Dolores School District RE-4A Superintendent Reece Blincoe is proud of the strides he’s made since his August arrival and is ready to slice through the sometimes political nature of school proceedings to focus on academics and retaining staff.
The Dolores Board of Education on Feb. 10 voted 5-0 to award Blincoe a two-year contract, elevating him from interim to official superintendent.
Blincoe is excited to remain with the district, and he shared his thoughts about his tenure and the changing nature of education with The Journal.
Blincoe previously served as superintendent of the Brownwood and Stockdale Independent School Districts in Texas.
After resigning from his position in Brownwood, he was a professor at Sul Ross State University, then took a two-year break from education.
He was shocked at what he saw when he came back.
“Education’s changing, and the game has changed,” he said.
It is happening nationwide, he said.
As in school districts across the nation, conversations about the hot-button topics of COVID-19 and critical race theory became points of contention in the Dolores district.
“There’s a lot that goes on, and some of it is politically motivated. And we just go through these cycles, and you hear about it in some other state. And then you hear about it in Denver, and you know it's coming,” he said.
But Blincoe is more concerned about elevating instruction, paying teachers more, managing the budget and improving facilities.
“I want to get the conversation back to, What can we do to help kids? What can we do to help our community? What can we do to help our facilities?” he said.
Once-empty boardrooms now brim with parents and community members, he said.
“When I was a superintendent before, nobody came to school board meetings, nobody spoke up, there was nobody yelling at you.”
Blincoe said he wants to get back to the basics. For him, that means the foundation of education rooted in data.
“How are our kids performing? Are we preparing our kids for jobs in life?” These questions should be at the forefront of district conversations, he said.
In Dolores, the school board voted down a resolution against critical race theory 3-2. In Cortez, the Montezuma-Cortez Board of Education adopted a resolution against the theory in September and has began efforts to purge curriculum thought to contain it.
For Blincoe, the change meant that he had to develop lines of communication with the Board of Education. He likened it to starting a new relationship.
“It’s a superintendent thing all over the nation,” he said. “If anybody says otherwise, they’re telling a fib.”
Blincoe and the Dolores board are engaging in a score of accountability meetings, in which they are receiving training to outline their roles and responsibilities.
“There may or may not have been some confusion in the past,” Blincoe said. “But I think it’s best that we just make sure that we’re all on the same page.”
Now, his relationship with the board is stronger than ever, he said.
“We want to be a team. We want to accomplish great things, and so it’s good,” he said.
While they may not always agree, Blincoe and the board both want to prioritize kids and meet in the middle, he said.
“I want us to be the best in Colorado and make no excuses about it,” he said.
While he spoke of initial challenges, Blincoe praised the board several times during his conversation with The Journal.
When asked what he was most proud of this year, he first listed staff pay initiatives. Staff were given a 2% Christmas bonus and will receive a flat $2,000 in time for spring break.
“If you’re lower on the pay scale, or you're a bus driver, or you’re a custodial worker, or you’re a food service worker, guess what? You get this, it means a lot, because percentagewise, then it’s really high. And so that feels good, because we need to honor all of our staff,” he said.
The district will work on increasing pay scales incrementally, he said.
He’s shooting for a minimum $15 hourly rate and a starting salary of $40,000 for teachers in two to three years. The starting salary in the district currently is about $32,500, he said.
Pay initiatives are underway. In a Feb. 24 work session, the board explored boosted pay for staff, including potential substitute raises and financial assistance for teachers who want to obtain a master’s degree.
Blincoe plans to raise academic performance and foster career pathways, including a “career exploration lab” – a venture he headed as superintendent in Texas.
Dolores schools have strong partnerships with Pueblo Community College and the Mancos School District RE-6, Blincoe said.
An unfolding enterprise between the Mancos and Dolores school would offer new opportunities to students.
For example, Blincoe said, if Dolores has a French teacher, and Mancos doesn’t, the Dolores teacher’s lesson would be broadcast to a virtual classroom for Mancos students, and vice versa.
Blincoe also hopes to bolster relationships with entities including the Dolores Public Library and the Chamber of Commerce.
“One wonderful thing about Dolores: the people – they’re just fantastic, and they stick together, they do what’s best for the kids, what’s best for the community,” he said.
Blincoe said his debut in Dolores wasn’t without fault.
He quoted a passage from Theodore Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena.
Mirroring the language from that speech, Blincoe said he was bound to stumble and fall.
“I made some assumptions. I made some mistakes, and I grew from that, and that what’s you do: You reflect upon your actions and what you say and you try to do better,” he said. “And so I could have made my landing here a little bit softer and a little bit easier, I may have hit the ground a little too aggressive.”
Still, he has no regrets. He intends to do right by his staff, the community and the students, he said.
A news release written by board member Clay Tallmadge reads: “He brings over 30 years of experience in the field of education for our district. We look forward to his continued leadership and working with Dolores Schools’ staff and parents to provide quality educational opportunities for our students. We encourage community members to meet with Dr. Blincoe and welcome him to our community.
“In addition, through the hard work of district business manager Doreen Jones and Dr. Blincoe, the Board approved the final 2021/2022 budget which includes a well-deserved additional stipend for all district employees. The district staff has proven their dedication to the students of the Dolores schools. Go Bears!“
The school board unanimously voted to appoint Tallmadge to write the news release.
In other school districts in Southwest Colorado, the game also has changed, but with different outcomes.
In Cortez, former Superintendent Risha VanderWey resigned in January after less than a year into her tenure. The board cited a difference in philosophy and her low marks on an evaluation, and on March 1 appointed Tom Burris as interim superintendent.
In Bayfield, former superintendent Kevin Aten was fired with two years remaining on his contract. Board members did not state a specific reason for Aten’s firing.
“I believe it’s time for the district to make a change,” said Mike Foutz, the board president.
