The search for a new Woodland Park RE-2 School District superintendent is in full swing.

The school board spent about half of its Jan. 13 meeting working to develop a community survey. The meeting was virtual with audio only and is available on the district YouTube channel: WPSD CO.

The previous superintendent, Steve Woolf, was terminated after his arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol in August.

The survey asks district residents what qualities and characteristics are most important for the board to look for as they review resumes and conduct interviews. It will be available through the district’s Infinite Campus, the Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce and other venues yet to be determined.

The survey will involve categories, priorities and rankings. It will also include a question on the district’s current condition — including its strengths and needed improvements.

The plan is to get the survey out as soon as possible so that responses will be available by the next board work session.

Additionally, Director of Business Services Brian Gustafson spoke about education funding and enrollment.

The state budget forecast is still uncertain as is future enrollment estimates, he said.

“K-12 enrollment is down across the state with the largest drops in kindergarten and preschool,” he said. “Parents are just not sending their kindergarteners to school this year.”

A Colorado Department of Education press release dated Dec. 15 states that, according to the October 2020 pupil count, Colorado has seen its first enrollment decrease since 1988. Preschool enrollment is down by about 23% and kindergarten enrollment is down by about 9%.

The number of students eligible for free and reduced lunches is also down.

“Students are already getting free lunches because of COVID-19, so why apply for free and reduced meals?” Gustafson asked.

The state is expecting a rebound in student enrollment, but Gustafson said it’s unlikely to last.

“Colorado’s birth rate is falling and in-migration is slowing down,” he said. “Pockets around the state are still growing but it’s mostly families without children.”

Enrollment in online programs is up about 39% and the number of homeschool students has also increased.

Putting enrollment decreases in perspective, he said of Colorado’s 178 school districts, only 43 districts saw increases or no changes; 135 have declining enrollment.

Because of a lower pupil count, he said he expects $300,000 less revenue next school year but this will be offset by a one-year infusion of $811 million for education approved by Gov. Jared Polis and new and ongoing federal COVID-19 funding.

Assistant/Interim Superintendent Linda Murray announced that full, in-person classes will start on Jan. 25 and sports practices will start Jan. 18.

Measure of Academic Progress (MAP), Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) and SAT testing will be taking place over a longer period this semester because of COVID-19.

“Some of these tests can’t be done remotely,” she said. “There are pros and cons to testing. Can we afford to spend hours testing when we should be teaching? But finding out where our kids are is a pro.”

Students are falling behind nationwide, statewide and locally, she said, adding, “We offered tutoring over winter break, but not as many signed up as we would have liked.”

The district is working with Teller County Public Health on getting COVID vaccines for teachers. One director suggested that the district will need to utilize a Friday snow day to immunize the entire staff.

“We have a few breaks coming up and there are no firm dates from Teller Health,” Murray said.

By Norma Engelberg

The search for a new Woodland Park RE-2 School District superintendent is in full swing.

The school board spent about half of its Jan. 13 meeting working to develop a community survey. The meeting was virtual with audio only and is available on the district YouTube channel: WPSD CO.

The previous superintendent, Steve Woolf, was terminated after his arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol in August.

The survey asks district residents what qualities and characteristics are most important for the board to look for as they review resumes and conduct interviews. It will be available through the district’s Infinite Campus, the Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce and other venues yet to be determined.

The survey will involve categories, priorities and rankings. It will also include a question on the district’s current condition — including its strengths and needed improvements.

The plan is to get the survey out as soon as possible so that responses will be available by the next board work session.

Additionally, Director of Business Services Brian Gustafson spoke about education funding and enrollment.

The state budget forecast is still uncertain as is future enrollment estimates, he said.

“K-12 enrollment is down across the state with the largest drops in kindergarten and preschool,” he said. “Parents are just not sending their kindergarteners to school this year.”

A Colorado Department of Education press release dated Dec. 15 states that, according to the October 2020 pupil count, Colorado has seen its first enrollment decrease since 1988. Preschool enrollment is down by about 23% and kindergarten enrollment is down by about 9%.

The number of students eligible for free and reduced lunches is also down.

“Students are already getting free lunches because of COVID-19, so why apply for free and reduced meals?” Gustafson asked.

The state is expecting a rebound in student enrollment, but Gustafson said it’s unlikely to last.

“Colorado’s birth rate is falling and in-migration is slowing down,” he said. “Pockets around the state are still growing but it’s mostly families without children.”

Enrollment in online programs is up about 39% and the number of homeschool students has also increased.

Putting enrollment decreases in perspective, he said of Colorado’s 178 school districts, only 43 districts saw increases or no changes; 135 have declining enrollment.

Because of a lower pupil count, he said he expects $300,000 less revenue next school year but this will be offset by a one-year infusion of $811 million for education approved by Gov. Jared Polis and new and ongoing federal COVID-19 funding.

Assistant/Interim Superintendent Linda Murray announced that full, in-person classes will start on Jan. 25 and sports practices will start Jan. 18.

Measure of Academic Progress (MAP), Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) and SAT testing will be taking place over a longer period this semester because of COVID-19.

“Some of these tests can’t be done remotely,” she said. “There are pros and cons to testing. Can we afford to spend hours testing when we should be teaching? But finding out where our kids are is a pro.”

Students are falling behind nationwide, statewide and locally, she said, adding, “We offered tutoring over winter break, but not as many signed up as we would have liked.”

The district is working with Teller County Public Health on getting COVID vaccines for teachers. One director suggested that the district will need to utilize a Friday snow day to immunize the entire staff.

“We have a few breaks coming up and there are no firm dates from Teller Health,” Murray said.