After a farewell to outgoing directors of the Woodland Park School Board, the meeting Nov. 12 projected a focus on the future.

“It has been an honor to serve; I wish some things had been done differently but it’s still an honor to serve,” said David Rusterholtz, who declined to run for another term.

From a Zoom link, Cassie Kimbrell echoed Rusterholtz but added. “I’ll miss you guys, but I’d like to welcome the new board.”

There was no word from outgoing board member Suzanne Patterson.

After winning in the November election, Laura Gordon, Kassidi Gilgenast and Carol Greenstreet will take their seats on the board in December. The women, now known as “The Three Gs,” were at the meeting that evening. The three join Mick Bates, the president, and Keegan Barkley.

With her focus on safety and security, Ginger Slocum, the interim superintendent, said she intends to update the district’s emergency response plan after discussions with the area’s first responders. The discussions will be part of her listening tours, Community Connections.

“We also want to involve realtors in town because it’s important that when they have families moving to town, they have that information,” she said.

In other news, Slocum is taking an active role in the county’s efforts to ensure that beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have access to food, with collections at Walmart and City Market for the past two weeks.

Slocum is included in the emergency meetings with county and city officials at the sheriff’s office as a response to the government shutdown.

“I’m doing what I can to make sure our students and our families have what they need,” she said.

In collaboration with the officials, the school district is providing storage space for the overflow of food donations.  

“It’s impressive how much food people gave,” Slocum said. “We are also doing food drives in our buildings while giving space for the overflow at (now closed) Gateway Elementary.”

In addition, the district provides free breakfasts and lunches for the students.

“We are trying to help out any way we can,” Slocum said.

In response, Barkley said, “I’d say we have more-than-a-fulltime-superintendent.”

The district is nearing completion on the forensic audit, which was delayed last year and is on target to complete the regular audit next month, said David Kuritar, the district’s chief financial officer.

With the loss of the 1.09% sales tax and declining enrollment, there will be no raises this year, Kuritar said, adding that the district can expect $200,000 of its share of property taxes in February.

“We are doing everything humanly possible not to have to borrow funds, but we’ll see,” Kuritar said.

With a 10% cut in the number of teachers in the district, Slocum acknowledged the downside.

“I want people to understand how hard it was on the junior/senior high school last year because of the cuts that had to be made,” she said. “The cuts took a huge toll on the school, on the way teachers scheduled classes and planning periods.”

As a result, there is a “huge burnout rate” at the school, Slocum said.

“Everyone is trying to live within their means and what we have been given,” she said. “I know the administration team is working hard to be solutions-oriented in any way we can. But there is truly a struggle in a district that needs our priority.”

New this time at the meeting is the presence of two security guards rather just one.