CSI School Board Updates
August 2023
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Welcome to the start of the 2023-24 school year!
As a reminder, this monthly email newsletter to all CSI school board members contains reminders and resources that will be pertinent to the month ahead.
These emails are sent before the beginning of every month to ensure enough time for you and your board have all relevant items on your agenda as well as prep and plan for the coming month. Should others from your school wish to be included in the monthly emails, they are more than welcome and can sign up here.
SAVE THE DATE for School Board Webinars this year (12:00pm-12:45pm each day):
- October 12
- December 7
- February 8
- May 30
Please note that at least one board member from every CSI school is required to attend these webinars.
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Upcoming Deadlines and Reminders |
📅 Upcoming Deadlines:
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August 3: Oath of Office for all board members
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Senate Bill 23-287, which became effective upon the passage of the School Finance Act (“SFA”) on May 15, 2023 includes a required Oath of Office to be completed by all current CSI school governing body members by August 3, 2023. Specifically, the SFA signing started an 80 day clock for school governing body members which are now officially considered ‘public officials’ within the newly codified statute.
- In order to accomplish this, you will want to designate someone to administer the oath to each board member following the requirements below. Once completed, the signed oaths will need to be filed with the clerk of the court.
- This can be completed in any of the following manners:
§ courts, judges, magistrates, referees, clerks, and deputy clerks” of district or county courts;
§ “court reporters” who have “registered professional certification or higher”;
§ a “person designated by the governing body, or any officer thereof”; and
§ “notaries public.”
- The oath that must be read aloud includes:
§ I [name], do [select swear, affirm, or swear by the everliving God] that I will support the constitution of the United States, the constitution of the state of Colorado, and the laws of the state of Colorado, and will faithfully perform the duties of the office of [name of office or position] upon which I am about to enter to the best of my ability.
- C.R.S. § 24-12-101
- If you have further questions and to ensure compliance with the new requirements, please reach out to your legal counsel to create a plan for your July board meeting. If you do not have a scheduled July meeting, you may need to schedule a special meeting to ensure you get this completed by the deadline.
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August 3: Notice to the Department of Local Affairs: Register your public entity’s information with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs by 8/3/23
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Please use this form
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Email the form to dola_dlg_helpdesk@state.co.us
- In considering what you list for the local government URL, we recommend using a URL that points directly to the applicable Board website; however, if you are considering a separate site, please consult with your legal counsel to ensure compliance with the Open Meetings Act
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August 15: first draft of UIP completed in online system
- 2023 RENEWAL SCHOOLS ONLY:
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August 15: Academic and Organizational & Governance Submissions Due
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October 18: Final Renewal Packet Due
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August 15: Annual Assurance of Compliance due
💡 Important Reminders:
- At this time it is imperative that your board confirm that it has developed a scope and schedule of meetings for the school year ahead and communicated it to members, school leaders, parents and other stakeholders. Further, you should ensure that the schedule is available on the board website and accessible by all stakeholders.
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Orientation for New School Board Members |
CSI provides virtual modules for new school board members on topics including: accountability, compliance monitoring, special populations oversight, financial oversight, and understanding the charter contract. Access these modules here.
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Included below are both summaries of key activities, contact information for CSI staff that can provide further support if requested, and links to related resources.
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✔️ Review Unified Improvement Plan (UIP)
✔️ Review state assessment results
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Unified Improvement Planning |
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Unified Improvement Planning (UIP) was created to encourage Colorado schools to improve student learning and system effectiveness by engaging in a cycle of continuous improvement to manage their performance. The intent is for schools to create a single plan that reflects improvement planning activities, and thereby reduces the total number of plans and documentation required by both the state and CSI. Tools and trainings related to the UIP can be found on the CSI Resource site here.
Upcoming Deadlines:
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August 15: first draft of UIP completed in online system
Questions & Support Contact:
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Questions to Consider
- Do the current Major Improvement Strategies address gaps in both state and interim assessment data?
- How does school leadership track that Major Improvement Strategies are being implemented?
- How does school leadership know that Major Improvement Strategies are having a positive impact on student outcomes?
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State assessment results will be released in August. When reviewing and discussing the state assessment results, many schools ensure that the School Leader is available to summarize the data, highlighting areas of growth from the past year as well as areas that need additional support in the upcoming school year. Further, some school leaders bring in specific staff members that support these efforts at the school level to give a more in-depth explanation of what this looks like as well as strategic planning based on the assessment results.
Questions & Support Contact:
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Questions to Consider
- What do current academic results indicate about successes and areas of improvement for the upcoming school year? How do these strengths and weaknesses reflect the ways in which the board has allocated resources, and how may the board want to adjust resources going forward?
- What efforts are in place to support all students, including students who are at risk of failure, in meeting or exceeding proficiency?
- How is the board ensuring that school leaders have the necessary resources to operate successfully from the first day of school?
- How did the school progress compared to the metrics and measures in its strategic plan? Are there any additional resources needed based on student outcomes?
- How is the board ensuring that the curriculum and other academic resources are effectively helping leaders and teachers meet academic achievement goals? Does the academic committee and/or school leader feel that any adjustments to curriculum choices or resources are needed, and if so, what are they and why?
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✔️ Current enrollment (including all student groups)
✔️ Waitlist update
✔️ If enrollment is less than projected, ask School Leader to develop plan and have periodic updates (every 2 weeks) through October Count
✔️ Board support for student recruitment
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Student October Count is a data collection completed by each public school in the Fall. This data collection includes the count of active students, which is used to determine the per pupil funding the school will receive. Schools will be monitoring enrollment and attendance in August and September leading up to the October Count window. |
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Questions to Consider
- Is the school on target to meet the budgeted student count? If not, do current financial forecasts include the lower funded pupil count, and is there a plan to mitigate funding decreases?
- Has the board reviewed enrollment targets and plans for the upcoming school year, including with school leaders? How will the board receive updates on progress through the spring recruitment season?
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✔️ Review report on staffing (counts, ratios, experience, openings) |
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✔️ Participation in school events
✔️ Family engagement plan
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✔️ Review year in the charter contract
✔️ Board chair signs annual Assurance of Compliance for CSI
✔️ Review board operating procedures and attendance expectations
✔️ Sign annual board agreement, if applicable
✔️ Ensure board webpage is up-to-date (contact information, calendar/participation link for meetings, etc.)
✔️ Establish school leader goals, evaluation process
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✔️ Review previous year-end financial report (July 1-June 30) |
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Questions to Consider:
- What is the school’s fund balance? How does it compare to statutory requirements, CSI requirements, and the board’s requirements and goals?
- Has the finance committee reviewed the following reports each month? Year-to-Date Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Forecast, and Bank Statement(s) for all bank accounts?
- Is the school’s administration analyzing the school’s cash flow needs?
- Does the budget align with the priorities that were previously established by the board and school leadership?
- Has the board reviewed a 3-5 year forecast annually?
- Has the board identified any long-term financing needs? Are there opportunities to refinance existing loans?
- Has the board reviewed its Financial Policies and Procedures, updated it to reflect most current systems and structures, and approved it by vote? Is there evidence or a process for verifying that all policies are being followed?
- What contracts are set to expire on/before the next board meeting? Has the board designated someone on the board to review, and someone in school leadership to negotiate expiring contracts?
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