BSVDWatch.org

Bay Roberts, one of the members of the Greening Boulder Schools group, sent us an update with their progress to date:

BVSD has hired an engineering company called Brendle Group from Fort Collins to help them formulate a Sustainability Management System  or SMS. The overall goal of the SMS is to provide a cohesive and overarching policy which will direct BVSD to operate in a manner that maximizes energy efficiency and protects the enviroment. The SMS will provide direction for decision making, inspire commitment and will be the foundation for planning and action for every decision BVSD makes. The SMS will cover all aspects of operations and all departments will participate. Brendle has helped formulate SMS working documents for Poudre School District, Colorado College and Academy School District 20 (Colorado Springs). A draft document of the SMS for BVSD is scheduled to be completed by June 2009. Brendle emphasized that the SMS should be a WORKING DOCUMENT- one that should be referred to often.

Brendle Group explained the process of creating the SMS:
1) An advisory group will meet in Feb, April (develop vision and goals) and May (develop strategies).

2) Brendle will conduct interviews with the following focus groups: business services, bond/maintenance, maintenance and operations, transportation, curriculum/schools, IT and communications, community.
Information from these groups will be compiled and taken back to the advisory group. Brendle is meeting with the Bond focus group first because the urgency of phase 2 and 3 construction at targeted BVSD schools.

3) technical specification will be developed and building energy assessments will be completed on 6 BVSD buildings. Energy audits will be conducted through Xcel.  The 6 buildings are: Coal Creek E.M., Eisenhower E.M., Centennial M.S., Boulder H.S., Nederland M.S./H.S., and the Education Center.  These buildings represent a range in age and use and the information collected from the audits will help inform the SMS process.

4) data on baseline conditions will be collected. This includes quantifying greenhouse gas emissions, water and energy consumption, solid waste generation, etc. Ghita Carroll , Sustainability Corrdinator for BVSD, is working with Brendle Engineering to create this inventory of BVSD resource use and has picked the 2007/2008 FY as the baseline year.  She will start with electricity, natural gas, propane, water, fleet fuels, solid waste and recycling, and will expand to other areas, time permitting.

5) BVSD now has a website where they will post information, minutes and background materials for the SMS process.  The website is: http://bvsd.editme.com/Home   

6) draft form of SMS will be approved by Chris King, superintendant and BVSD school board.


Parent and community representatives from Greening Boulder Schools are currently participating in the SMS focus groups.


Bay Roberts
for Greening Boulder Schools
303-447-8836
 

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.

--

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!

--

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.