - Mike Ashmore proposed a comprehensive review of the bylaws.
  • 3 - GBC proposed a salary review, especially for auxiliary staff (front office).

LRAC (Long Range Advisory Committee): BVSD has created this committee to work on the issue of low enrollment across the district.  Request a community volunteer at Council.

DAC Parent Rep:  Our former DAC rep John Bogosian is on the Board now and we are looking for a new DAC rep.  Seek a DAC rep from the broader Horizons community.

Faculty & Parent Board Vacancy: Our goal has been 6 faculty and 6 parents.  The bylaws allow for a range of 10-14 board members as long as the number of faculty and parents is balanced.  We currently have 5 faculty board members and 5 parent board members, so no action is needed.

Other Board Business:

• Rachel - Next Board Meeting (9/12) is scheduled for when 5th/6th and 3rd/4th will be on OE.  We won’t have a quorum on that date.  Motion to reschedule next Board meeting for 9/5.
  • Motion to approve: Travis Lockhart
    Seconded: Michelle Bargo
    Concorded

Process Observer:  Appreciation for being on-task and adjourning the meeting ahead of schedule.  Great job to our new Parent Chair, Travis Lockhart!

Adjourned:  7:01 PM

Horizons K8
Board Meeting Minutes 
9/5/2024

Facilitators:  Travis Lockhart, GBC
Timekeeper:   Adam Brink   
Process Observer: John Bogosian
Secretary/Minutes:  Michelle Bargo    

Call to Order:  6:05 PM

Present: Travis Lockhart, Kristin Hauger, Michelle Bargo, Jasmine GBC, Jim Freund, Mike Ashmore, Emmy Kurtz, Adam Brink, Rob Horansky, Fran Cohen, John Bogosian, Rachel Clionsky
Present Online: Rob Horansky
Absent:  Jim Freund
Additional community members in attendance virtually: Lauren Yedell, Joal Gratz, Lynn Pence

Video Link: https://meet.google.com/rmu-gnau-tqw

• Quorum established

• Public Comment: None

Consent Agenda:  Reviewed minutes from 7/8/2024 and agenda for 9/5/2024
Agenda:  DRAFT Board Meeting Agenda – September 5, 2024.docx - Google Docs

•  Motion to approve: Travis Lockart
   Second:  Adam Brink
  Concorded

HOS Update: GBC

• Staffing: Now that we have hired a music teacher (Alice Hartman) and STEAM teacher (Christina Crizzoli), the faculty is fully staffed.  We still have a 5/6 para role open.
• Enrollment: We’re currently enrolled at 356.  There are a few outstanding offers (2 kinder and a 2nd grader).  In one week we will no longer be working from the waitlist (slow process), and can shift to enrolling via administrative transfers (quicker process).  

Update on DAC and LRAC: GBC

• Our new DAC Rep is Becky Goddard, parent of a 2nd grader!  Thank you, Becky!
• We are still looking for a LRAC rep from Horizons.  Please consider taking on this position to bring the Horizons perspective to the district level!

HOS Evaluation Process: Travis and Michelle

• Let’s get this process started now so the annual goals align with the school year.  GBC reports to the Board.  Kristin reports to GBC and ideally the annual goal-setting for Kristin’s AP role will also begin now.  
• Principal Evaluation Committee: Travis Lockhart, Adam Brink, Michelle Bargo
  • Motion to approve: Emmy Kurtz
  • Second: Rachel Clionsky
  • Concorded

Proposed Board Priorities: Travis - These potential 24/25 priorities for the Board were proposed at the 7/8/24 Board meeting.  We need to decide how many priorities we can take on this school year based on the number of board members.

• Open Enrollment
• Bylaw Review
• Salary Review for Auxiliary Staff (i.e., front office staff) 
  • Board priorities for 24/25 have been set in this order: 
    1. Open Enrollment  
    2. Salary Review 
    3. Bylaw Review

Open Enrollment Discussion:  The goal of this priority would be to review the historical data around open enrollment and create a plan for the fact that our waitlists are very full for grades 3-6 and very empty for grades K, 7, and 8.  This concerns the Board because student enrollment directly relates to the school budget.

• By 9/27/2024, the Board will provide support for the faculty as they engage in problem solving around open enrollment and waitlist issues. 

Bylaw Review Discussion: The goal of this priority would be to clean up the bylaws to account for other changes which have already been made in prior years.  It would also make the bylaws more user-friendly.  This could happen proactively ahead of our next Charter renewal in 25/26.  We reviewed the existing bylaws to understand how changes can be made to the bylaws, as well as which changes would be voted on by Council vs. Board.  

• Motion to review the bylaws: Adam Brink
  Seconded: Travis
  Concorded 

Salary Review for Auxiliary Staff (Front office staff) Discussion:  These salaries have not been reviewed in a long time but the job responsibilities have substantially increased over time.  

• Motion to create a committee to review auxiliary positions and salaries using the same review technique that was used to review para salaries in 23/24: Adam Brink 
  Seconded: John Bogosian 
  Concorded

Other Board Business:  Topics for the first Council Meeting (and Chili Cook-Off) on 9/19 include: 

• Communications Agreement
• Classroom Cleaning

Process Observer:  Mix of brief and long (over-time) discussions.  The meeting was respectful and we are all still friends!

Adjourned:  7:34 PM

Horizons K8
Board Meeting Minutes
10/10/2024

Facilitators:  Travis Lockhart, Jasmine GBC
Timekeeper: Adam Brink           
Process Observer:  Jim Freund
Secretary/Minutes:  Michelle Bargo

Call to Order:  6:07 PM

Present: Travis Lockhart, Rachel Clionsky, Kristin Hauger, Michelle Bargo, Jasmine GBC, Jim Freund, Emmy Kurtz, Adam Brink, John Bogosian, Fran Cohen, Rob Horansky
Present Online:  Rachel Clionsky
Absent:  Mike Ashmore

• Quorum established

Additional community members in attendance virtually:  Lynn Pence, Jannell Eagen, Lauren Yeddell
Video Link: https://meet.google.com/rmu-gnau-tqw

Public Comment: None

Consent Agenda:  Reviewed minutes from 9/5/24 and agenda for 10/10/24
Agenda: Board Meeting Agenda – October 10, 2024

•  Motion to approve: Travis Lockhart
   Second:  Adam Brink
  Concorded

HOS Update: GBC

• Staffing:  We hired our 5/6 Para, Hannah, last week and are now fully staffed!
• Enrollment:  On 10/1/2024 (official count day) we had an enrollment of 359, and we currently have 361 students enrolled.  We are still accepting administrative transfers for open spaces this year.
• Budget: We received actuals from BVSD for fiscal year 23/24.  BVSD refunded some funds to us and if we stick to our working budget, all operating costs for 24/25 will be covered.  We continue to gain interest from the funds we keep in our Council Budget.  
• BVSD Showcase:  10/9/2024 - There was a great turn-out at the Horizons booth!  There were 21 families interested in K; there were 12 families interested in middle school.  

Board Committee Updates:

• FRC:  GBC reported; see above.
• Development Committee:  Kristin Hauger 
  • CO Gives Campaign begins in November.  
  • Artastic Fair will feature more student vendors than ever before!
  • #BigKidsPlayToo collaboration with Boulder Parks and Recreation - This is a multi-stage project and we hope to begin phase 1 in the summer of 2025.  The collaboration with Boulder Parks and Rec will help us keep down the cost of the project by providing some equipment and funds.

HOS Annual Goal Presentation and Updates: Michelle Bargo, Jasmine GBC

• Briefly reviewed the HOS evaluation process and the annual goals that GBC has selected for 24/25.

Board Priorities for 24/25: 

• Open Enrollment - The faculty has begun to discuss enrollment issues and has made some progress coming up with potential solutions.  The goal is for faculty to have some possible plans determined by December 2024.  The Board’s role in this action item is to provide any information that the faculty requests.  Once Open Enrollment is underway in January and February, then it will become apparent which (if any) faculty plan will be needed.
  • As a charter school, we were able to change the 10 day decision period given to kids from the Open Enrollment waitlist.  It is now a 5 day decision period for Horizons.  We are waiting to confirm whether there are any parameters involved.
• Salary Review for Auxiliary Staff 
  • Discussed the salary review process.  The Board has the responsibility to review and approve staff salary schedules.  Faculty can offer some feedback but it is not involved in the decision-making regarding salary specifics for other staff.  There was a question about reviewing special education staff salaries, because some special ed salaries are reimbursed directly by BVSD.  If a salary review for special education staff happens, faculty can offer input but the decision falls under the purview of the Board. 
  • The office manager position is non-exempt which is hourly but eligible for overtime at a rate of 1.5.  Non-exempt is a federal designation. 
  • In the past, the Horizons Board has made salary decisions with the intention of keeping existing Horizons staff.
  • GBC put together a resolution for this year’s salary review.
    • Motion to approve: Travis Lockhart
      Seconded: Rob Horansky
      Concorded
    • Committee Members: GBC, Travis Lockhart
• Bylaw Review - The plan is to update the bylaws before our upcoming charter renewal.  However, this priority item will be placed on hold until February while first priority is given to the other above 2 priorities.

Other Board Business:  None

Process Observer:  Many topics were covered and the conversation always returned to the agenda items as  appropriate.  We maintained civility. 

Adjourned:  7:40 PM

Horizons K8
Board Meeting Minutes (Virtual Meeting)
11/14/2024

Facilitators: Travis Lockhart, Jasmine GBC
Timekeeper: Emmy Kurtz         
Process Observer:  Rachel Clionsky
Secretary/Minutes:  Michelle Bargo

Call to Order:  6:01 PM

Present: Travis Lockhart, Rachel Clionsky, Kristin Hauger, Michelle Bargo, Jasmine GBC, Jim Freund, Mike Ashmore, Emmy Kurtz, Adam Brink, John Bogosian, Rob Horansky, Fran Cohen
Absent:  Adam Brink

• Quorum established

Additional community members in attendance virtually: Julie Cohen, Elizabeth Parady, Lauren Yedell, Lisa Ton, Jeff van Geete
Video Link: https://meet.google.com/rmu-gnau-tqw

Public Comment:Jeff van Geete - Spoke for 3 minutes regarding the issue of classroom cleaning that was discussed and concorded on at the October Council Meeting.  There were parents who had voluntarily paid for cleaning prior to the Council discussions.  Some of those parents attended the September Council meeting to voice their views but none were able to attend again in October.  Jeff felt that there was not equity in the decision that was concorded on at the October Council meeting.  

Consent Agenda:  Reviewed minutes from 10/10/24 and agenda for 11/14/24
Agenda:  Board Meeting Agenda – November 14, 2024.docx - Google Docs

• Motion to approve: Travis Lockhart
  Second:  Rachel Clionsky 
  Concorded

HOS Update: GBC

• October 1 Count: BVSD will fund us for 358 students for the 24/25 school year.
• Open Enrollment Events: GBC is looking for more parents to attend Open Enrollment events because attendees have many questions for currently enrolled families.  Our OE events have been very well attended.  OE has only been open for 14 days and we won’t get numbers until January.

Board Committee Updates:

• FRC:  GBC 
  • Faculty problem solving around enrollment issues: 
    • The first faculty proposal targets cases in which potential incoming families are offered a space at Horizons but do not ultimately fill that space for various reasons (e.g., special education needs that exceed Horizons’ capacity, accepting a space in a different school, etc.)  
    • The second faculty proposal (which may not be required) targets increased enrollment in specific grade levels.
  • Discussed additional special ed paras to help when new students start at the school with significant special education needs.
  • Discussed how the incoming presidential administration may affect COLAs, contracts, and school funding over the next several years.
• Development Committee:  Kristin Hauger 
  • The annual CO Gives Fundraiser has launched.  We’ve already raised 25,000!  There is a benefit (in the form of bonus dollars) for making donations through CO Gives.
  • Promotional Video - Suzanne Tadros, Lauren Yedell, and Kristin Hauger  have created an incredible promotional video to use for recruitment!
  • Spring Gala 2025 will be held at a new venue this year, the Embassy Suites/ Hilton on Canyon!  This theme this year will be Prom Rewind.
  • Artastic Fair is coming up in December.  This year there are a huge number of student vendors and a waitlist for non-student vendors.

Review of Concordance Process in Council Decisions (by community request): Travis Lockhart

Concordance means that a wide range of voices contribute to the discussion.  Consensus/ concordance also means that in some cases, even if you don’t agree with the majority decision, you can consent for the sake of not impeding the community’s progress or ability to reach a decision.

• Discussion: We discussed using a trained facilitator to help achieve better organization of conversations.  John Bogosian is interested in pursuing this further.  There was discussion about whether the concordance model makes sense with such a large community and with poor continuity of which community members are in attendance at the Council meetings. Faculty board members recommend additional training on concordance as turn over occurs in the community.
  Section 3.12 of the Bylaws is relevant to this conversation.  The wording allows for a majority vote if concordance cannot be reached, or for unmade decisions to ultimately be made by the Board.
• Motion: To incorporate facilitation training into the community with the intention of improving the concordance process at Council meetings.  
  • Motion to approve: Michelle Bargo
    Second: Emmy Kurtz
    Concorded

Board Priorities for 24/25:  

• Open Enrollment - In an effort to gather past open enrollment data, Travis has asked for a cost estimate for a CORA request regarding the past OE numbers for Horizons.  The cost will be $30/ hour for the district to provide us with this data.  We are awaiting the cost estimate.

Process Observer:  Rachel Clionsky - There were a few missteps in the process today but these were quickly brought to attention and resolved.  The discussion went long on a couple of topics but the meeting still ended in a timely manner.  

Celebrations: BVSD was named as one of the top districts in the nation in US World Report; Horizons Middle School was placed on 27th on the list of middle schools!! 

Adjourned:  7:45  PM

Horizons K8
Board Meeting Minutes
12/12/2024

Facilitators:  Travis Lockhart, Jasmine GBC
Timekeeper:   Adam Brink   
Process Observer:  Rob Horansky
Secretary/Minutes:  Michelle Bargo

Call to Order:  6:01 PM

Present: Travis Lockhart, Rachel Clionsky, Kristin Hauger, Michelle Bargo, Jasmine GBC, Jim Freund, Mike Ashmore, Emmy Kurtz, Adam Brink, John Bogosian, Elizabeth Parady, Rob Horansky

Present Online:  Jasmine GBC

Absent:  Fran Cohen

• Quorum established

Additional community members in attendance virtually:  Lynn Pence
Video Link: https://meet.google.com/rmu-gnau-tqw

Public Comment: 

• Jim would like to discuss more robust HR options for Horizons in the future. How have HR needs been addressed in the past?  Is this actually a request for a mediator?  There is an existing grievance policy which could address these issues.  This item could be placed on the January board agenda.

Consent Agenda:  Reviewed minutes from 11/14/2024 and agenda for 12/12/2024
Agenda: Board Meeting Agenda – December 12, 2024.docx - Google Docs

• Motion to approve: Travis Lockhart
• Second: Adam Brink
• Concorded

HOS Update: GBC

• Open Enrollment:  
  • The open enrollment events have been very well attended.  Thank you so much to Elizabeth Parady and all the parents who have supported this effort!
  • Three years ago the board approved temporarily raising all grade bands to 88 with the intent to reduce class sizes down to 21 over time.
  • A total of 47 students left Horizons last year, across all 9 grades.  With this in mind, staff decided to increase the number of seats offered (K=48 seats, 1st=46 seats, 2nd=46 seats), hoping to fill those grades from the first round of open enrollment rather than working off the waitlist throughout the spring. The kids who list Horizons as their first choice are the ones who really want to be there.The board would need to approve this decision.  (At the 6th grade, although several students leave Horizons annually, we have also historically been able to fill these seats before October count day.) 
  • Our ideal total enrollment for 25/26 is 376 students.
    • Motion to approve the faculty recommendation to offer the following number of seats for 25/26: K=48, 1=46, 2=46, 3/4=88, 5/6=88, 7/8=88.  Our ideal total enrollment for 25/26 is 376, after attrition. - Adam Brink
      • Seconded: Rachel Clionsky
      • Concorded

Board Committee Updates:

• FRC: Mike Ashmore
  • Fund 11 budget: BVSD has been reporting actuals in a more timely manner, which should help with our budgeting.  January is budget approval month so we need to begin budget preparations immediately.
  • We are running a $200K deficit against our current Fund 11 budget but are hopeful that this amount can be reduced.
  • FRC would like to put some procedures in place so that any community member who wants to spend Council funds will need to first go through FRC before requesting the funds through Council.  
  • BVSD meeting on Tuesday night: There is a proposal to change funding for school districts at the state level.  If passed, BVSD expects a 2.5% budget reduction which is approximately 12 million dollars.  At Horizons, this is likely to have a noticeable impact on special education caseloads.
• Development Committee:  Kristin Hauger
  • Thank you, amazing parent volunteers!
  • CO Gives campaign netted just over $47,000, and the Hawks Bucks campaign is ongoing.  
  • Horizons now has a Vanguard stock account to accept stock donations.  This program has excellent tax benefits for the donors.
  • Spread the word about company matches for Horizons!

Concordance Facilitation:  John Bogosian

• Improving the community’s facilitation skill set would help us be more successful at Horizons meetings.
• There is a difference between concordance and consensus.
• At the last Council meeting, Council approved some funds (up to $2000) for facilitator training.  This would be open to the entire Horizons community with the expectation that you would bring any training you receive from the program back to Horizons.  There would be 2-3 hours of instruction followed by an apprenticeship during actual meetings.  
• Council passed a motion for facilitation training which involves Council funds and is under the purview of the Council.  All hiring/ contractor decisions will be made by the school administration.

Other Board Business:  

• Can we hire a service to clean-up and manage the search profile for Horizons K8? 

Adjourned:  7:24 PM

Executive Session 1:  Notes confidential

Executive Session 2:  Notes confidential

Horizons K8 School
Board Meeting Minutes
Date:  1/9/2025

Facilitators:  Mike Ashmore, Travis Lockhart, Jasmine GBC, 
Timekeeper:  Rachel Clionsky
Process Observer:  Jim Freund
Secretary/Minutes: Michelle Bargo

Call to Order: 6:06 PM

Present: Jasmine GBC, Rachel Clionsky, Kristin Hauger, John Bogosian, Mike Ashmore, Adam Brink, Jim Freund, Rob Horansky, Michelle Bargo

Present online: Elizabeth Parady, Lynn Pence, Travis Lockhart, Fran Cohen

Absent: Emmy Kurtz

• Quorum established 

Public Comment

• None

Consent Agenda: Approval of  current agenda: Copy of Board Meeting Agenda – January 9, 2025.docx - Google Docs and Approval of 12/12/24 minutes

• Motion to approve - Mike Ashmore
• Seconded: Michelle Bargo
• Concorded

Head of School Updates - Jasmine GBC

• Open Enrollment Update:
  • BVSD’s OE officially closed yesterday and we’ll get actual numbers on 1/20/25.  Our first round placements are released tomorrow and families will have 10 days to decide.  It looks like we’re in a really good place for OE.  A huge thank you to Elizabeth and the parent volunteers who have spearheaded this effort. 
• Faculty to Intent to Return Survey
  • This has been distributed and is due back on 1/15/2025 so we will know what hiring will need to happen.

Board Committee Updates: 

• Development Committee - Kristin Hauger 
  • We are in a shortfall for Hawksbucks ($26,000 raised so far), which is behind the fundraising from this point last year.  We are aiming for $100,000 for the 24/25 school year.  Can we find out what percentage of families have contributed so far? 
  • The 4/26/25 auction is being planned!  We are looking for donations for the silent auction.  The theme is Prom Rewind and it’s being held at Boulder Embassy Suites.
• FRC - Mike Ashmore
  • FRC met today.  This year we bought fewer services from BVSD.  Our deficit is currently tracking at $58,000 without a transfer from the Council budget.
  • Revised budget for 24/25 Fiscal year: Discussed the ramifications of this budget and how many funds should be maintained in Fund 11 and Council.  Our fundraising has not been on pace with last year.  How can we be intentional with our funds and keep a long-term view rather than just spending money on things that are not intentional and aligned with our long-range goals?
    • Motion to approve the Revised budget for the 24/25 fiscal year. - Mike Ashmore
      • Seconded: Adam Brink
      • Concorded

Facilitation Services Breakdown: GBC

• About 16 community members have expressed interest in attending the facilitation training.  The trainings are scheduled for 1/13 and 1/24.  There will be co-facilitation at Council meetings for the remainder of the year.

Other Board Business: 

• Horizons HR:  Further consideration of a more robust HR service for Horizons.  What will be the purpose of this?  
  • Jim Freud: A long-term concern is that if a faculty member has an HR concern and the HR representative is the Parent Board Chair.  Also, if a parent and teacher have a concern that cannot be resolved with the HOS, the HR representative is again the Parent Board Chair.  There are sometimes conflicts of interest when complicated situations arise.  Can we provide a better HR service than this?  Jim can recall 5-6 instances when this would have been needed over the past 25 years.  In most businesses, HR defends the company and shareholders.  What we are actually talking about is a mediation service.  
    • Motion to request that the faculty and administration come up with a couple of different models that they think might adequately provide this “mediation service”? - Adam Brink
      • Seconded:  Mike Ashmore
      • Concorded
  • 6:50 PM - Motion to extend the time for this discussion for up to 15 minutes. - Mike Ashmore
    • Seconded: Rob Horansky
    • Concorded

For next month’s board agenda: 

• Strategic discussion about the 25/26 budget.

Process Observer: 

• Jim Freund: Our conversation was off-topic a few times but ultimately we got back on track.

Adjourn: 7:12

Horizons K8 School
Board Meeting Minutes
Date:  2/13/2025

Facilitators:  Travis Lockhart
Timekeeper: Adam Brink
Process Observer: Jim Freund
Secretary/Minutes:  Michelle Bargo

Call to Order: 6:05 PM

Present: Jasmine GBC, Kristin Hauger, Elizabeth Parady, Michelle Bargo, Jim Freund, Travis Lockhart, Adam Brink, Mike Ashmore, Rob Horansky

Present Online: Rachel Clionsky, Emmy Kurtz

Absent:  John Bogosian, Fran Cohen

Present online: Lynn Pence, Lauren Yedell

• Quorum established 

Public Comment

• None

Consent Agenda: 

• Approve current agenda  Copy of Board Meeting Agenda – February 13, 2025.docx - Google Docs
• Prior Minutes  1/9/2025 Board Meeting Minutes - Google Docs
  • Motion to approve - Travis Lockhart
    • Second - Mike Ashmore
    • Concorded

Head of School Updates: Jasmine GBC

• Open Enrollment Update - For 25/26 we are fully enrolled in every grade except for 1st grade.  There are substantial waitlists across grades.  Our 25/26 enrollment is at 389 students.  
• Updates on Faculty Intent to Return - We have 6 staff openings: paras, front office director, 1 specials teacher, and 5/6 (Peter is retiring). 
• Strategic Plan - 
  • The 25/26 school year is not shaping up to be a lean year but we need to always budget with the expectation that there will be lean years at some future point. 
  • Open enrollment marketing was very successful this year.  
  • The plan is to send out an annual report to the community so everyone can see where fundraised dollars are being spent.  
  • GBC would like Fund 11 reserves to be raised from 8% to at least 10% as a better safety net.  The Council budget is not a great safety net because decisions can be made without the big-picture view.  
  • GBC would like to see the BVSD charters join together as an organization to be a more united front.  
  • For the 25/26 school year we do not know the PPR but we expect that this number would hold steady or potentially decrease.

Board Committee Updates: 

• Development Committee - Kristin Hauger
  • The spring gala is coming together.  Everyone on the committee is working hard to make this a fantastic night!  The committee has not yet decided what the paddle raise will be for.
  • #BigKidsPlayToo - Phase 1 of this project will be a nature-based playground with middle school students in mind.  We are hoping this phase begins over the summer.  Phase 2 is the space between the Hub and 1/2 wing.  Phase 3 is the space between 1/2 and the cafeteria.  Phase 4 is the space at the corner of Pawnee and Mohawk.  There will be additional student involvement once a designer has been selected.
  • There will be another push for the Hawksbucks campaign coming this spring.  We have raised 50K but are far below the 100K goal.  
• Finance Review Committee (FRC) - Jasmine GBC
  • We are on track to have a Fund 11 deficit of 53K which can be covered by a Council transfer.  This year’s gala has been more expensive to plan at a fancier venue but we expect to recoup this money in ticket sales.
  • Unknowns:  PPR, increased benefit costs, increased purchased services from BVSD

Facilitation Updates: Travis Lockhart

• Sara Wise led 2 facilitation sessions for interested community members.  About 15 attendees.  Slides and handouts: HK8 Facilitation Training - Google Drive
  • Some ideas for Council: Community members can have 1 minute to speak at the start of the Council meetings, for up to 15 minutes total.  This would need to be time boxed.
  • Travis plans to send out a very simple survey before Council meetings to ask community members if they have suggestions for items to discuss.  This would not automatically mean that items mentioned would be added to the agenda.

Faculty Mediator - At the 1/9/25 board meeting, the board requested feedback from faculty on the topic of mediation when conflicts occur in the community.  

• Adam discussed mediation with his 3/4 team.  The 3/4 team thought that this should not be mediation through the district.  One problem is that Horizons doesn’t have clear policies for many issues.  Not having a clear policy would make it difficult to use a mediator.  
• Jim discussed the topic with the 7/8 team.  They also highlighted the lack of clearly documented policy.
• Faculty would like to have administration support to develop a list of the unclear policies that tend to cause the most problems.  Once Horizons documents clear policies, a mediator will be more useful.
• Action Items: Create a list of “sticky” issues that are occurring the most at Horizons.  Document clear policy around these issues.

Other Board Business: 

• Move board meeting to 5/1/25 and Council to 5/8/25 to accommodate Aperture night (5/15/25).  
• When are in-depth budget and big picture conversations happening?  Those conversations happen at FRC, in faculty meetings, and in Big Picture Team meetings.  At Board meetings, budget conversations happen in March and April before the annual meeting in May.  
• Succession planning:  Let’s send out a survey to current board members about intent to return.  Please begin asking parents and faculty members who might be interested in serving on the board.
• HOS Evaluation Committee:  Michelle Bargo, Travis Lockhart, Adam Brink - We are following the same protocols as last year except that a 3rd party survey tool will be used instead of Google Forms.  Please join the committee now if you would like to influence the process.  

Adjourn: 7:35 PM

• Immediately followed by 2 Executive Sessions  (Notes in Confidential Board Files)

Horizons K8 School
Board Meeting Minutes
Date:  3/6/2025

Google Meets Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87148402994?pwd=RC9kYjRXbllCdGJhdmY1cVB4MFh3Zz09

Facilitators:  Travis Lockhart
Timekeeper:  Emmy Kurtz
Process Observer:  John Bogosian
Secretary/Minutes:  Michelle Bargo

Call to Order: 6:05 PM

Present:  Travis Lockhart, Emmy Kurtz, Kristin Hauger, Fran Cohen, John Bogosian, Jim Freund, Mike Ashmore, Rob Horansky

Present Online:  Jasmine GBC, Adam Brink

Absent:  Rachel Clionsky

• Quorum established 

Public Comment

• None

Consent Agenda: 

• Approve current agenda  Copy of Board Meeting Agenda - March 6, 2025 Google Docs
• Prior Minutes 2/13/2025 Board Meeting Minutes - Google Docs
  • Motion to approve - Travis Lockhart
    • Second - Jim Freund
    • Concorded

Head of School Updates - Jasmine GBC

• Job postings: 
  • Horizons has posted the Director of Operations position and the 5/6 teacher position.
  • BVSD has been slow at pushing all posts through their job postings system.
• Reducing FTE in District Overall:  BVSD is reducing and restructuring positions.  BVSD is also considering laying off probationary staff.
• Updates in Executive Orders:  An update was provided in Skylines regarding DEI executive orders.  We are protected by the First and Fifth Amendments for our inclusivity curriculum.  The administration plans to eliminate the federal Department of Education.
• Advocacy with the Colorado League of Charter Schools:  Horizons is looking for community members to collaborate with the League to help champion charter schools.  We’ve been asked because the League wants families who strongly support charters.

HOS Evaluation - Travis Lockhart, Michelle Bargo

• HOS Goals for Evaluation - Reviewed the HOS Evaluation Process for the year.
• Survey Collection from Teachers - We are planning to use a free 3rd party survey tool and to administer surveys to stakeholders (faculty, front office staff, parent board members) immediately following spring break.  After data is collected from the surveys, we can meet with Jasmine GBC to discuss the results.

Board Committee Updates

• Development Committee - Kristin Hauger
  • An Annual Report is being complied to help community members understand how Horizons’ funds are spent.
  • The gala committee is working hard to put on an amazing gala.  This year it has been more difficult to enlist sponsors.  We can’t wait to see you there!
  • Hawksbucks has raised nearly $90,000 so far this year!
  • #BigKidsPlayToo is still selecting a designer for the project.  Dig is coming to meet with Kristin and Lauren tomorrow.  The designer for Dig designed a wonderful outdoor play area at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  CU has enlisted a class that will design another space on the school grounds.  Boulder Parks and Recreation is refreshing the Burke Pond space in tandem with our project.  We are trying to access another fund for charter school facility improvements.
• Finance Review Committee (FRC) - Mike Ashmore
  • Today’s FRC meeting was very short.
  • Horizons 24/25 budget shortfall is expected to be approximately $50 K.  For 25/26 we are fully enrolled in all grades except first grade (because we’ve already reached our enrollment goal of 375 and don’t need to add more students).
  • The state budget is delayed, which means that we don’t know the state’s PPR or the BVSD numbers for COLA and raises.  For this reason we don’t have a true budget draft for 25/26 yet.

Board Intent to Return Survey

• Discussion about John Bogosian and Mike Ashmore transitioning to roles as At-Large Board Members.  They can formally resign in May and then be appointed to the new roles.  What do we need to do to maintain balance on the board?  We will expect to recruit for 4 open parent board positions.
• Faculty will have a similar discussion amongst themselves about who will step up to the board for 25/26.
• Parents who have expressed interest in serving on the board beginning in 25/26 include: Michael Joseph and Joel Gratz.

Other Board Business

• When is the Horizons community talking about big picture items?  The board has a financial purview but Council and faculty make many decisions.  The budget is such a large item to review and it can feel rushed.  Can we have a plan A and B to prepare for the budget uncertainties from the state and district?  Can we devote a greater amount of time to FRC review at Board Meetings and delve into the spreadsheet?
• What is the Difference Between School-of-Choice and Charter?  This is an important conversation to have because what was true 20 years ago may have changed.  A charter has far more freedom and flexibility than a school-of-choice including curriculum and maintaining our own teachers.

Process Observer

• John Bogosian:  This was a great meeting because the agenda was brief.  Everyone had enough time to discuss the topics that needed to be discussed.

Adjourn:  7:21 PM

Horizons K8 School
Board Meeting Minutes
Date:  4/10/2025

Call to Order: 6:03 PM

Facilitators:  Travis Lockhart
Secretary/Minutes: Michelle Bargo
Timekeeper:  Emmy Kurtz
Process Observer:  Travis Lockhart

Present: Travis Lockhart, Emmy Kurtz, Kristin Hauger, Jasmine GBC, Adam Brink, John Bogosian, Jim Freund, Elizabeth Parady, Michelle Bargo, Rob Horansky

Present Online:  Rachel Clionsky, Mike Ashmore

Absent:  Fran Cohen

Other Community Members Online: Lauren Yedell, Lynn Pence

• Quorum established 

Public Comment

• Lauren Yedell:  Will you go to prom with us?  The Gala Committee has been working since September to plan this amazing event and we really want your support.  

Consent Agenda: Travis Lockhart

• Approve current agenda
• Prior Minutes
  • Motion to approve - Travis Lockhart
    • Second - Adam Brink
    • Concorded

Head of School Updates: Jasmine GBC

• Job postings & hiring updates 
  • We have hired a Director of Operations, Eileen Bauer. 
  • We’ve made progress on hiring the 5/6 teacher and other para positions.  
• Specials
  • We lost 3 specialists this year.  What is the viability of the work schedule and the FTE of the specialist positions? 
  • Faculty formed a committee to determine whether some changes should be made. 
  • Faculty will make a decision and the Council or Board would need to be involved regarding the budget implications. 
  • AMM is a funding source for potential changes to the cost.
• Gala Encouragement
  • GBC would love to see board members at the Gala! 
  • Invite a friend and let’s have an amazing time!
• Enrollment
  • ​​​​​​​As expected, there has been a bit of fluctuation with our numbers but we don’t need to open more seats because we are still full.
• Celebrations
  • We have been so fortunate this year with volunteer support, new basketball hoops, and a wonderful culture at Horizons!

Board Committees: 

• Development Committee:  Kristin Hauger
  • The Gala Committee plans to paddle raise for nature play with a goal of $30K. 
  • We hired designer Dig Design who has also given us a discount.  New Vista is giving us some rocks that were unearthed during their construction.  
  • A small committee is working on an Annual Report to inform the community about how funds are spent.
  • The “Dine and Donate” events for Horizons earned over $750!
• FRC:  Mike Ashmore, Jasmine GBC
  • 24/25 Budget - The budget is going extremely well this year.  
    • We won’t have 25/26 numbers until the end of April. 
    • BVSD hasn’t announced the 25/26 COLA. 
    • Our benefit costs will increase by 4.6% for 25/26 and most of our budget is actually salary.  We should have a very conservative budget in place for next year.  
    • We cannot approve the Fund 11 budget for 25/26 without numbers so there may be additional/ late Board or Council meetings to approve.
    • There was discussion about fine-tuning the Fund 11 vs. the Council Budget so that essential/ operational budget and non-essential items are more clearly separated out.  

Upcoming Board Vacancies and Election: Michelle Bargo, Travis Lockhart

• There are 4 parent board openings and faculty is still determining how many faculty board members are returning to board positions.  Michael Joseph, Joel Gratz, Jessica Slatus, Dulce Monteiro Mendes
• Submission deadline is 4/28/25 for those interested in board positions.
• Our rising At-Large Board members (John Bogosian, Mike Ashmore) will be appointed at the Board Meeting immediately following the Annual Meeting of Members.

New Business: 

• We got the OWL audiovisual equipment.  It’s a 365 degree camera with 8 microphones.

Process Observer: 

• Travis Lockhart: We stuck to the agenda and finished well ahead of schedule!

Adjourn:  6:55 PM

Horizons K8 School
Board Meeting Minutes
Date: 5/1/25

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87148402994?pwd=RC9kYjRXbllCdGJhdmY1cVB4MFh3Zz09

Call to Order: 6:05 PM
Facilitators: Travis Lockart, Jasmine GBC
Notetaker: Michelle Bargo
Timekeeper:  Adam Brink
Process Observer:  Fran Cohen

Present: Jim Freund, Mike Ashmore, Fran Cohen, Jasmine GBC, Kristin Hauger, John Bogosian, Travis Lockhart, Michelle Bargo
Present online: Adam Brink, Emmy Kurtz, Elizabeth Parady
Absent: Rob Horansky

Other Community Members Present: Joel Gratz

Quorum established 

Public Comment

• None

Consent Agenda: Travis Lockhart

• Approve current agenda
• Prior Minutes

Motion to approve - Travis Lockhart

Second - Jim Freund

Concorded

Head of School Updates - Jasmine GBC

• Job Openings & Hiring Updates:  The job posting for the 5/6 teacher position is closing soon.  Specials job postings also close very soon and interviews have already begun for PE.  There are many excellent candidates for the 5/6 para position.  Horizons is partnering with Friends School to fill para positions with teachers-in-training.
• Specials Decisions:  Various improvements to the positions will be made: brief breaks between classes, creating more of a team experience, and hiring teachers who are trained as teachers in each of these subject areas.

Committee Updates: 

• Development Committee - Kristin Hauger
  • The “Prom Rewind” Gala was a smashing success!!  The preliminary numbers are: the paddle raise earned approximately $27K, the silent auction earned about $16K, donations raised about $3K, the raffle earned about $1500, and tickets and sponsors raised approximately $14K.  The preliminary gross earnings were approximately 64K.  The #BigKidsPlayToo campaign unveiled the playground design.  The project is on BVSD property and BVSD will participate in the maintenance.
  • The Impact Report - The Development Committee is finalizing the Annual Report.
• FRC - Mike Ashmore, Jasmine GBC
  • The financial impact of the gala was on-par with last year’s gala.  
  • At today’s meeting we discussed the initial draft of the 25/26 budget.  This morning Colorado released the PPR Funding and it has risen 3.1% which translates to approximately $400.  ($11,564)  
  • The expected shortfall for 24/25 is approximately $60K, and anticipated shortfall for 25/26 is approximately $120K.  BVSD is increasing the special services cost by 12% for next school year but is not improving the quality of services.
  • This summer GBC will begin working on our contract renewal terms and which services will be contracted through BVSD.  Peak to Peak has not received a favorable deal from BVSD with regard to their “purchased services” such as special education and IT.  
    • Concern: We are paying an egregious amount for BVSD’s purchased services and we are not receiving the same benefits as other district schools, despite being a public school.

New Business:

• Please remember our Annual Meeting of the Members next week on 5/8/25.  We will be electing new board members and there is a brief board meeting immediately following.  At that meeting, we are looking to vote on $25,000 to complete the #BigKidsPlayToo funding.
• Large item for next year’s budget: new computers for 5th to 8th.

Process Observer: 

• We did well on time-keeping overall.  This was a good conversation and an informative meeting.

Adjourn: 7:04 PM

Followed immediately by Executive Session regarding Administration Salaries

Horizons K8 School
Special Board Meeting Minutes
Date:  5/21/2025

Call to Order: 6:36 PM
Facilitators: Travis Lockhart
Notetaker: Michelle Bargo
Timekeeper: Adam Brink, Travis Lockhart
Process Observer: Emmy Kurtz

Present: Travis Lockhart, Jasmine GBC, Adam Brink, Kristin Hauger, Emmy Kurtz, Mike Ashmore, John Bogosian, Rob Horansky, Michelle Bargo, Fran Cohen
Absent: Jim Freund, Rachel Clionsky
Other community members present: Michael Joseph, Joel Gratz, Elizabeth Parady

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87148402994?pwd=RC9kYjRXbllCdGJhdmY1cVB4MFh3Zz09

Quorum established 

Approval of Fund 11 Budget: Jasmine GBC, Mike Ashmore

• The Fund 11 Budget approval is happening later than usual this year as we needed to wait for the state to provide PPR numbers.
• Horizons COLA 2.3%, inflation is 2.5%, BVSD COLA is expected to be 2.3%
• This budget lists greater revenue than previous years.  This is because we have higher enrollment, resulting in more PPR.  
• CAP Construction fund is $69,501.  Some of this will be spent painting the building interior over the summer.
• Our largest expenses are salaries and benefits.  Purchased services (that we must purchase from BVSD) are expected to increase.  
• Discussion regarding variation in “total expenses” across the columns (e.g., FY 24 actuals, FY26 working budget, etc.). 
• Discussion about Fund 11 Ending Fund Balance in the FY26 working budget: $583,886.
• Some of the deficit shown in this budget reflects the playground construction.  This will actually be paid for from the Council Budget.  The transfer will need to happen before June 30, 2026.  Funds are held in the Council account because we earn interest on that money.
  • Motion to approve the FY 26 Fund 11 budget.  Travis Lockhart
  • Seconded: Adam Brink 
    • Concorded

Adjourn: 7:04 PM

Board Meeting Minutes  5/28/2025
Horizons K8

*Agenda: Board Meeting Agenda – May 28, 2025.docx
*Video Link: https://meet.google.com/rmu-gnau-tqw

Secretary/Minutes:  Travis Lockhart  
Facilitators:  Travis and Jasmine

 Call To Order: 6:36pm

 Present Online: Fran Cohen, Caley Gallison, JGBC, Travis Lockhart, Jessica Slatus, Michael Joseph, Jordan Logan, Kate Bachtel, Rob Horansky, Kristin Hauger

Absent:  Michelle Bargo, Emmy Kurtz, John Bogosian, Adam Brink, Michael Ashmore, Jim Freund

●       Quorum established 

Public Comment:

●       None

Motion to elect officers – Travis Lockhart, Second – Jordan Logan

Election of Offices for 25/26:

●       Parent Chair: Travis Lockhart

●       Parent Vice Chair: Michael Joseph

●       Secretary:  Jordan Logan

●       Treasurer:  Joel Gratz

Concorded

Notes: Michael Joseph suggested at the first Board Meeting in August going through the budget basics – how it is created, the process, and what items mean.

Travis Lockhart offered to create board member binder for Michael Joseph.

Jessica Slatus asked for at-large clarification – Travis Lockhart to follow up with additional details but clarified they are non-voting unless bylaws are changed but will double check and follow up accordingly.

Congratulations to all new parent officers.

Motion to conclude – Travis, Second by Jordan Logan.