GILPIN COUNTY — Students gave board members a glimpse of how history comes alive at the February 17 meeting of the Gilpin County RE-1 Board of Education.

Seventh-grade students Hanna Thompson, Eden Mayer, and Canyon Carlson get ready to stump the board with their quiz on American history. Student Engagement Participant Ashley Johnson is in the background.

Photos by Wes Isenhart

Hannah Thompson, Eden Mayer, and Canyon Carlson from Ms. Myers' 7th grade class showed the board how they used computer applications to construct presentations and quizzes on American history. They then revealed a quiz on the Depression and Dust Bowl years they put together using the Blooket application.

The application encourages students to think about the subject matter when constructing their quizzes. Board members were able to log in to the students’ quiz and record their answers.

Fourth and fifth grade students are beginning their Young AmeriTowne assignments and are scheduled to attend Young AmeriTowne on April 23, 2026. Young AmeriTowne teaches the basics of money management and banking.

In his report to the board, elementary school principal Patrick Linnehan recognized Leona Powe as the February GCES Student of the Month. Her classroom teacher said that Leona works hard to learn new things and challenges herself every chance she gets.

The Middle School Student of the Month was Canyon Carlson, while the High School Student of the Month was Keira Ferrante.

President Joe Marr presided over the meeting, and Ashley Johnson was the student engagement participant invited to join the board at their table. Johnson answered questions about her interests and said she liked the small classes and sense of community at the school.

During the business portion of the meeting, the board finalized the process for reviewing and renewing the superintendent’s contract, confirmed on first reading the school calendars through 2029, confirmed the spring Meet and Confer meetings with staff, and delayed changing the day that the board meets.

District school calendars for the next three years will follow the same format as the current year, with school starting in the middle of August and finishing at the end of May. The discussion centered on maintaining continuity so that parents and staff can plan accordingly. The Board voted unanimously to approve each of the three calendars on first reading.

The spring Meet and Confer meetings were scheduled for March 11 and broken into five different groups: Licensed Educators, Food Services, Transportation Services, Facilities Services, Classroom Support Personnel, and Administrative Assistants. Meetings will include all staff instead of representatives only and will focus on salaries, benefits, and policies.

The final topic, changing the day of the week that the board meets, resulted in a delay until March 3 in voting on the switch. Discussion revealed that changing the meeting day from Tuesday to either Monday or Wednesday is more complicated due to the various activities that occur on the target days.

Superintendent David MacKenzie reported to the board that the engineering consulting firm Stantec (stantec.com) is preparing the bid document for Phase III of the sewer connection construction, from the school to the sewer pipe at Paradise Valley Road. The bid is estimated to be around $700,000 to finish the project.

Board member Kristin Goodlet was the only board member absent, due to illness.

The next RE-1 Board of Education meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 3 in the District boardroom. There will be no meeting on March 17 due to spring break.

The agenda and documents for this meeting can be accessed from the District website, gilpin.k12.co.us. The student presentation by Hanna, Eden, and Canyon starts at 27:33 of the District's February 17, 2026 YouTube recording.