Transcript Golden
October 10, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourgoldennews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 147, Issue 45
Election: Golden City Council candidates respond to questions. See Page 16
IT’S ELEMENTARY
iSTEM success blossoms in year one Program relies on outside funding By Amy Woodward
awoodward@ourcoloradonews. com
“Sherlock Holmes” takes a moment to speak with Chris Quoyeser, right, center manager at Alpha Graphics at the “Secrets of the Chamber” event on Oct. 3. Entrepreneurs, philanthropists and Golden residents stopped by to mingle and network during the special event presented by the Golden Chamber of Commerce. Beer and food tasting, silent auctions, and a lesson in history on the Golden chamber were part of the festive occasion. Photo by Amy Woodward
Susan Arntson, assistant principal and iSTEM director at Bell Middle School presented city council with a report on iSTEM’s progress after its first year at Bell during the council’s Sept. 26 meeting. The report came just in time as municipalities move into the middle of their budget cycle. Last year, the city of Golden funded $5,000 to iSTEM at Bell. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math or iSTEM is an educational program providing alternative ways for students to learn math and sciences. The curriculum combines all academic components of a traditional curriculum like language arts and history and then pairs it with math and science concepts. “The kids are learning the same things but they are learning it in terms of a problem to solve so they have a need to learn those skills,” Arntson said. Students who may not be motivated in class, who struggle with math and science or just have an interest in the sciences can participate in iSTEM. In the first year of Bell’s iSTEM program, students won regional competitions for their projects, and went to nationals. Student projects included Aquaponics, SeaPerch; an underwater remotely operated ve-
hicle for which two teams won first and third place in the state, and LEGO Robotics. iSTEM at Bell recruited 60 kids, and will branch out to both grade levels for the 2013-2014 school year with 60 kids in each level. Arntson is working to expand the number of kids who can participate, but funding is needed to support staff. “Growing the program takes more funding to hire more staff,” she said. Currently there is no data to show how iSTEM has improved student understanding in math and sciences at Bell, but Arntson is working to collect those numbers. Some rough and raw data Arntson shared with council included a peaked interest in girls in the program, a 90 percent positive response from students, an a lot more parent engagement. “We’re on a great track in terms of student achievement,” Arntson said to city council. This year, Arntson will work to address challenges facing iSTEM which is to improve the curriculum that is more supportive to students struggling with math while still making it a program that is beneficial and of interest to the student. An iSTEM elective for one semester will be added for Mitchell Elementary sixth grade kids coming into Bell. The elective will touch on engineering concepts that could spark a deeper interest in iSTEM’s program. “This money has obviously been well used,” Bill Fisher, councilor for Ward 4 said. “I’m impressed.” For more information on iSTEM at Bell search iSTEM@Bell Middle School online in your browser’s search engine.
Jeffco deputies sue for alleged unpaid wages County attorney files a motion to dismiss case By Amy Woodward
awoodward@ourcoloradonews.com At least 10 deputies from the Jeffco Sheriff’s office have filed a complaint in federal district court against Sheriff Ted Mink and the Board of County Commissioners. The county attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the case in response. The deputies’ complaint was filed in December 2012. They claim that under the Fair Labor Standards Act, they are entitled POSTAL ADDRESS
to unpaid wages from the county for overtime work. The Fair Labor Standards Act passed by Congress in 1938 set the standards and regulations of operations between employer and worker including minimum wage, overtime compensation and other additional provisions. State law dictates the sheriff is responsible for setting salaries and wages for employees subject to the approval of the BCC according to state statute. According to the complaint, the sheriff allegedly published set salaries and wages in a posted document titled “Salary Schedule.” Plaintiffs argue the salaries listed on the
schedules posted for the years 2010, 2011, and 2012 are not the amount they received for those years. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argue that both the salary schedule, and the policy and procedures manual constituted a promise made by the county to the plaintiffs. In a brief interview with Sheriff Ted Mink he stated the “Salary Schedule” was not a document reflecting promised salary rates, but an internal document based on the results of a countywide salary survey conducted by a consulting firm hired by the BCC. The results were used as a basis for what their step-in-grade program should be, and was never publicly posted or pub-
lished by Sheriff Mink. “It was only a recommendation that we put together internally,” Sheriff Mink said and those recommendations were never funded by the BCC. Pat Gilbert, county attorney, argues in the latest motion that “any alleged promises to pay is unenforceable because the BCC did not approve the salary schedule as required,” and that plaintiffs have not provided sufficient facts to show their rates of pay were the salary scheduled rates. “We don’t believe they stated a federal claim for an overtime violation,” Gilbert said. Counsel for the plaintiff’s did not comment by press time.
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