BSVDWatch.org

Eric Dobbs has sent out the following email to those interested in helping Columbine Elementary create a "New Vision".  If you are willing and able to help, please send in your thoughts to the visioning team.

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Columbine Elementary's visioning team will be meeting weekly until
around the beginning of April.  I've set up two online groups (one
English, one Spanish) to enable more people to contribute to the
process, but time is short.

Speak now or forever hold your peace. :-)

There are three key ingredients in creating a new vision for
Columbine: our values, needs, and beliefs around our children and
their education.  Please email one of the following groups with the
values, needs, and beliefs you think are important.

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Anyone can email these groups, view them online, or join them to
participate in the electronic discussions or lend a hand in
consolidating our answers.  We can also collect links to related
materials online.

http://groups.google.com/group/columbine-boulder-espanol
http://groups.google.com/group/columbine-boulder-english

I'm not conversant in Spanish.  This process needs to be as inclusive
as possible, so I hope if you're bilingual you'll consider joining the
Spanish group -- I'll be happy to support the technical details for
both groups as much as I can.

In case you don't recognize me by email, I'm a Columbine neighbor and
volunteer and a member of the visioning team. 

Sincerely,
Eric Dobbs

Bay Roberts of Greening Boulder Schools is looking for BVSD community members to provide input on a sustainability policy relating to the green building practices BVSD promised in the 3A bond passed in 2006. Below is the description and contact info. Please contact Bay if you would like to help in this worthy effort!

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Last year, a volunteer community group called Greening Boulder Schools was formed in response to concern that BVSD was not meeting key objectives of Ballot Issue 3A passed in Nov. 2006. 3A allocated 296.8 million of Boulder County taxpayer funds to construct/renovate targeted BVSD schools. The language of the bond states that the money be used for "implementing cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient design and construction strategies". Our group found that for most targeted schools there wasn’t enough money in the bond allocation to accommodate all of the desired improvements while also satisfying the green building mandate. Often the first improvement to be omitted from the implementation plan was the “greening” component.

Greening Boulder Schools' mandate is to work with the District to make sustainable practices, energy efficiency and green building practices an integral part of BVSD policy. To that end, the district hired in summer 2008 a Sustainability Coordinator (Ghita Carroll) and is now working to formulate a sustainability policy which eventually will be approved by the BVSD school board. Bay Roberts from Greening Boulder Schools will be a member of the sustainability policy committee and is seeking input from concerned parents and community members about what such a policy should entail. I am compiling a sustainability list below and would love to get more input. I can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 303-447-8836.

BVSD Sustainability List

General Facilities Management
•    create a major BVSD maintenance fund - do not let BVSD buildings fall into disrepair.
•    recognize the value of embedded energy and materials in existing buildings

Transportation :
•    District-wide Eco-pass for employees (and eventually for students)
•    Parking Cash-out (where employees who do not use an expensive parking space receive a fraction of the avoided parking cost--Boulder Community Hospital has implemented this). Is this funded by a fee charged to those who do use parking spaces?
•    do not allow cars to idle when picking up kids.
•    encourage car pooling, riding bikes and walking to school where possible.
•    Safe Routes to Schools programs.
•    any newly purchased BVSD vehicles should be hybrid/biodiesal/electric-these vehicles should use alternative fuels and get high gas mileage. But consider that its better to continue to use the old vehicles as long as possible until they are no longer functioning than to replace them now with new more efficient vehicles.
•    reconsider the negative effects that open enrollment has on the environment/communities- encourage enrollment at neighborhood schools

Click the "Read More..." button to the right for more of the list.

 Bay Roberts is looking for BVSD community members to

Last year, a volunteer community group called Greening Boulder Schools was formed in response to concern that BVSD was not meeting key objectives of Ballot Issue 3A passed in Nov. 2006. 3A allocated 296.8 million of Boulder County taxpayer funds to construct/renovate targeted BVSD schools. The language of the bond states that the money be used for "implementing cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient design and construction strategies". Our group found that for most targeted schools there wasn’t enough money in the bond allocation to accommodate all of the desired improvements while also satisfying the green building mandate. Often the first improvement to be omitted from the implementation plan was the “greening” component. Greening Boulder Schools' mandate is to work with the District to make sustainable practices, energy efficiency and green building practices an integral part of BVSD policy. To that end, the district hired in summer 2008 a Sustainability Coordinator (Ghita Carroll) and is now working to formulate a sustainability policy which eventually will be approved by the BVSD school board. Bay Roberts from Greening Boulder Schools will be a member of the sustainability policy committee and is seeking input from concerned parents and community members about what such a policy should entail. I am compiling a sustainability list below and would love to get more input. I can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 303-447-8836.

BVSD Sustainability List

General Facilities Management
•    create a major BVSD maintenance fund - do not let BVSD buildings fall into disrepair.
•    recognize the value of embedded energy and materials in existing buildings

Transportation :
•    District-wide Eco-pass for employees (and eventually for students)
•    Parking Cash-out (where employees who do not use an expensive parking space receive a fraction of the avoided parking cost--Boulder Community Hospital has implemented this). Is this funded by a fee charged to those who do use parking spaces?
•    do not allow cars to idle when picking up kids.
•    encourage car pooling, riding bikes and walking to school where possible.
•    Safe Routes to Schools programs.
•    any newly purchased BVSD vehicles should be hybrid/biodiesal/electric-these vehicles should use alternative fuels and get high gas mileage. But consider that its better to continue to use the old vehicles as long as possible until they are no longer functioning than to replace them now with new more efficient vehicles.
•    reconsider the negative effects that open enrollment has on the environment/communities- encourage enrollment at neighborhood schools

What a difference a week makes....

It all started with this:

12/12/2008: Chris King announces to Columbine staff that in addition to a new school principal, Columbine Elementary staff members will have to reapply for their jobs if they wish to stay at Columbine.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/12/columbine-teachers-must-reapply/

12/16/2008:  Parents, teachers and neighbors organize a rally at the Tuesday night meeting at the school to protest the decision.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/16/columbine-parents-set-rally-teachers/

12/18/2008: Video on The Daily Camera's website showing the 'energetic' crowd at the Tuesday night meeting.

http://www.dailycamera.com/videos/detail/columbine-parents-meeting

12/18/2008: Erika Stutzman (The Daily Camera Editorial Page Editor) writes editorial against BVSD's decision.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/18/communication-is-the-key/

12/19/2008: Chris King's announcement after the Columbine meeting, in a story by Vanessa Miller,  decides his decision to make Columbine staff re-apply for their jobs was premature.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/19/king-asking-faculty-re-apply-was-premature/

12/20/2008: Eric Dobbs, a Columbine neighbor, volunteer, and a member of the visioning committee, has guest opinion in the Daily Camera listing King's errors and commending his ability to listen to those with direct ties to the school.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/20/doing-right-by-columbine/

12/22/2008: Kathy Guyton's response to Chris King's Sunday's guest opinion in the Daily Camera, thanking him for his courage and ability to listen and think twice about an important decision.

 http://www.dailycamera.com/blogs/letters-editor-blog/2008/dec/22/guyton

BVSDWatch.org applauds Chris King for his willingness to revisit the Columbine decision. We have a feeling with this wake up call (for both sides) Columbine will become all the better for it.

Shirley Scoville wrote a guest opinion in the September 21st Daily Camera about a parenting book BVSD sent out to all BVSD parents.

Read the article and leave comments. We are curious to hear what people think about this book. 

BVSD is part way through an independent consultant's study of the district's student food practices.  The Daily Camera did a solid job of summarizing the preliminary "scathing" reports (http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/aug/04/bvsd-takes-food-criticism/).  But, should you want to learn more, please skim the interim reports themselves. We have a new link in the left column, "BVSD Documents", there you will find a folder with the two reports (blocked out words are those censored by BVSD).

Here are some highlights:

-- Food: Read about "the ubiquitous 'Juice Alive,' a neon-colored slushie" which counts as a fruit by Federal guidelines for reimbursable meals,  "ramen soups which are an ala carte mainstay at all grade levels, which are known by their nick name of 'Sodium Soups'," and "4 mini pancakes in a cellophane wrapper that is heated in a warmer and served with maple flavored high fructose corn syrup...a very poor excuse for a nutritious breakfast..."

-- Sanitation: But "the primary area of concern" in these reports is that "basic food safety practices...are spotty."  There are concerns about lack of hair nets and aprons as well as inappropriate food service employee clothing, lack of temperature logs, no consistent linen and towel cleaning services, and inadequate practices with respect to cleaning dining rooms.  "The fact that various schools are passing Board of Health inspections means nothing, as it was clear from talking to long time managers that the Board of Health inspections are brief and perfunctory."  Sanitation is a serious problem now even when "the menu does not require much actual cooking", but becomes an even more serious problem as the district forges ahead with its fresh food salad bar program.

-- Management: "The degradation of the overall skill set both at the hourly worker level and the site managerial level has resulted in an uneven quality of service throughout the district."  A consistent theme through the reports seems to be lack of coordination between BVSD departments, such as between the Nutrition Services Department (NSD) and IT, between NSD purchasing and the warehouse, and between the janitorial services and NSD.  It appears to us that achieving the necessary significant improvements in food safety and operations may well require that Superintendent King explore meaningful changes in the administrative organization.

Many parents who read these reports will probably start packing a lunch for their students.  Unfortunately, its those children in our district who rely on school meals (i.e. those on "Free or Reduced Lunch" programs) who will suffer the most from the inadequacies of BVSD's food practices.  Its a population that seems to frequently get the worst part of the deal within BVSD.

We are also dismayed by the fact that this is not an area that has been neglected by the BVSD Board, but one that Board president Helayne Jones has worked on diligently for many years.  Well over four years ago, Helayne gave constituents an update on "my campaign priority of highlighting the importance of proper food and nutrition in our schools", explaining that "these efforts have resulted in the formation of district task force (sic) that will bring recommendations to the Board for ensuring that each student has a healthy lunch and creating district wide nutrition policies."  (Source, which was available for viewing as of the date of this posting:  http://www.helayne.org/NL_April.htm)  If proper food and nutrition has been a "priority" since the election in '03 and these preliminary reports represent BVSD's progress into '08, then we must question the Board president's credibility and ability to perform.