Cañon City thrives through adventurous spirit, dynamic people, innovative schools, and historic charm.
Echoes from Cañon
Our Mission
The Cañon City School District is future-focused, providing innovative educational opportunities to successfully prepare all students to meet any challenge they may face.
The Cañon City School District is future-focused, providing innovative educational opportunities to successfully prepare all students to meet any challenge they may face.
Our Core Beliefs
1. We meet the social-emotional needs of all students, putting Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs before Bloom’s Taxonomy.
2. We believe learning growth matters most, requires risk-taking, and the work we do in our schools has the greatest impact on this.
3. We’re future-focused, believing the development of certain traits and skills will best prepare our students for ever-changing careers.
4. We emphasize what is good for kids over the needs and comfort of adults.
1. We meet the social-emotional needs of all students, putting Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs before Bloom’s Taxonomy.
2. We believe learning growth matters most, requires risk-taking, and the work we do in our schools has the greatest impact on this.
3. We’re future-focused, believing the development of certain traits and skills will best prepare our students for ever-changing careers.
4. We emphasize what is good for kids over the needs and comfort of adults.
Our Core Beliefs in Action
Encore's Raise You Up cast.
Summer may be in full swing but exciting things are still happening for our students. Last week we learned Cañon City High School's Encore show choir was invited to "perform" at this year's annual Colorado Association of School Executives convention. By "perform" I mean they will do so virtually, in the form of a video the class produced during the 4th quarter of the 2019-20 school year featuring the song Raise You Up from the Broadway musical performance Kinky Boots.
Additionally, I had a chance meeting with Pueblo Community College -Fremont Campus Executive Dean Mark Peacock earlier this week during which he was exchanging checks with our finance department. This has become an annual summer tradition where we pay PCC tuition costs for all the Cañon City students who took their college-level courses and they reimburse us for those costs, as required by Colorado's concurrent enrollment legislation. Mr.
Additionally, I had a chance meeting with Pueblo Community College -Fremont Campus Executive Dean Mark Peacock earlier this week during which he was exchanging checks with our finance department. This has become an annual summer tradition where we pay PCC tuition costs for all the Cañon City students who took their college-level courses and they reimburse us for those costs, as required by Colorado's concurrent enrollment legislation. Mr.
An example of some topics Mr. Summers covered.
Peacock reported to me that during the 2010-11 academic year, the PCC reimbursement check to Cañon City Schools was only $19,000. This year we exchanged checks in the neighborhood of $260,000 each, a clear indication that Cañon City High School enrolls among the most students per capita in college-level coursework in Colorado. Outstanding!
Finally, last week Cañon City High School Principal Bill Summers represented the school district during a Colorado Department of Education Promising Practices webinar outlining best practices post COVID-19 reopening plans. I could not attend the session because at the same time I was engaged with folks like Adam Hartman, Tim Renn, Jamie Murray, Jesse Oliver, Marne Autobee, Garrett Olguin, Niki Ellis, and Stephanie Veatch, the folks who were involved in the creation of the plan Mr. Summers presented. I know Mr. Summers' presentation went well because immediately afterward I received about a dozen emails and text messages saying so. This is a testament to great collaboration and teamwork at all levels!
Finally, last week Cañon City High School Principal Bill Summers represented the school district during a Colorado Department of Education Promising Practices webinar outlining best practices post COVID-19 reopening plans. I could not attend the session because at the same time I was engaged with folks like Adam Hartman, Tim Renn, Jamie Murray, Jesse Oliver, Marne Autobee, Garrett Olguin, Niki Ellis, and Stephanie Veatch, the folks who were involved in the creation of the plan Mr. Summers presented. I know Mr. Summers' presentation went well because immediately afterward I received about a dozen emails and text messages saying so. This is a testament to great collaboration and teamwork at all levels!
Our Future Focus
This has been an extremely challenging budget year as the Cañon City School Districts suffered a $1,917,210 state revenue reduction as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. This amounts to just under a 6.5% decrease in funding. However, due to federal stimulus dollars allocated in the current fiscal year, we will actually be operating with the same total amount of funding we received during our most recent budget year. This was made possible for us because federal dollars were steered to a greater extent toward communities with a high percentage of vulnerable students, like ours.
Key aspects of our budgeting process included a required increased employer contribution to the state retirement system of just over $80,000, an $85,000 uptick in employee health plan benefit costs, and just a bit more than $300,000 allocated to provide employees an experience increase in salaries.
To make room for these new expenditures, the district reduced discretionary supply allocations to schools, cut back on General Fund curriculum purchases and capital project allocations, reduced the salary of the superintendent of schools, and leveraged a higher than anticipated county Specific Ownership Tax allocation.
This was great work by Director of Finance Buddy Lambrecht and Finance Business Manager Keri Peterson . However, we all know if federal stimulus dollars go away next year and the state economy does not recover, we could have some very difficult decisions to make next May.
With a budget in place, we were then able to enter compensation negotiations with our classified and certified association representatives. I'm pleased to report both sessions went quite well, as it was quickly agreed the best path forward would be to offer each employee an experience step and for the district to cover the base cost of a health insurance premium, despite a nominal increase. These agreements still need to be ratified by each Association and then approved by the Board of Education, which we hope will be done at our July 27th meeting.
Key aspects of our budgeting process included a required increased employer contribution to the state retirement system of just over $80,000, an $85,000 uptick in employee health plan benefit costs, and just a bit more than $300,000 allocated to provide employees an experience increase in salaries.
To make room for these new expenditures, the district reduced discretionary supply allocations to schools, cut back on General Fund curriculum purchases and capital project allocations, reduced the salary of the superintendent of schools, and leveraged a higher than anticipated county Specific Ownership Tax allocation.
This was great work by Director of Finance Buddy Lambrecht and Finance Business Manager Keri Peterson . However, we all know if federal stimulus dollars go away next year and the state economy does not recover, we could have some very difficult decisions to make next May.
With a budget in place, we were then able to enter compensation negotiations with our classified and certified association representatives. I'm pleased to report both sessions went quite well, as it was quickly agreed the best path forward would be to offer each employee an experience step and for the district to cover the base cost of a health insurance premium, despite a nominal increase. These agreements still need to be ratified by each Association and then approved by the Board of Education, which we hope will be done at our July 27th meeting.
Our Focus on Safety and Wellness
Our most intense focus on this front is reopening our schools in a safe and productive manner. Thanks to excellent work by our team of building leaders and the cadre of staff I mentioned above who participated in eight Colorado Education Initiative Accelerated Design sessions, we now have a draft plan that we shared with district staff and will be communicating to parents and guardians through email on Monday, July 6th. Our July 6th email will also include a link to a survey that will measure the comfort level of families in participating in the reopening plans we have designed.
Bond and Override Progress
The new gym floor is being stained and painted to compliment the new bleachers.
Our Cañon City High School Tiger Dome new floor and bleacher project is nearing completion. The new floor has been laid and new bleachers have been installed. Floor lining and staining are occurring as I write this, and a final lacquer coat will be installed in the coming week.
The Cañon City Middle School new upstairs 8th-grade instructional wing is ready for move-in. Teachers have selected their workspaces and are having their materials relocated to them. The old vocational facility is completely gone and grounds improvement has begun. Finally, all three floors of the historic 1925 structure have been gutted and remodeling is progressing with the installation of plumbing and electricity lines.
Unfortunately, we continue to have bad luck underground at the Washington Elementary construction site. In the past two weeks, we uncovered three asbestos coated pipes during the demolition of the old structure. Fortunately, each discovery was made before asbestos was disturbed and widely disbursed. However, each time we have to remove such a pipe, it adds to our construction cost. Outside of this, the building is heading for completion on schedule. Staff should get to move in during early August, and we expect to open doors to students on August 17th.
The Cañon City Middle School new upstairs 8th-grade instructional wing is ready for move-in. Teachers have selected their workspaces and are having their materials relocated to them. The old vocational facility is completely gone and grounds improvement has begun. Finally, all three floors of the historic 1925 structure have been gutted and remodeling is progressing with the installation of plumbing and electricity lines.
Unfortunately, we continue to have bad luck underground at the Washington Elementary construction site. In the past two weeks, we uncovered three asbestos coated pipes during the demolition of the old structure. Fortunately, each discovery was made before asbestos was disturbed and widely disbursed. However, each time we have to remove such a pipe, it adds to our construction cost. Outside of this, the building is heading for completion on schedule. Staff should get to move in during early August, and we expect to open doors to students on August 17th.
The Past Two Weeks
An interesting bank of original windows was found on the East side of the 1925 CCMS building, near the 1970s installed elevator shaft.
In the past two weeks, I worked collaboratively with district, building, and teacher leaders to prepare a draft plan for the safe reopening of our schools in August. I also worked with Assistant Superintendent of Schools Adam Hartman to complete and submit our annual $1.6 million federal programs grant application, participated in extremely collaborative compensation negotiations with classified and certified association leaders, and met several times with Pueblo Community College and Fremont RE-2 and Fremont RE-3 superintendents about an educational collaborative we seek to form. Finally, I was absolutely amazed at the work Director of Finance Buddy Lambrecht and Finance Business Manager Keri Peterson did to finalize our fiscal year 19-20 final and 20-21 adopted budgets, in light of the tight timeline they had and the many moving parts related to fluctuating state and federal revenues.
Upcoming
As a heads up to the community and Cañon City School District staff, I will be stepping away from my role as Superintendent of Schools for the entire month of July, as I'm transitioning into the Colorado Public Employees Retirement System. This is a requirement of the process.
Though I will officially be a retiree, the Cañon City Board of Education still has me under contract as its Superintendent of Schools from August 1, 2020, through June 30, 2022. As per Colorado's public employee retirement system rules, I'll be limited in the number of days I can work each year, so my compensation will be quite a bit less.
My goals for the next two years center on completing the facilities upgrades our voters gave us permission to do back in November 2017, creating a next phase facilities improvement plan to take the district far into the future, fulfilling all of the promises made through our Mill Override measure from 2017, expanding on the many collaborative relationships we've built to support local economic advances, and implementing our Student Empowered Learning Framework to ensure our students develop the traits and skills we know they'll need to be prepared for whatever life brings their way. Along the way, I'll also do my best to steer our instructional programs through these uncertain times, and to navigate the district through one of the most challenging financial crises it has ever experienced.
I believe the last time I had a whole month away from my role in education was during the summer of 1995. My daughter Anne was 8, my son Stefan was 6, and my other son Adam was 5. My CCHS Class of 2021 daughter Priscilla was but a distant possibility. At this point, it seems like a century ago!
I'm not sure how I'll handle the time away from such responsibility, but I can ensure you this. While I'm away we'll be in excellent hands with Assistant Superintendent of Schools Adam Hartman at the helm. If you have any needs while I'm gone, please don't hesitate to reach out to him.
I wish you all a great month of July, and I look forward to getting back to preparing our schools to provide innovative educational opportunities, in person, to successfully prepare our students to meet any challenge they'll face!
Thanks to all for listening once again.
George S. Welsh
Though I will officially be a retiree, the Cañon City Board of Education still has me under contract as its Superintendent of Schools from August 1, 2020, through June 30, 2022. As per Colorado's public employee retirement system rules, I'll be limited in the number of days I can work each year, so my compensation will be quite a bit less.
My goals for the next two years center on completing the facilities upgrades our voters gave us permission to do back in November 2017, creating a next phase facilities improvement plan to take the district far into the future, fulfilling all of the promises made through our Mill Override measure from 2017, expanding on the many collaborative relationships we've built to support local economic advances, and implementing our Student Empowered Learning Framework to ensure our students develop the traits and skills we know they'll need to be prepared for whatever life brings their way. Along the way, I'll also do my best to steer our instructional programs through these uncertain times, and to navigate the district through one of the most challenging financial crises it has ever experienced.
I believe the last time I had a whole month away from my role in education was during the summer of 1995. My daughter Anne was 8, my son Stefan was 6, and my other son Adam was 5. My CCHS Class of 2021 daughter Priscilla was but a distant possibility. At this point, it seems like a century ago!
I'm not sure how I'll handle the time away from such responsibility, but I can ensure you this. While I'm away we'll be in excellent hands with Assistant Superintendent of Schools Adam Hartman at the helm. If you have any needs while I'm gone, please don't hesitate to reach out to him.
I wish you all a great month of July, and I look forward to getting back to preparing our schools to provide innovative educational opportunities, in person, to successfully prepare our students to meet any challenge they'll face!
Thanks to all for listening once again.
George S. Welsh
