4 Fort Lupton Press
June 9, 2021
RE8 signs off on library land deal BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUMNITYMEDIA.COM
The Weld Re-8 board of education decided to put its signature on the purchase of two acres of land for a new Fort Lupton Public & School Library. The June 3 vote came after a brief executive session. The land is near the new home of Dale’s Pharmacy and north of state Highway 52. Fort Lupton City Council approved the purchase earlier in the week, despite objections that the library board and not the city was the main financial entity. It took three votes. The first involved allowing the district to remain as a signee on the purchase of the new building, pending further advice from legal counsel. That vote was 5-1. Cody LeBlanc voted no. The second vote was to let the district sign off on the purchase agreement. The vote was the same, and so was the dissenting voter. “I don’t feel it’s advantageous for
the district to have the library move out (of Fort Lupton High School),” Leblanc said. “The space is perfectly adequate. I would like to see them stay in the present facility.” The third vote allowed the district to be a signor on the title to the land. That vote was 6-0. “I figure as long as we’re going to have to have it, the district should be able to lay our stakes to it,” LeBlanc said. In late May, legal counsel advised the school board that its first choice was to decide whether to be a signor on the agreement. The city and the district are library partners through the High Plains Library District. Superintendent Alan Kaylor said the district is not the financial agent for this purchase. “It’s my understanding we don’t have a say,” he told the board May 25. “We aren’t the fiscal agent.” “I don’t want to delay this. I think we’re ready to move forward,” said board member Kehle Griego. “I’d like information on why they (the
city) is being negative).” The issue that hung up city council was whether the library board was the fiscal agent in this matter. Councilman Tommy Holton said yes. “They operated as its own entity from 1985 to 2014,” Holton said. “They were a signatory at one time. That’s why they moved it over to us.” City Attorney Andy Ausmus didn’t think so. “The IRS doesn’t recognize them as an entity,” Ausmus said. “Contractually, it’s impossible to do what you are suggesting. They are not a corporate entity. The board is not a fiscal agent.” In an email, Holton explained his abstention. “There is a big back story to this issue. But in the interim, I did not want to interfere with my wife on the two boards,” he said. “The city attorney and I went through a twoyear battle to get it where it is today. After battles, sometimes the pas-
sions run high.” The purchase price is around $850,000, according to Franks. The land is near the new location of Dale’s Pharmacy on state Highway 52 east of Weld County Road 27. Ausmus said the wording of the agreement allows the Weld Re-8 School District to add its signature later on. As it stands, both the city and the district are members of the High Plains Library District. “We’ve kept them informed every step of the way,” Ausmus said. “It’s more of timing for their meeting. If we didn’t do it this way, we would lose out on the property.” Re-8’s concern was what happens to the existing 11,000 square feet of space in the library’s present home at Fort Lupton High School. Superintendent Alan Kaylor said in April he didn’t want to see that space turn into a cave. The purchase price is around $850,000, according to outgoing library Director Sarah Franks.
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Jacqueline Mayeda, 4, of Brighton, reacts to the cool water ash she splashes down a slide at Brighton’s Oasis Water Park. The park PHOTO BY SCOTT TAYLOR opened for the season on June 5, with two-hour timed entries and social distancing protocols in place.
Re-8 board adopts new middle-school math curriculum BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Weld Re-8 board of education approved a new curriculum for the district’s middle-school students late last month. The district’s director of instruction and learning, Marci Hester, said the $95,000 contract with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt includes a lot of things for teachers and students the district doesn’t have now, including digital materials. One goal of the curriculum, Hester said, is to improve on the number of students who are behind their grade levels in math. “It updates technology resources. It has high-stakes assessment materials,” Hester told the school board
May 25. “It’s important for the kids to get the concrete level of understanding before they apply it in an abstract matter.” Board member Cody LeBlanc asked if the new curriculum was in line with the state’s mandated Common Core Standards, which outline what students should know in English language arts and math. Hester said that would be the case. “There’s no way to avoid Common Core with this?” LeBlanc asked. “Not if we want our students to be competitive in standardized tests,” Hester said. The contract includes a three-year license, the digital piece and work materials. The district last purchased a curriculum package in 2012 for $200,000,
Hester said. The vote was 4-2. LeBlanc and Jaime Sierra cast the dissenting votes. “My vote against the math curriculum was purely budget-driven,” Sierra said. The district is facing a $2 million shortfall, according to a first draft of next year’s budget. “I like the curriculum and do think it would be a great addition. However, after being presented with the proposed budget for next year (which is available to the public to view), I could not substantiate spending $95,000 on the new curriculum at this time.” SEE SCHOOL BOARD, P5
