The Steamboat Springs School District (SSSD) is excited to announce the hiring of Stephanie Juneau as its new Director of Finance and Operations. Stephanie will replace Mark Rydberg who is leaving the district to join the Colorado Department of Education as its new School Finance Program Manager.

“Mark’s role at CDE will be dedicated to providing technical assistance and capacity-building to school finance teams in districts across the state,” said SSSD Superintendent, Brad Meeks. “We thank Mark for his service to SSSD and applaud CDE for recognizing the need to add this important function to support schools. We’re excited to work with Mark in his new capacity.”

Stephanie is a Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations, and previously worked in the Gunnison Watershed School District for more than 10 years before joining the City of Steamboat Springs as its Controller in 2019. She serves on the COLOTRUST Board of Trustees and is a Board Member with the Steamboat Dance Theater.

“As we searched for a new Director of Finance & Operations, we were so fortunate to find someone with the exact experience we were looking for right here in Steamboat,” said Meeks. “Stephanie worked in school finance for over a decade, during which time she directed and supervised all business functions. Her experience will be such an asset as we continue to navigate an education budget impacted by the pandemic.”

Stephanie will start with the district in early November 2021.

July 30, 2021

​Dear Steamboat Springs School District Community Members:

A recent Steamboat Pilot & Today article was a reality check. With Routt County in bright red on its map it read, “Routt County has a transmission rate that would lead federal officials to classify it as an area of high transmission...” Routt County Public Health Director Roberta Smith was quoted as saying, “Understanding your risk is something that everyone should be doing because the pandemic is not over.”

With the school year starting in three weeks, we are grappling with rapidly changing conditions locally and what that means for health and safety practices (including mask protocols) for the upcoming school year. While there are some things we don’t know, what we do know is that students and staff are required by federal law to wear a mask while riding the bus. Additionally, we will start school on-time on August 23 and every student will attend, in-person five days a week with all activities operating. As we start the year, we will do so with a focus on student wellbeing and accelerating learning.

What remains uncertain is our approach to masks. This is a particularly challenging issue given that national, state, and local guidance are not only currently misaligned, but slow in emerging, and when they do, they tend to change rapidly. This is frustrating for us, for our families, and our entire community and is something fully out of the district’s control. However, I want to take this opportunity to assure you that we are closely monitoring the situation and talking regularly with local public health officials who are in contact with their colleagues at state and national agencies.

The health and safety of our students, staff, and community is our priority—we know from communication we have received from community members that this is also your top concern. It’s why we rely exclusively on public health requirements issued by the experts who have the best understanding of the complexities of the ongoing pandemic and how to keep our community safe. What public health has said time and again is that the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is to get vaccinated if/when you are eligible.

We will have a decision on masks by the week of August 16, and sooner if we receive a public health directive prior to that. We know it isn’t easy to be patient, as we all want to prepare our students for the year ahead. Please know that we continue to push for answers every day.

Thank you for your support and partnership.

Brad Meeks

Superintendent Steamboat Springs School District

SSSD families whose K-8 boundary school changed for the 2021-2022 school year received email notification of their new boundary school on January 21, 2020. Families whose boundary school(s) changed were provided with information and deadlines related to the intra-district choice process. If you believe your K-8 boundary school changed and you did not receive email notification please contact: boundary@ssk12.org

Out of district families with students currently in grades K-7 were also notified via email about actions required related to their child’s enrollment. A new inter-district request must be completed for the 2021-22 school year for each student in grades K-7. If this applies to your family and you did not receive an email notification, please contact: boundary@ssk12.org