The public D11 board-packet layer materially clarifies the approval path and the original Mitchell Promise fiscal mechanism.
Mitchell Promise was approved on May 17, 2023 as new 2017 MLO PIP 12. D11 records describe a four-year pilot for Mitchell High School graduates, beginning July 1, 2023 and ending June 30, 2027, with an annual D11 budget of $200,000. The May 17 agenda and minutes describe the program as a 50 percent match with Pikes Peak State College. The attached plan amendment says D11 would cover 50 percent, up to $200,000, and PPSC, "through the Dakota Foundation," would cover 50 percent, up to $200,000. The attached D11 / PPSC memorandum then gives the more operational mechanism: Pell and Colorado aid are used first, Mitchell Scholar funds pay the remaining balance, PPSC invoices D11 twice annually for D11's share, and PPSC identifies philanthropic support through the PPSC Foundation to cover 50 percent of tuition and fee expenses.
The November 2023 board packet clarifies the board action that expanded Mitchell Promise into D11 Promise. On November 29, 2023, the board approved a plan amendment allowing the already approved PIP 12 funds to be applied to any eligible D11 graduate. The D11 Promise amendment retains the $200,000 annual D11 cap and $800,000 four-year maximum. It describes Bruni Foundation, Dakota Foundation, D11, and PPSC as collaborators, but it does not provide the same invoice-level or fund-administration detail that the original Mitchell Promise MOU provides. The November 29 minutes add that PPSC President Lance Bolton thanked Dakota Foundation, Legacy Institute, Bruni Foundation, the D11 board, and the superintendent for their contributions and support.
The finance records sharpen D11's side of the mechanism but do not fully resolve the outside-funding route. FY25 and FY26 budget books retain D11 Promise/scholarships (PIP #12) as a 2017 MLO purchased-services line at $200,000. The 2017 MLO transfer summaries continue to label item 12 as Mitchell Promise at $200,000. The FY26 mid-year budget separately lists D11 Promise Scholarships (2193B) and Dakota Foundation Teacher Awards (2193C) in a small designated-purpose schedule, but that schedule should not be treated as a full Promise fiscal route.
The board-packet layer did not locate a public D11 packet attachment that directly identifies Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI; earlier repo shorthand / local reporting appears as CSOI), Pikes Peak Community Foundation, or a complete pass-through / fiscal-sponsor arrangement for D11 Promise. A narrower finance-records follow-up confirms that PPSC Foundation is a COSI matching-scholarship recipient generally and that CDHE lists a FY 2025-2026 $400,000 COSI award to Pikes Peak State College Foundation on behalf of El Paso County. That strengthens COSI / PPSC Foundation as a records target, but it still does not prove a D11 Promise fiscal route. Current evidence therefore supports a D11 MLO-funded district share, an original PPSC invoice mechanism, and philanthropic partner support, while leaving Dakota Foundation, PPSC Foundation, Pikes Peak Community Foundation, Bruni Foundation, Legacy Institute, COSI, and any other outside funding route unresolved for the expanded D11 Promise stack.
| date | board material | role in this pass | triage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-05-10 | Regular meeting minutes | Public hearing and non-action discussion for MLO plan amendments, including new PIP 12 Mitchell Promise. Superintendent Gaal said he would accelerate philanthropic efforts for short-term Mitchell Promise funding. | mention briefly |
| 2023-05-17 | Special meeting agenda and minutes | Formal board approval of new MLO 2017 PIP 12 Mitchell Promise. | synthesize now |
| 2023-05-17 | 2017-12 Mitchell Promise packet attachment |
Plan amendment, program implementation plan, and D11 / PPSC memorandum of understanding. This is the strongest public fiscal-mechanism record. | synthesize now |
| 2023-05-17 | Mitchell presentation | Context for Mitchell turnaround / support strategy and Promise as part of the Mitchell package. | mention briefly |
| 2023-11-15 | Special meeting agenda | Non-action presentation of proposed MLO PIP 12 expansion from Mitchell Promise to The Promise / D11 Promise. | synthesize now |
| 2023-11-15 | D11 Promise amendment draft | Shows the proposed title / description modification and collaborator language before the final action meeting. | synthesize now |
| 2023-11-29 | Special meeting agenda and minutes | Formal board approval of the D11 Promise amendment, including motion, vote, and PPSC president comments. | synthesize now |
| 2023-11-29 | D11 Promise flyer | Public eligibility / program-description attachment for students and families. | mention briefly |
| 2023-11-29 | D11 Promise amendment attachment | Final amendment retaining D11's $200,000 annual cap and naming Bruni Foundation, Dakota Foundation, D11, and PPSC as collaborators. |
synthesize now |
| 2024-06-12 | FY25 proposed budget | Shows D11 Promise/scholarships (PIP #12) as 2017 MLO purchased services at $200,000 and transfer summary item 12 as Mitchell Promise. |
synthesize now |
| 2024-09-04 | Superintendent report | Reports 24 Mitchell Promise students in 2023 and 185 D11 Promise students in 2024, with thanks to Bruni Foundation and Dakota Foundation. | mention briefly |
| 2026-01-28 | FY26 mid-year budget book | Shows continued $200,000 2017 MLO Promise budget line and separate small designated-purpose rows for D11 Promise Scholarships and Dakota Foundation Teacher Awards. |
synthesize now |
Routine or unrelated items in the same packets, including Orton Academy, COP financing, Design Thinking contract, UVA turnaround services, track / field replacement, and unrelated budget schedules, were deferred.
$200,000 D11 budget. Julie Ott voted no.$200,000, but do not resolve outside partner payment routing.| source node | target node | relationship type | mechanism | time range | evidence strength | claim limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D11 board | Mitchell Promise | board authorization / MLO plan amendment | New 2017 MLO PIP 12, $200,000 annually for four years |
approved 2023-05-17; term 2023-07-01 to 2027-06-30 | direct | Does not by itself show outside partner funds |
| D11 | PPSC | MOU / fiscal administration | PPSC invoices D11 twice annually for D11 share after Pell / Colorado aid and Mitchell Scholar funds calculation | original Mitchell Promise MOU | direct | MOU text shows signatures blanks in packet sidecar; executed signed version not retrieved |
| PPSC | Mitchell Promise | implementation / student support | financial aid help, advising, coaching, branding, recruiting, reports, and concurrent-enrollment support | original Mitchell Promise MOU | direct | Does not show PPSC-side fund account ledger |
| PPSC / Dakota Foundation | Mitchell Promise | philanthropic match support | Plan amendment says PPSC, through Dakota Foundation, covers 50 percent up to $200,000 |
original May 2023 plan amendment | direct for packet statement | Needs reconciliation with MOU's PPSC Foundation language and Dakota / PPCF filing rows |
| PPSC Foundation | Mitchell Promise | philanthropic-support route | MOU says PPSC will identify / develop philanthropic support through PPSC Foundation to cover 50 percent of tuition and fees | original Mitchell Promise MOU | direct for intended mechanism | Does not show donor, grant, restriction, or account records |
| D11 board | D11 Promise | board authorization / MLO plan amendment | November 29, 2023 amendment applies already approved PIP 12 funds to any eligible D11 graduate | approved 2023-11-29 | direct | Does not show full outside partner funding route |
| Bruni Foundation / Dakota Foundation / D11 / PPSC | D11 Promise | collaboration / scholarship support | Final D11 Promise amendment names these collaborators | 2023-2027 program period | direct for collaborator statement | Does not specify custody, grant terms, or payment route |
| Legacy Institute | D11 Promise | public partner support / acknowledgement | November 29 minutes record PPSC president thanking Legacy Institute for support | 2023-11-29 | direct for acknowledgement | Not a contract, grant amount, or fiscal-route record |
| D11 budget | D11 Promise / Mitchell Promise | budget line / purchased services | FY25 and FY26 budget books show $200,000 in 2017 MLO PIP 12 purchased services / transfer summary |
FY2024-2025 and FY2025-2026 | direct | D11-side budget only; outside funds still unresolved |
| COSI / PPCF / other fiscal sponsor | D11 Promise | unresolved fiscal-route lead | No captured D11 packet attachment in this bounded pass directly identified COSI, PPCF, or another pass-through mechanism; follow-up PPSC / CDHE records show COSI and PPSC Foundation generally but not a D11-specific route | board packet screen through 2026-01-28; finance follow-up 2026-04-26 | unresolved / negative bounded screen | Absence in captured D11 packet layer is not proof no route exists elsewhere |
$200,000 annually for four years, 6-1 vote.$200,000 annually / $800,000 total cap, unanimous vote.COSI; earlier shorthand / reporting as CSOI) funds were part of the D11 Promise stack; the bounded D11 packet search did not surface COSI in the captured board records, and the later finance pass found only general PPSC Foundation / COSI evidence plus an El Paso County COSI award.The highest-value remaining records are: