On Monday, the Dolores RE-4 school board held their first meeting of the school year, providing updates on the BEST grant, superintendent search, mill levy override and more.
The board meeting was held on the first day of the 2024-25 school year, and acting Superintendent Alesa Reed celebrated the first day of school in her report.
“It was very smooth due to the outstanding preparations of our staff and the back-to-school night last week,” Reed said.
Each of the school principals also gave a report on their perceptions of the first day of school.
The board mentioned the success of the open houses before the start of school, and shared that there had been events to help sixth and ninth graders adjust to being students in the middle and high schools.
Students Samantha Abate and Sienna Parr were celebrated.
Both students attended the Pinhead Institute this summer. Parr did her internship in neuroscience with Cassandra White in Jin Lab at Scripps Research. Abate studied marine biology at University of California Santa Barbara.
The Pinhead Institute, an organization in Telluride, is a Smithsonian affiliate with the goal of “spreading the love of science.” The institute helps accepted students land prestigious internships in a field of science.
Board secretary Clay Tallmadge gave a BOCES update, sharing that BOCES will be doing professional development for teachers and administrators. He said more information on the professional development opportunities will be provided to superintendents to be passed down to other staff.
BOCES will be setting long-term goals for the organization, something that hasn’t been done before, according to Tallmadge, and the Montezuma-Cortez school district is continuing its quest to become its own administrative unit, with the district stating its intention to begin the process of withdrawing from BOCES again.
The outcome will be determined in spring 2025.
The board discussed the process of finding a new superintendent, saying that the job was posted internally in July, and the internal application was closed Monday, the day of the meeting. The board will be narrowing down applicants this week and announcing the finalists.
The board expressed their desire for parent, student and community member involvement in the selection of the next superintendent.
Another topic of discussion was the mill levy override that will be on the November ballot. The override, if passed, will go toward staff raises, recruitment and retention and curriculum supplies, including technology.
This mill levy override is a continuation of the override that was voted on in 2015. It sunsets this year, so the district is asking for an extension of the override, according to Reed.
The mill levy override will not raise taxes, rather, the taxes will remain the same or decrease. The current mill levy is set at $390,000, and the extension will be set at $360,000, if passed by voters.
The board asked for the community's continued support in this area. For more information, visit the Dolores District Mill Levy Information Center online at www.doloresschools.org/2024-mill-levy-faq/.
Staff member Curtis Garver spoke to the board about the need for coach raises, pointing out that the district was paying coaches less than many of their district neighbors. He proposed a payment scale, with the compensation depending on factors including on the sport, the number of games played each season.
Garver said coaches need to be “compensated correctly,” adding that they should be paid more than Dove Creek, as they are a 1A school.
Discussions about re-adding the school’s girls’ golf team also took place. Currently, female golfers from Dolores play for the Montezuma-Cortez team. Garver said while trying to gauge interest, he found a number of girls who would play on the team, noting that they were excited about the possibility.
They also talked about a potential boys’ team, as well.
Garver told the board that he had played golf in college and professionally, saying, “Golf changed my life.”
Coach pay and the fate of the girls golf team will be decided at the September meeting.
Board President Maegan Crowley said they are still on the BEST grant cycle, and will know by November if they received the grant. If they don’t, they will reapply in the spring.
Personnel reassignments and hires were also announced. Matt Walker moved from elementary principal to high school principal, and Amanda Hill went from Title 1 teacher to elementary principal.
Justin Schmitt, who was the high school principal, now works for the Montezuma-Cortez school district as the executive director of Human Resources.
Drew Powell and Kaylee Traucht were hired as cafeteria cooks, Brandi Dunn as nurse, Tom Scheuerman and Quaylen Lambson as bus drivers, Kathleen Ragland as K-12 substitute, Sheila Wheeler as preschool substitute and Kassi Uptain as the middle school volleyball coach.
The next Dolores school board meeting will take place on Monday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m.
