At their regularly scheduled meeting on March 11, the Board of Education recognized five employees from the Operations and Maintenance department as LPS Heroes. LPS Heroes have been nominated for recognition because of their commitment to the district and their willingness to go above and beyond their normal scope of duties to ensure LPS succeeds. 

Janis Douglas started her new role as facilities manager in the O&M department three days before Covid-19 began to affect the way we do business in LPS. She got very good, very quickly, at canceling facility rentals. She continues to support the team wherever needed, often coming through for the department when they are facing a tight deadline. Her flexibility and willingness to switch gears at the drop of a hat is greatly appreciated by the team. She has been a great addition to the O&M team. Thank you, Janis, for your work in support of the team!

Amanda Clark, administrative assistant to the COO and CFO, also started her position amid the onset of Covid-19. She quickly adapted the position to one that reports to two members of Superintendent’s Staff instead of one, and to ensure both departments’ success, she has had days where she stays late and she has even worked on some weekends. Amanda is administratively responsible for several district committees like Financial Advisory Committee, Long-Range Planning Committee, and Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee, which can be a time- and organizationally-intensive task. She is now also working with the district’s lobbyists to keep tabs on the State of Colorado’s legislative session, which has not followed the normal pattern over the past year. Thanks for all your hard work, Amanda!

Jett Fuller, operations, maintenance, and construction manager, stepped in to manage capital reserve and bond projects over the course of the last year when the rest of the department was busy with the extra work caused by Covid. Doing this ensured the smooth operations of the O&M department, and with big projects like the ones the district has going on in the bond and over the summer with cap reserve, this was no small feat. He also found time to help prepare the pallets of extra covid supplies that were delivered to schools in the fall. Jett is an incredible asset to the O&M team and is described in his nomination as a “down right, all-around great guy.” Thank you for all you do to keep O&M afloat and running smoothly, Jett!

Sarah Kruger, the assistant director of operations, maintenance, and construction, was instrumental in Covid prep. She was responsible for coming up with a new cleaning protocol, which included the enormous task of disinfecting during the day as well as ensuring that the night teams follow the correct cleaning and disinfecting protocols each and every night. She is responsible for ensuring proper disinfection every time we get a confirmed Covid case. Last spring, she had to research several different disinfectants as well as come up with a list of supplies to put on pallets for schools to reopen in the fall. She helped assemble the pallets and made sure schools had a large stock of supplies to start the new year. All of this work was in addition to her already busy schedule. On behalf of the whole district, Sarah, thank you for your work and dedication to making sure our students and staff are as safe as possible in clean and healthy environments.

Brad Leitner has taken over as the director of operations, maintenance, and construction in the last year. He has been instrumental in guiding and supporting this team during some of their busiest times in recent memory--possibly ever. The team has been at work every day since the beginning of Covid, supporting the district at every facility and in every school. Good leaders are in the trenches with their teams, and this has been true of Brad long before taking over as the director. He is willing to step into whatever role he needs to in order to make sure the team, the department, and ultimately the district, is successful, and he is known and respected for this throughout the district. Thank you for your hard work and your leadership, Brad!