Lamar RE-2 School Board meeting of September 8, 2025

School Board Vice President Jake Chamberlain opened the meeting of September 8, 2025.  President Lanie Meyers-Mireles and board member Travis Hall attended virtually.  After the Pledge of Allegiance and approving the board minutes from the last meeting as well as the current evening’s agenda, Chamberlain read a note of thanks from Chloe Weber.  Chloe was a recipient of a LEAF Scholarship (Lamar Educational Awards Foundation) and wanted to thank the board, saying she was very grateful for the financial assistance.  Introduced to the board members was new student board member Lucas Andrade.  He joins Giada Nieschburg, who returns as a second-year member.  Both students are seniors at Lamar High School.  While student board members do not hold voting privileges, the board values their input and insight into student life, which helps make informed decisions about curriculum and “brings a new perspective to the table” per Superintendent Dr. Chad Krug.

Krug gave a Capital Project update.  The district has been partnering with Magellan Strategies on ways to gain insight into community opinions, concerns and priorities about the district’s potential school consolidation.  The multi-phase project includes community surveys to gain a feel for what is best for the community and the district.  More information will be announced soon by the district.

Principals from Lamar’s grade schools gave updates concerning the first month of school for students.  Washington Elementary Principal Kenny Davis said that the school year is off to a good start.  There has been an emphasis on working with kindergartners regarding end of day bussing as well as how to navigate the cafeteria for lunch.  The kindergartners are taking a bit longer to get up to speed than in previous years, but Davis attributes that to slightly larger class sizes this year but says they are progressing more each day.  The school has already held several drills, including drills for fire, tornado and lockdown situations.  The classes are timed during the fire drills to ensure proper safety.  The kindergarten and first grade classes have seen their times decrease with each drill, while the second graders’ second drill was a bit slower, but still well under the expected safe time.  Drills will continue throughout the year.  The students are taking orders for a pie fundraiser, which ends September 16.  Money raised is used for school shirts, field trips, etc.  Last year’s “Wildcat Wednesdays” has been replaced by “Thunder Thursdays” when students are encouraged to wear their orange and black shirts as part of the new “One Thunder, One Lamar” which reminds students that each one is part of something bigger. Davis has identified 30 deserving students to participate in the upcoming Share The Spirit day, where underserved students receive free shoes.  Davis ended his presentation by reviewing highlights from the previous school year.

Parkview Elementary Principal said his presentation would be “short and sweet”.  He passed out a flyer that had photos of the school’s greenhouse and composting projects and told the board that they received 1,600 worms for the worm tower for composting.  The school is also having “Thunder Thursdays” encouraging students to wear orange and black or Thunder gear to show off their spirit. Mrs. Greenlee’s fourth grade class took a trip to the Lamar Public Library, learning about how to locate books, genres of literature and then played some games.  The school held a recent fundraiser which, like Washington’s, provides funds for school shirts, field trips, classroom supplies and other items.

Dr. Krug told the board that the district is continuing the popular “Thunder Thanks” program, whereby staff members nominate other staff members for good deeds done within the district.  Recipients receive an orange and black coffee mug filled with goodies.  The district will pick 7 recipients each month throughout the school year.

Recipients for August were:

Heather Wollert from Parkview Elementary, who  was nominated for being a team player and leader in the district and who was this year’s Corporate Cup Team Captain.

Staffon Warn with Maintenance was nominated for going above and beyond to get projects done and is a “kind, caring, and generous person”.  His many years of knowledge and wisdom in running schools was also a factor in his nomination.

Kristie Morgan from Lamar Middle School.  It was said that she is a “wonderful person that lights up any room that she is in”.  Her nominator said “I am so grateful that I get to work around her every day!”.

Maria Sarmiento from Parkview Elementary was nominated for being “extremely helpful to any student and staff member that she can help” and that she knows the students well and cares about them as individuals.  Her work with multilingual students is a gift to the district.

Yazmin Maggert from Lamar Middle School has a “can-do attitude and willingness to work with a variety of students”.  It was also said that she is “constantly offering to assist when she sees a need in the school”.

Elizabeth Biszak from Lamar Middle School was nominated for keeping the Special Education Department running smoothly and that she “cares for all of the kids that come into the middle school (whether they are in special education classes or not).

Leandra Chavez from Washington Elementary received her award for her work with the school’s art program.  Her nominator said “I wish I could add pictures to show you all the beautiful projects” and mentioned that “she had all 221 of our students color and draw on a feather to put them all together to form a pair of wings to be displayed for open house”.

The board voted unanimously to support a resolution from the district endorsing continuation of the “Healthy Meals for All” program which provides free breakfast and lunch to all public school students, regardless of income.  The district believes that a child who is hungry is not in a position to learn.  Currently, the district has 73% of its students receiving free meals but all members agreed that districts with even more need than ours need the support as well. Dr. Krug said “Our story isn’t everyone’s story” in reference to signing the resolution to help all Colorado students receive needed meals. Colorado voters approved the program in 2022 with meal participation increasing more than 30%.  The issue will be back on the ballot this November, asking voters to allow the state to retain and spend state revenue on the program.

By: Barbara Crimond