Six Months of Service --- A Report from

Helayne Jones Treasurer, Boulder Valley School Board

  

Dear Friends:

 

With your support and encouragement, I successfully ran for a seat on the Boulder Valley School Board last November.   Approaching my sixth month of service, now seems like a good time to report back to you on what I have been doing, what I have learned and share some thoughts about the state of public education in our community.   You can always feel free to visit our website, www.helayne.org, for updated information on school issues. 

 

Like our campaign, this update is organized around three essential themes:  educational excellence, financial accountability and unifying the district. 

 

EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE

 

Educational excellence in service of our kids and the community takes top priority.  At the outset, I want to emphasize what a fabulous education our kids are receiving.  The commitment and quality of our teachers is so impressive, as is the achievement of our kids.   Still, there is room for improvement.   To help enhance educational excellence, I have been involved in the following activities:

 

·        Visiting almost half of the almost 60 schools in our district, including schools in every community and at every level. 

·        Learning about all of the English as a Second Language (ESL efforts.  The number of second language learners in our district increases every year.  BVSD offers a variety of programs at all levels; these include Bilingual programs, ESL classes, and Newcomer programs depending on a student’s level of English acquisition.  The cost of providing these services and number of locations at which they can /will be provided are ongoing issues for our school district.

·        Altering the start time of middle schools to ensure that classes start at a reasonable hour, when young people are alert and open to educational instruction.  Researching options for delaying the start of the high school level is also underway.

·        Listening to teachers and pushing for cooperative efforts between the teachers union and the district administration.   Within our financial means, we have to make it clear that we as a community value and appreciate our teachers and will fight for them;

·        Helping to  advance efforts to use our facilities as effectively as possible – getting schools into the buildings they need wherever possible;

·        Helping establish an improved evaluation process for the Superintendent – with clear, measurable goals and an effective means of evaluating progress toward them, that will be part of the Superintendent’s comprehensive evaluation in August or September.

·        Following up on my campaign priority of highlighting the importance of proper food and nutrition in our schools.  These efforts have resulted in the formation of district task force that will bring recommendations to the Board for ensuring that each student has a healthy lunch and creating district wide nutrition policies.

 

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

 

We read in the papers every day about the difficult financial situation facing the State of Colorado and school districts everywhere.  It is even more challenging than I had imagined and under current State policies and ongoing discussions (such as the idea of changing – read: gutting – Amendment 23), the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.  In the coming months and years we are going to have to be resolute, creative and work cooperatively to preserve the educational programs and excellence we’ve come to expect and to ensure ongoing accountability.   To advance financial strength and accountability, I have:

 

• Cooperated with COPOPS, an  emerging coalition fighting to preserve Amendment 23 and prevent politicians from addressing the State’s fiscal problems on the backs of kids and teachers;

• Encouraged the Colorado Association of School Boards to be a more effective voice and advocate for statewide education funding;

• Spent numerous hours looking at the costs of consolidation and ensuring that we learn as much as possible from that unpleasant process.   As you know, I was opposed to the school closures and I think that the recent data proves that the cost of closing schools outweighs the benefits by far – especially in terms of community trust and commitment.   If there were ever a question, there is now a definitive answer: we cannot balance the budget by closing facilities.

• Encouraged development of a budget that matches resources with priorities.  This will be a long-term process, but I am encouraging movement in the right direction and we will make progress.

 

UNIFYING THE DISTRICT

 

This is surely the hardest task that I face as a School Board member and we face as a community.   There is no single voice in the community – and numerous, passionate perspectives on a variety of issues.  We have to rebuild a sense of unity and base level of trust.   One of my priorities, therefore, is become an ever-better listener.  This takes patience and discipline and I am striving to improve all the time.   To promote cooperation and trust in the District, I have:

 

·        Poured over the District’s Communications Audit and become an advocate for development of a comprehensive, effective plan for responding to it.  Through dozens of discussions (focus groups), the District received ideas and feedback from an array of community leaders and segments.  We have to respond to these ideas and more effectively communicate with and within these constituencies;

·        Worked on Columbine/Montessori facility issue.  The school board will address the situation at these schools at a work session next month.  The current facility cannot accommodate the enrollment at these two schools.  We need to find a solution that supports the success of both of these schools and supports the needs of all of our BVSD students. 

·        Encouraged consolidation accountability.  Again, the process of reviewing the results of the consolidation process is important for rebuilding cooperation.   While there were dollars saved, the opponents of consolidation were right, in my opinion, about the intangible costs of school closures and we have to make sure the community understands this lesson.

·        Participated in the strategic planning process of the Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools.   I am past President of FBVS and a great fan of its outstanding history and accomplishments.  The current leadership (including a dear friend, Laurie Hanson) are working to make it even more effective for the future and this is encouraging for our community.

 

CONCLUSION

 

It has been a busy six months – far more than I could have ever imagined.   I thought the campaign was complicated and time-consuming, but these pale in comparison to the responsibilities and obligations I feel as an elected member of the Board.  These efforts weigh heavily and it has not always been fun.  But I am constantly buoyed by seeing kids in the educational environment and reflecting on how well our schools serve their needs and our community.  

 

Of course, the support and encouragement of people like you is also extraordinarily important and Larry and I are so grateful.   On we go to the second half of the first year of this adventure.  I am updating my website – www.helayne.org – as a means of keeping the community informed and up-to-date on key issues and progress we are making.  As always, I welcome any thoughts, suggestions or ideas you may have about the district and these efforts.  Thanks, as ever, for your engagement in these efforts.