By Brendan Henry
The Surveyor

The Thompson School District (TSD) Board of Education met on March 27 with all members in attendance. An educator within Berthoud’s community was recognized, Berthoud athletes and competitors were showcased, concerns with student behavior were expressed and confusion ensued due to a decision by a board member.

Superintendent Marc Schaffer awarded Amber Christenson, an ELD teacher at Turner Middle School and Berthoud High School with a Top of Thompson award under the licensed category during public participation. She was nominated for her goal of community outreach coupled with job shadowing along with her active involvement in the district.

Roy Tripi, who is to become Berthoud High School’s principal next year, was recognized by TSD. Beginning as a physical education teacher in the Poudre School District, Tripi worked his way up into administration, where he is now the assistant principal at Thompson Valley High School.

Kevin Clark, TSD’s director of Athletics and Activities, provided an update on the district’s athletics and other competitions. Berthoud has competed in multiple ESports competitions with a current ranking of 16th in the state. The Future Business Leaders of America team at Berthoud High School had four first-place finishes in their competition. Future Farmers of America member Keira McCormick finished first in the Milk Quality and Products Contest, and Natalie Cartwright in the Vet Science Contest.

For the athletic side, the girl’s swim team placed 16th at state and qualified in all three relays. Four boys and two girls qualified for state in wrestling, and both the boys and girls basketball teams were commended for making the playoffs.

The board opened up to public comments, Colorado’s Teacher of the Year Jessica May, who teaches at Turner Middle School, addressed student behavior that interferes with the district’s goal of having a safe learning and teaching environment. She said that she has statements signed by more than 500 educators in the school district regarding dangerous and disruptive student conduct. May brings this up as a result of families withdrawing from the district as a result of said disruptive behavior, and says that actions taken to rectify the issue have been unsuccessful, urging the board to take steps to solve the problems identified in the statements.

Another teacher who resides in Loveland shared similar concerns with behavioral issues that negatively impact the safety and learning of others in the district. The teacher wants the cooperation of the community and the entire school district. This sentiment was followed up by additional speakers with similar grievances.

These teachers shared specific instances of assault against them and the lackluster response from the district. Dr. Nancy Andersen Wolfgang, a Kindergarten through fifth-grade music teacher in the district, shared a story about having to pull a second grader off of another, saying, “In his own words, he was trying to kill him.” In the struggle, Wolfgang was punched in the left orbital socket four times before she could reach her radio and call for help.

The crisis team responded quickly, merely asking if Wolfgang was fine, and the day continued as normal. Wolfgang admits that she was not fine, having a swollen face and headache. After visiting the doctor, she found that her face was so swollen that air was escaping her tear duct, and to this day, her eyelid sags.

The student returned to class the next day as if everything was normal. Wolfgang feared illegal retaliation if she filed a formal complaint, but she did anyway. Her complaint was brought up in her mid-year review. She is now being non-renewed after teaching for over 30 years.

The board did not comment on the topic of disciplinary issues.

Another speaker – who called in over the phone – cited “rogue and unethical behavior,” as she put it, from board member Nancy Rumfelt. She says that Rumfelt testified at the Colorado legislature against a bill titled “Non-Legal Name Changes,” or HB24-1039, which is a bill that requires each school board of education to adopt written policies prohibiting discrimination based on gender expression, including the use of a student’s chosen name. The speaker disagrees with Rumfelt’s action and also disagrees with Rumfelt’s holding of “town halls” outside of official school board meetings.

This led to Rumfelt pulling Item 6.1 – Approval of Personnel/Extra Duty/Coaching Recommendations from the action consent items. Board President Barbara Kruse insisted that Rumfelt explain, and Rumfelt refused to elaborate further than being persuaded to do so after hearing the over-the-phone speaker during public comment.

“I just need a second here,” Kruse said with her head resting on her hand after Rumfelt’s lack of reasoning behind the decision.
Berthoud’s elected board member Stu Boyd sought clarity from Rumfelt regarding her decision. “Nancy, you’re not comfortable voting to approve hiring and termination for staff in general as a result of what the commenter said?” Boyd asked. “Am I understanding correctly what you’re having trouble approving?”

Rumfelt responded by saying, “As a board member, we can have questions regarding any person on this list of recommendations. I can’t just pull one person’s name off, so therefore I have to say no on the whole list.”

Schaffer chimed in after a few seconds of silence, saying that Rumfelt is entitled to her opinion and that he cautions the board on talking about any individual personnel. The motion to approve the personnel list was passed with only Rumfelt voting against it.
The next Board of Education meeting will be held on April 17.