GILPIN COUNTY – Several parents voiced their concerns on two different topics during public comments at the March 4, 2025, Gilpin County RE-1 Board of Education meeting.

Safe2Tell not safe?

The first topic concerned a Safe2Tell report from last November involving a female student and adult staff member. The student reported an inappropriate social media contact that the Board has reviewed. Multiple parents expressed concern that the issue hadn’t been fully resolved and asked for a special meeting to talk about the implications of the Board’s decision to retain the staff member.

Board members listened to the parents and issued a statement at the end of the meeting explaining the measures that they have taken to address the situation. They gave personal assurances that children attending the Gilpin RE-1 school are in a safe environment. No commitment was made by the Board regarding holding a special meeting on the matter.

The mother of the student who made the Safe2Tell report has stated that her daughter’s anonymity was compromised, and her daughter was subjected to victim shaming and harassment along with cyberstalking by an adult.

According to the student’s mother, the consequence of these traumatic experiences are that her daughter no longer attends the Gilpin RE-1 school and regrets using the Safe2Tell program to report the incident.

Montessori program concerns

The second topic that a parent raised was the state of the Montessori program in the elementary school. The parent has children in the program and has concerns about its legitimacy.

The parent was concerned that the program lacks teachers trained in the Montessori method. It was alleged that core tenets of the Montessori curriculum like mixed-age classes are not being followed, and that the school has failed to provide a Montessori environment that can produce a true Montessori education.

The Board listened to these concerns but had no concrete replies. Board member Kristen Goodlet said that they would look into the issues raised. Superintendent David MacKenzie said that he would be on the lookout for Montessori teachers when he goes up to Greeley for the UNC Job Fair on March 25 and 26, 2025.

Contacts and policy updates

The business part of the meeting included passing two policy updates on second and final reading and approving the budgets for the elementary and secondary principals’ contracts with Patrick Linnehan and Sarah Reich for the 2025/2026 school year.

Both policies were approved by a unanimous vote of the Board. The first policy (GBEE) coincidentally involves staff use of the internet and electronic communications. The policy updates include the use of ParentSquare as the primary platform for notifications with parents and students. School email will also be considered acceptable since all communications are retained and archived.

The pertinent change regarding the tracking of student (child) postings and comments on social media by staff (employees/contractors/volunteers/adults) states:

“Staff members shall not communicate electronically with students through personal social media platforms/applications or texting. Staff members are expected to protect the health, safety and emotional wellbeing of students and to preserve the integrity of the learning environment. Online or electronic conduct that distracts or disrupts the learning environment or other conduct in violation of this or related district policies may form the basis for disciplinary action up to and including termination.”

The second policy (GDD) changes and updates clarified support staff vacations and holidays. MacKenzie reported that support staff had received a pay increase for the next year and comparisons with other districts showed the GDD policy was in line with other schools’ holiday and vacation schedules. The policy updates for GDD were approved with no objections.

Approval of the 2025/2026 principals’ contracts was unanimous. There was discussion as to why the contracts were separate from teacher and staff salary considerations. The consensus was to just include them in the budget approvals going forward.

Recognitions

During the Recognitions and Celebrations part of the meeting, the high school girls’ basketball team was recognized for qualifying for the Regional tournament. Art teacher Curtis Halsted presented the Board with artwork from Riley Henderlong (elementary), Stormy Mumpy-Bruyer and Addie Myhre (middle school), and Leo Simpson-Molochnick (secondary) students and let the students tell the Board about their work and why art is important to them.

There will be no School Board meeting on March 18 because of spring break. The next RE-1 meeting will be on April 1, 2025, at 7 p.m. in the school board meeting room.

The agenda and documents for this meeting are on the RE-1 website (gilpin.k12.co.us) under the Board of Education Agendas for March 4, 2025.

Click on I.1.1._Second Reading_Policy GBEE Staff Use of the Internet and Electronic Communications.pdf to read the new policy using ParentSquare for electronic communications with students, parents, and the public.

There is a video of this meeting on the GCSD YouTube channel. Click on the link on the agenda to access the video.