Because the Dolores school board lacked a quorum Sept. 8, it met for a special meeting and workshop on Sept. 22.
During the meeting, Matt Prinster, project manager for Artaic Group, introduced two resolutions via Zoom. The first aimed to cut utility costs, prioritize health, and reduce environmental impact. The second called for testing the district’s drinking water using the town’s system. Both passed.
After a discussion about BOCES, Julia Anderson was named the board’s new representative. The board also approved members of the District Accountability Committee for the 2025–26 school year: Virginia Johnson, Trish Huston, Molly Cooper, Staci Cost, Jessica Kuntz, Cheyenne Smith, Deanna Truelsen, Mary Weiss, Lucas Werner and Rebecca Busic.
New hires include Tom Schuerman as a bus driver and Ricardo Padilla as a custodian.
After the meeting, the board reconvened for a workshop focused on the superintendent evaluation format. Superintendent Alesa Reed told The Journal the board has been seeking a better tool “for some time.”
“I have been attending the Rural Superintendent Academy (academy for new superintendents) this year, and my first meeting was all about setting superintendent roles and responsibilities, and board roles and responsibilities,” Reed said. “Once this work is done, it creates a clear path for what the board and superintendent believe are the superintendent's duties, which supports the development of an effective evaluation tool to assess the superintendent.”
In August, the board and Reed defined the superintendent’s roles and responsibilities. The next step: “compare and contrast the examples of evaluations I had provided for the board to review, and then incorporate the superintendent's roles and responsibilities to create the evaluation tool.”
The board asked Reed to draft the tool for review at the October workshop.
Reed said the new tool will also integrate the district’s strategic plan, developed with input from community members, business owners, staff and administration.
“Although this work (strategic plan) is complete, it has not been effectively linked to the superintendent's evaluation. We will undertake the necessary steps to connect the strategic plan with the superintendent's evaluation, making it a valuable tool for more effectively assessing the superintendent's performance,” Reed said.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 13.
