The Montezuma-Cortez school board on Tuesday discussed a potential reorganization of district elementary schools, the budget deficit and the process of creating the mill levy override committee.
The Cortez chapter of the National FFA Organization kick-started the meeting with information about the leadership event that five FFA students will attend in Washington, D.C. in June.
After the FFA presentation, Superintendent Tom Burris reported that he has been to the district’s schools to explain how the mill levy money will be distributed.
He noted that he and the board have been working to create a committee to review and oversee the distribution of funds in line with the ballot language.
Later on in the meeting, the board clarified that they are in the beginning stages of talking to potential members. They have contacted a banker and business owner, and plan to recruit parents, teachers and a member of the District Accountability Committee.
The DAC provided its quarterly report to the board.
Laura DeWitt briefly spoke about the elementary reorganization project, asking that the board listen to feedback from families and teachers before making a decision. She also said they hoped to have a DAC member on the mill levy committee.
Finally, the DAC plans another family engagement survey in March. One topic will be coach pay and retention. The pay is much lower than neighboring districts, DeWitt said. Coach Bob Archibeque previously shared information regarding coach pay at the last DAC meeting.
In citizen comments, staff member Dan Tamminga expressed frustration with changes made to staff schedule without their input. He asked that teachers be compensated for the additional hours they were working and asked that the 2025-26 schedule be available for staff review by May 15.
Later, in discussion items, the board said that teachers should speak with Human Resources if they are not receiving proper compensation.
Regarding the discussion of elementary schools, Roxanne Stephens asked that the board consider giving parents, teachers and staff time to prepare for any changes.
The board spoke of the district’s $1.3 million budget deficit, which Burris attributed to teacher raises that were approved prior to the mill levy and the loss of 200 students through declining enrollment. Burris emphasized that monitoring class size could help with this deficit.
“The class sizes of less than 10 students is not efficient,” Burris said. He added that ESS classes are an exception.
After the meeting, Burris told The Journal that the elementary schools would be consolidated by grade level.
For instance, one school would house all students in kindergarten through second graders, and the other would house students in third through fifth grades. All staff would go with their respective grade as well.
“Having all students in a grade level in one school does give us flexibility with larger and smaller classes,” Burris said. “Academically, all of the grades are able to confer and plan together, better opportunity to receive grade-level training.”
Burris said a group of teachers and principals would visit districts like Alamosa that utilize the model. The district will get feedback from parents and teachers, as well.
Concerns were expressed about families who would have to take their elementary students to two schools with this model, but this concern was not addressed by the board.
In action items, the board approved new science, ELA and social studies curriculum for MCHS before heading into executive session to discuss legal options for potential lawsuits and actions and personnel matters regarding the superintendent evaluation. No decision was made.
The next district board meeting is March 25 at 6 p.m.
