5/29/13
Friends and Supporters of Animas High School,
I want to thank you all for the support and encouragement
extended our way as the school made the case for the Building Excellent Schools
Today (BEST) Grant this week in Denver. Unfortunately, Animas High School was
not recommended to the state board for this year’s award.
The Process
The BEST board began hearing from applicants on Tuesday and
there were 68 projects up for consideration in both the Cash Grant and
Lease/Purchase Grant categories. Animas High sought approximately 12 million
dollars and a copy of our official application, BEST staff assessments and the
rules governing the BEST grant program can be found HERE.
(Animas High School can be found on pgs. 224-238)
Animas High School presented to the BEST board Tuesday
morning and we were ecstatic to make the “short list” of thirteen,
Lease/Purchase finalists. Being chosen as a finalist is a huge achievement,
which speaks to the quality of our application and the merits of our proposed
project. It was astonishing when AHS received unanimous “yes” votes from all
BEST board members, a feat achieved by only a handful of schools over the two
days.
On Wednesday afternoon, the board deliberated on how much
money would be available to the pool of Lease/Purchase finalists. The Best
board motioned to set the 2013 Lease/Purchase award cap at 40 million dollars;
down from the available 60 million at the request of the State Treasurer and to
ensure a base level of funds would be available for the next round of BEST
Grant awards in 2014. After determining this threshold, board members were
instructed to prioritize their list of finalists. After members submitted their
prioritization lists, CDE staff correlated the results and released a master
list of prioritized finalists. Board members also passed a motion to limit the
number of recommended Lease/Purchase alternates to two, down from five in
previous years. The board selects alternates because the majority of school
districts intend to meet their required funding match through bond initiatives
in fall elections. If schools/districts are unsuccessful at the ballot box,
BEST money is then released to the alternates.
The Results
The BEST Board selected 8 schools for consideration. AHS was
positioned tenth on the final list. No Colorado charter school received final
recommendation for a Lease/Purchase award and Ross Montessori, the only other
CSI school finalist, was selected as the second alternate (position 8) after
participating in an unprecedented 4th attempt at securing a BEST
Grant. A list of the recommended finalists/alternates and their respective projects can be
found below:
|
Position
|
County
|
District/School
|
Project
|
|
1
|
Mineral
|
Creede 1
|
PK-12 School Replacement
|
|
2
|
Las Animas
|
Kim 88
|
Renovation and Addition to PK-12 School
|
|
3
|
Lincoln
|
Limon RE-4J
|
New PK-12 School and Gym Renovation
|
|
4
|
Saguache
|
Moffat 2
|
PK-12 School Replacement
|
|
5
|
Phillips
|
Haxtun RE-2J
|
Renovation and Addition to K-12 School
|
|
6
|
Conejos
|
South Conejos RE-10
|
PK-12 School Replacement
|
|
7
|
Morgan
|
Ft.
Morgan RE-3
|
MS
Replacement
|
|
8
|
CSI
|
Ross
Montessori
|
K-8
School Replacement
|
The Take-Away
Although Animas High was not chosen for recommendation to
the state board, I see our team’s efforts and the wisdom we gleaned through
participating in this process as a major victory for our school. In our first
attempt at securing the BEST Grant, we received unanimous approval to the list
of finalists and only narrowly missed the cut. We’ve been engaged in the
application process for the last 18 months and meeting the criteria for
submission caused us to take a critical look at our programs, refine our
facilities, scholastic and business plans and pushed all of us to strive for
excellence. I feel that we have been successful in all of these efforts and
have no regrets with the ultimate result. Although we did not secure a final
recommendation to the state board, BEST board members remain incredibly
impressed by Animas High’s academic record and our quick trajectory to the top.
Both BEST staff and board members emphatically encouraged Animas High School to
re-submit an application in 2014.
Moving forward, I want to thank everyone for their assistance
and encouragement throughout this process. I’d especially like to appreciate
Theresa Malone, Jesse Hutt, Kerry Masterson, Phil Bryson, Dustin Jones, the
team at SlaterPaull Architects and all of our invaluable partners at the
Colorado Dept. of Education, the Colorado Charter School Institute, the
Colorado League of Charter Schools, the Colorado Department of Transportation,
Durango Fire and Rescue Authority and Durango School District 9-R who lent
their support and were instrumental in this year’s initiative. The future
remains incredibly bright for Animas High School and we can now focus solely on
this summer’s move, the continued refinement of our programs of excellence and
preparing for the 2014 BEST Grant program.
Thank you all for your dedication and commitment to our
school. This was an incredible team effort and an incredible opportunity to
grow and reflect as an organization. I remain humbled and blessed to be a part
of such an impactful and successful school. Go Ospreys!
Respectfully,
Michael Ackerman
Executive Director
Animas High School
