The Board of Education continued to recognize outstanding employees as LPS Heroes at their regularly scheduled meeting on May 27, 2021.

Becky Garcia is the health assistant at Euclid Middle School. She goes above and beyond in supporting students, families, and staff, especially during the Covid pandemic. Since the return of all students to the middle level, she has worked day and night to help manage many quarantines and to follow up with student Covid tests and the rolling returns due to the changes in the quarantine timelines. Becky has worked in the evenings, calling families to check in on students. Becky has also worked on tracking quarantine information over weekends. Principal Cindy Corlett said, “Becky is an AMAZING health assistant. We could not do this without her and her dedication to the Euclid community. Becky is such a positive and helpful influence. We are very grateful to her!” Thank you for your care and dedication to Euclid’s students and families, Becky!

Julie Dunsmore is the assistant to the principal at Arapahoe High School, and Alicia Peterson  is the assistant to one of the assistant principals. Angela Boatright, assistant principal of instruction, nominated both, and she said, “Recently, we experienced a health emergency in the main office that endangered the wellbeing of a staff member. Both Julie and Alicia acted with immediacy and were able to get the staff member to appropriate care. Undoubtedly their swift action resulted in the most positive outcome possible. They are awesome!” Thank you, Julie and Alicia, for your quick thinking and your dedication to the safety and wellbeing of those around you.

Mary Pohl, computer tech support at Arapahoe High School, was nominated by principal Natalie Pramenko. Natalie said, “Mary works tirelessly to keep all of the technology in our building for both students and staff operating. She is always willing to help out with anything needed. She never complains about the work or how much she has to manage in a day. She is solution-oriented and seeks out opportunities to make our school better. She is extremely competent and does everything asked of her with kindness and a smile on her face.” Thank you, Mary, for your commitment to ensuring the technology works at Arapahoe High School. That is one of those behind-the-scenes jobs that is so vitally important in how we conduct business and learning, especially this year.

Finally, the Board recognized the LPS Finance and Purchasing team, made up of the following people: Jonathan Levesque, director of finance; Donna Murphy, accounting manager; Jennifer Davis, budget analyst; Jill Richardson, accountant; Karin Parker, purchasing manager; Linda Brown, purchasing technician and OptCard administrator; Lori Herbaugh, accountant; Shari Ozaki, accounting technician; and Pam Cornforth, accounting technician. This team, nominated by chief financial officer Donna Villamor is to be commended for their continued commitment to ensuring the district’s finances and purchases are properly accounted for. Since March of 2020, this team has generated three different budget documents and two annual financial audit reports; completed the October student count process, and prepared next year’s student projections under unusual circumstances with TOPS students and boundary changes; refunded $30 million dollars of general obligation bonds with a lower interest rate, saving taxpayers over $3 million dollars; supported the debt-free schools mill levy override election process, and created the new Operations and Technology fund budget and forecast; participated in community roadshows, and expanded the Financial Advisory Committee to explore budget balancing ideas; ensured all Covid Relief Fund federal stimulus dollars are being spent under allowable guidelines; issued many bids and purchase orders for bond projects, curriculum, furniture, and many more schools and departments; participated in bond project meetings, and maintained the purchasing card program; continued to work with school and department personnel on daily tasks such as banking needs, budget changes, financial reporting, and training new staff. Thank you, team, for your continued support of and commitment to the financial security of Littleton Public Schools. The finance department wins awards every year, and it’s not hard to see why.