In its last meeting before the end of the 2020-21 school year, Park County School District 1 approved the hire of two educators, the transfer of two more and the resignation of six employees. The new hires are to fill positions recently vacated.

Cristin Hoffert will replace Jill Thompson as a pre-K liaison and Sherry Loris will serve as a speech and language pathologist at Southside Elementary in place of Lindsey Swope.

Amy Moore, who had been hired for the newly-launched virtual academy, transferred instead to teach high school English, replacing Vin Cappiello, who has retired.

Hidee Urbach has transitioned from an at-risk para educator at the high school, a role also filled by Cappiello, to a special education paraprofessional.

Shyann Baxter, a temporary special education para educator at Powell Middle School, ended her temporary assignment, as did Sarah Mumm, a Title 1 paraprofessional at the middle school.

Robin Erlenbaugh, a special education para educator at Parkside Elementary School, retired after 20 years, as did Tammie Spomer, a classroom para educator at Parkside.

Joshua Garza and Kristin Turner, both Title 1 para educators at Powell Middle School, elected to leave the district.

In other business, the renovations at the former home economics cottage are moving ahead, according to Superintendent Jay Curtis. Mechanical engineers are due to tour the building next week.

It has been discovered the boiler that supplies heat to the building is a 1952 model.

“And that thing is huge,” Curtis said. “It would fill this room. We want to replace it.

“A modern boiler might be more efficient,” he joked, holding his fingers close together. “Maybe just a little.”

The timeline for the renovation has changed a little, with the design being completed by early July and bids opened at the end of that month. That is slightly behind the original timeline by about two weeks. Completion should be “January-ish,” Curtis said. “We’re on the move. I think it is going to be a good thing.”

Another hitch in the plans is the discovery that the cottage was disconnected from the district’s fiber cable when the middle school was remodeled. The reconnection of the fiber can be paid for with federal funds that Curtis said are available for that exact purpose. 

The virtual school launch is going well, too, Curtis said. Three students had already enrolled as of Tuesday and there are two or three inquiries a day.

“We’ve done well by starting with the staff instead of putting it on the staff already in the classroom,” he said.

One change is that the academy has been opened to students in kindergarten and first grades, which initially were excluded. Because so many homeschool families had expressed interest in the program, and many of them have very young students, the change was undertaken to accommodate those families. A parent is at home with the students and serves as an on-site tutor.

The motion to begin the virtual academy will have to be revised, and the board plans to place that item on the agenda for its June 29 meeting.