Telluride School Community,

The end of our school year rolling up fast. There are many activities and celebrations happening in our schools and district, please feel free to participate as appropriate. Also coming up fast is election season for our School Board. Two-term members Stephanie Hatcher and Jill O’Dell have reached their term limits, so we have two seats open to be filled by new members in November 2025. An Election Boot Camp will be held in June 5th at 5pm in Bridal Veil Conference Room and Zoom. The purpose of the Boot Camp is to inform interested community members of the process, requirements, and duties related to the School Board Director position. I can tell you that it is one of the most rewarding things that I do. There are many important issues coming our way, and new Directors will have a strong and capable team of returning board members and Superintendent to work with.

 

Current issues include and will continue to include School Finance over the upcoming years. The State is working toward implementing a student-centered funding formula over the next several years, while simultaneously thinking long term to close the gap between current levels of education funding and the much higher and desired levels shown in the Adequacy Studies published in 2025. All this is happening during a time when state revenue is experiencing a significant shortfall. We talk to the legislators to advocate for adequate funding in an attempt to ensure we are not caught in the middle of changing priorities and criteria. This legislative session, they listened and have given us and other districts slated for significant reductions a two year breathing period. We will continue the work to our utmost abilities to ensure our students receive the funding they deserve going forward.

 

The Colorado Commissioner of Education also gave school districts cover from a Federal demand that all districts sign assurances declaring they are complying with requirements related to discrimination, which was interpreted as a way to put pressure on any statements and practices related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The Commissioner publicly declined to require these assurances from districts on the grounds of the vagueness of the Federal demand, the fact that there were no definitions of what needed to be committed to, and that fact that we as a state had already affirmed compliance to all the requirements. Colorado, along with every other state, affirms compliance annually with the requirements of all “Titles”, such as Title I and Title IX.

 

All of this may sound heavy, but I really do believe we are moving in a good direction. Come help our team in these issues and more importantly, the specific local issues that impact our students’ well-being and achievement. Come learn, act and join.

 

Sincerely, Cheryl Carstens Miller

President Telluride School Board