Superintendent’s Midyear Update
By Dustin Hunt | January 2026
Dear RE-1 Team & Community,
Happy New Year, Tigers & Buffaloes! It is time to update our community on the progress of RE-1 Valley Schools with the quarterly RE-1 State of the District report. We are at the halfway point of our school year. Tremendous thanks goes to our staff for all the honorable work they are doing to make learning happen with our students. I also want to thank our parents for their support of their students, our school community, and the future generations for RE-1 Valley!
Board of Education (BOE):
A big congratulations to our newly elected board members, Rita Sonnenberg, Casey Meisner, and Lyndsay Weingardt, along with our returning elected veteran board members, Ronda Monheiser and Heather Harris. Our new members join strong veteran leadership on the board that have worked hard to point the district in the right direction. Director Joel McCracken was the lone board member whose term did not end this fall, and he was recently appointed by his peers to lead as the Board President for RE-1 for the next two years. Director Ronda Monheiser will continue as the Vice President, and Heather Harris will continue as the Secretary/Treasurer for the board. It is very exciting to see what started as an informational meeting this fall for interested patrons to run for our board, to what is nearly a full board serving students and the community today. At the board’s December 15th meeting, the BOE declared a vacancy in District 4 and will soon appoint one patron from those who submitted materials to be considered for the opening. A BOE with all seats filled, ensures that each part of our community is represented. It is important to remember that school boards have a very significant impact on student learning, and RE-1 is poised for growth with our outstanding board members. I would be remiss if I did not mention the tremendous service to RE-1 by the outgoing board members, Michelle Sharp and Steve Shinn. Both of these outgoing members will be missed in the boardroom and have left a tremendous legacy of service to their community.
In January, you will notice that the board has gone digital! Executive Administrative Assistant Michelle Erb has done tremendous work behind the scenes to prepare our board to launch our meeting agendas in a digital format known as Board Books. This technology is already used in the district for board policies that can be accessed on the district website. While the meetings will be the same, it creates tremendous efficiencies, saves the district considerable funding used for printing large scale agendas and supporting materials. You will see board members accessing the agenda on a device during meetings, and the agenda and public materials will be available as they always have been, but through the Board Book platform.
The board will also be participating in a board training that is primarily geared toward our newest members, but is attended by all board members for the purpose of growing board operating principles and teamwork. The training will be provided by Dr. Steve Joel from MacPherson and Jacobson and is a great investment in the volunteers who make critical decisions on behalf of our students.
Bond & BEST (Building Excellent Schools Today) Grant Update:
A huge thank you to our community for supporting the RE-1 Bond Initiative. As you may be aware, accessing the bond funds requires the district to be successful in an application to the BEST grant program. The grant is very competitive, and there are many applications from across Colorado districts. If successful, the grant could bring nearly $10 million dollars in matching funds to the revenue generated by the bond. The Board of Education, in an effort to minimize the impact on local taxpayers, made the bond effort contingent upon receiving the state funds.
The Board has selected Millig Architecture Firm to aid in the BEST application process, based on their success in many similar efforts with other school districts. The deadline for the BEST application is March 2, 2026, and the results should be available by late May. A successful BEST grant application could mean construction for improvements begins in the summer of 2026. I’m proud of our board and our community for supporting students and working toward a competitive BEST grant to bring these facilities improvements home to our students. District administration completed a comprehensive district tour of facilities with the Millig firm earlier this month, and the application process is well underway.
District Goals, Strategic Direction, and Early Progress:
This year, our Board established measurable district goals, an important step, as RE-1 has been without a strategic plan since 2018. Additionally, the administrative team has added action steps, and progress will be shared regularly at board meetings. This ensures that what we set out to do, will remain our focus.
Looking Ahead:
Calendars, Schedules, and Student Success In our Issues & Resolutions meetings, we have begun discussions about potential adjustments to our calendar and schedules. These topics are never simple, no calendar is perfect, and changes affect each of us differently, especially on a personal level. But our guiding question must always be:
“Does this improve student learning and maximize instructional time?” We are currently gathering data and input through our already established committees. The district has had feedback from the administrative and operations team (made up of building level and district supervisors and administrators), the RE-1 staff Issues and Resolution team (that gathers input from staff at each of the buildings), and parents who have volunteered for the District Accountability Committee (DAC) have also given input. The board will make the final decision based on pros and cons provided by each group at a January board meeting. Our goal is to adopt a two-year calendar providing clarity for students, families, and staff so we can plan effectively for parent conferences, activities, professional development, and a host of instructional needs.
Our Students!
As a new superintendent in RE-1, one of the most meaningful parts of this role has been getting to know our students. Each visit to a classroom, activity, or hallway conversation gives me a clearer picture of who we are as a district and community, and who we can become. From our Tigers to our Buffaloes, our students bring curiosity, grit, and a strong sense of place with them each day. I see moments of kindness, pride, and leadership already taking root, and just as importantly, I see tremendous opportunity to grow those qualities even further as we continue to learn and improve together. I want to offer a special thank you to our students for the hard work they put into all aspects of school, academics, activities, athletics, and the way they show up for one another each day. I also want to encourage them wherever possible to stretch themselves in the same areas, and reach for greater heights.
As we head into the second semester, I am excited to spend more time in our buildings and alongside our students and staff, observing and helping nurture those shared values. In our rural communities, schools do more than prepare students for a career or a diploma. We are growing future neighbors, future leaders, and future stewards of our way of life. That work requires all of us pulling in the same direction. I sincerely appreciate our staff, parents, and community members for partnering with us as we work to strengthen pride, deepen kindness, and build schools that reflect the best of who we are and who we aspire to be.
Have a fantastic second semester. Go Buffs & Go Tigers!
Dustin Hunt
Superintendent
Downloadable and printable version - RE-1 State of the District at Semester Time