Ready for high school year – News – Bent County Democrat

Bette McFarrenLa Junta Tribune Democrat

Wednesday

Aug 14, 2019 at 10:16 AM

The La Junta School Board met on Monday evening of the first day of the school year to announce widespread personnel changes and the purchase of new bleachers and a new activity bus.

School Board Member Angela Ayala praised the new bleachers in the gym.

“They are so much better – the old wooden bleachers are gone!” Principal Dan Nuschy added, “The steps are much easier to use, and there are handrails.”

The purchase of the bleachers was approved by the school board several months ago. The board is pleased to see them installed before the start of the fall semester.

The new activity bus was purchased from Thomas Built Buses of Commerce City for $109,871. It is a 2020 model school bus, Chassis Model B2 106, with a Detroit Diesel DD5 240 Diesel engine, four cylinder, 240 horsepower, 2600 revolutions per minute. It has automatic transmission and Michelin tires. This purchase was also approved several months ago by the school board.

Nuschy reported an enrollment of 690, with 131 in the ninth grade. Thirty-six band members have registered so far. There will be an extra 15 minute advisory period this year, to allow for individual appointments with advisors.

Principal/Director Ken McNerney of the Tiger Trades Academy reports an enrollment of 48. In an opinion poll of the students, he learned the students appreciate the smaller class size and individual attention from the teachers, time to work on their assignments, and the older students liked the computers.

The fees for various activities are as follows. Band rental fees have been waived to encourage more band participation, said Nuschy. There is still a band fee of $10 to help cover cost of required T-shirt. Woodworking has a $15 fee, plus the cost of the project. Drama class has a $15 fee to help cover the cost of make-up kits. Culinary arts or food science has a $15 fee to help cover food costs. Engineering design has a $10 fee to help cover the cost of project, as does physics. These are high school fees.

Junior High fees include a $10 band fee; culinary arts or food science, $15; Woodworking, $10; art, $10 plus cost of project. Personal Resource Development class has a $15 fee.

Sport fees are $30 per sport, with a $75 cap if student is involved in three sports. The student has the option of performing work duty/community service at the school in lieu of paying the fee. Work duty will be determined by building administration.

There is also a family fee of $25 per sport for the first child and $15 per sport for second and third child, with a $100 cap for a family with students in two or more sports. Sport fees will be used to help fund entry and official fees. Out of District Students are charged $50 per sport. These are students not enrolled in La Junta Schools.

Final revision of these fees was completed on August 12, 2019.

The following personnel changes were adopted by the school board at the Monday evening meeting:
• Rephena Graham – Resignation as Special Education Paraprofessional effective July 9, 2019
• Felicia Gomez – Resignation as Special Education Paraprofessional effective July 19, 2019
• Kristy Malden – Resignation as Special Education Paraprofessional effective July 20, 2019
• Shayla Brown – New Hire as General Paraprofessional at La Junta Primary School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Jennifer Quintana – Resignation as Special Education Paraprofessional effective July 24, 2019
• Cassie Sanchez – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Dianna Marquez – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Brianna Gonzales – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Linda Valdez – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Brent Cox – New Hire as Custodian at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Gilberto Nava – New Hire as Paraprofessional at Tiger Trades Academy for the 2019-2020 school year
• Marlina Maes – New Hire as Paraprofessional at Tiger Trades Academy for the 2019-2020 school year
• Timothy Clem – Resignation as Special Education Paraprofessional effective July 25, 2019
• Samantha Rodriguez – New Hire as Paraprofessional at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Pamela Black – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Primary School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Angie Hanson – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Primary School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Rockie Lasley – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Primary School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Chantel Gallegos – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Primary School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Jennifer Ritter – New Hire as General Paraprofessional at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Cynthia Duran – New Hire as 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Eunice Petramala – Resignation as Special Education Paraprofessional at Child Development Services effective July 31, 2019
• Kathleen Cashman – Resignation as Route Bus Driver effective August 1, 2019
• Madison Kuckow – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Primary School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Michael Torrez – Resignation as High School Football and Baseball coach effective August 2, 2019
• Michael Torrez – Resignation as Paraprofessional at Tiger Trades Academy effective August 2, 2019
• Damian Ryder – New Hire as Paraprofessional at Tiger Trades Academy for the 2019-2020 school year
• Emilianna Romero – New Hire as Head Junior High Volleyball Coach for the 2019-2020 season
• Kylie Smith – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Junior/Senior High School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Marissa Montanez – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Junior/Senior High School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Jennifer Quintana – New Hire as Part-time Health Aide at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Selena Tapia – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Tom Kirk – New Hire as Teacher at Tiger Trades Academy for the 2019-2020 school year
• Antoinette Martinez – New Hire as Special Education Paraprofessional at Child Development Services (CDS) for the 2019-2020 school year
• Pablo Martinez – New Hire as Paraprofessional at La Junta Junior/Senior High School for the 2019-2020 school year
• Melissa McFarlane – New Hire as Paraprofessional at La Junta Intermediate School for the 2019-2020 school year.

Note: At the high school only, students with a grade point average of 3.0 or better, and/or have met the school-set benchmarks indicated by the Colorado State Assessments are allowed an extra two weeks of vacation, and report to school on Aug. 26.

Teachers are compensated for extracurricular activities and sponsorships according to a published schedule available upon request.

bmcfarren@ljtdmail.com