Board Update - December 2018 / January 2019 Dear Stargate, Happy New Year!! I hope everyone is enjoying the time off for Winter Break. In addition to the usual recap of recent and upcoming board meetings, I would like to take this opportunity to update you on two important community topics - our charter renewal and the corner lot development. I hope the information below is helpful and please feel free to reach out with any questions! (Governance@stargateschool.org) Best Wishes, Calley Herzog Stargate Board President AD12 Charter Renewal Process There are three main events related to our charter renewal process:
We are currently between steps 1 & 2! The DAC provided a summary of their review and their recommendations regarding renewal of our charter to the AD12 BOE on December 19, 2018. The DAC highlighted several concerns they had during their review and the DAC recommendation was for a 2 year renewal with conditions. Fortunately, we were able to respond to several of the items in their review during our school’s presentation to the AD12 BOE at that same meeting. There were also many community members in the audience and several opted to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. We appreciate the passion and perspective of every speaker who took the time to voice their opinion at this important meeting! Based on the feedback we got from the AD12 BOE at the Dec 19 meeting, we do not expect that they will take the DAC’s recommendation for a 2 year renewal with conditions. The next step is that the Adams 12 Staff will make their recommendation to the AD12 BOE at the January 9 meeting. We have been working collaboratively with the AD12 Staff all year and we expect the Staff recommendation to be different than that of the DAC. We look forward to their feedback and insight. We will be given an opportunity to provide additional information, if requested, to the Adams 12 Board on January 16, 2019. The Adams 12 Board is scheduled to vote on our renewal application on February 6, 2019, but could vote sooner. If you have questions about the charter renewal process please contact Calley Herzog (Calley.Herzog@stargateschool.org) or Teresa Thomson Walsh (Teresa.Walsh@stargateschool.org). Thank you for your support. We will continue to keep you informed as this important process proceeds. Corner Development / Parking & Loop Access from 144th The Board’s role in this process is limited to negotiations with the developer, specifically regarding the new entrance only. Similar to sharing the cost of a fence that borders between two houses, this street will border the school facility and the retail development. We have worked with Evergreen Development and the City of Thornton for more than two years to come up with a plan that works for our community. Community meetings were held in May, November, and December to gather feedback to inform these negotiations. Our goal in these negotiations has been, and continues to be, being included in the project planning in an effort to influence the construction plans so that we improve our parking lot and traffic flow at the same time as the new construction. Collaborating with the developer in the planning stage allows us to coordinate our construction plans with theirs and share the costs. To that end, the Board sent a letter to the Thornton City Council expressing our support of the development project being proposed by Evergreen. We do not have control over which developer the land owner sells the property to. We also do not have control over the specific establishments that will occupy the buildings. The Thornton City Council controls zoning of the property. Current zoning is Business Park which would allow “urban village” uses (e.g. large business buildings, apartments, hotels, etc.). The developer is requesting to change the zoning to Community Retail which would allow smaller buildings and uses that are typically more compatible with a school. On December 18 the Thornton City Council had planned to hold a public hearing regarding the corner property. The agenda was amended to postpone the public hearing to the next council meeting on January 9. The postponement was based on a technicality regarding the posted signage regarding the public hearing. The public hearing is your opportunity to voice your insights or concerns regarding the development. You can find more information about Thornton City Council meetings here. If you have not done so already, I encourage you to review the excellent summary provided by Lynne Allen, Doug Ryan and Apryl Sweat that was presented at their December 3 community meeting. December Highlights The Board voted to allocate the remaining bond funds to the development at 144th Avenue contingent upon Evergreen closing on the land. The Board approved the questions for a staff survey to be conducted by a third party. The survey will collect important information regarding our school climate and effectiveness of remedial measures taken regarding retaliation. The Board also approved the annual parent survey questions to be conducted by our School Accountability Committee after winter break. The Board approved forming an ad hoc committee for hiring an Executive Director pursuant to Board Policy 1.11 with Samantha Howorko and Teresa Thomson Walsh serving as the required Board members. The Board further approved inviting Kevin West, an Adams 12 staff member, to sit on the ad hoc committee. OEHM Consulting is preparing the draft Executive Director position description which will be subject to Board approval before the position is posted. Coming in January The next regular Board meeting will be held January 23rd at 6:00pm in the Stargate Performance Arts building. Proposed agenda items include:
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